Significant change coming to the RV lifestyle!!

[Likes to tow]

Now timed entry passes will be required at many National Parks. The number of passes available will be limited and there will be a specific time you are allowed to enter and how long you can visit. This has a major significant impact on my lifestyle!! The current list is short but other parks could be added at a moments notice? Folks this is a major disruption to my way of life!!
Watch this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-ZxXpHEN6A

 

[Lane Hog]

Not amused. What if it rains on "your" day?

"So sorry you drove halfway across the country, but there aren't any passes for tomorrow."

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[boyscout]

Now timed entry passes will be required at many National Parks. The number of passes available will be limited and there will be a specific time you are allowed to enter and how long you can visit. This has a major significant impact on my lifestyle!! The current list is short but other parks could be added at a moments notice? Folks this is a major disruption to my way of life!!
Watch this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-ZxXpHEN6A

There may be even worse restrictions planned, or possibly now in place. Check me against facts; I'm reporting something I was reading about at least three years ago while at Zion National Park in Utah.

At that time National Park Service officials were publicly musing about controlling not only the numbers of people in some parks but where they went and what they did once inside the park. Zion was then believed likely to implement a system under which visitors would be assigned to a parking area on entering the park on their reservation and would take shuttles from there to various highlights within the park - no cars on the roads, no more car parking near features and highlights. Yosemite was then reported to be the other park where such a system would soon be implemented, and Yellowstone was mentioned as being considered for the same treatment. I had visited all three that year and certainly encountered busy spots (esp. in Yosemite) but IMO nothing close to situations requiring such restrictive measures.

Dunno if these things became reality or are still being considered but they were. Frustrating.

 

[Second Chance]

Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 when the population of the United States was about 38.5 million. There were few visitors from overseas at that time and most US citizens didn't venture farther than 5 miles into town from the farm to buy supplies. Per the 2020 census, there are now 332,639,000 people in the US. On top of that, the last time we visited a national park (2019), it seemed to me that at least 1/3 of the visitors were from Europe and Asia. The bottom line is that there are just too many darned people on the planet. Personally, I haven't camped in a National Park since the late '70s. We now stay outside the parks and enter the parks in our car. Between the choice of letting the hoards trash the parks or limiting access, which would you choose?

Rob

 

[fmartinmn]

Now timed entry passes will be required at many National Parks. The number of passes available will be limited and there will be a specific time you are allowed to enter and how long you can visit. This has a major significant impact on my lifestyle!! The current list is short but other parks could be added at a moments notice? Folks this is a major disruption to my way of life!!
Watch this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-ZxXpHEN6A

We ran into this at Rocky Mountain National Park last year. We were able to book in advance but we had limited choices as we didn't discovery this until we arrived. We did take shuttles in the park as parking was full at the most popular sites. Also last year we visited Smoky Mountains National Park without restrictions (other than Covid requirements). That was pretty disappointing as you could not park in a lot because they were all overflowing by mid morning. We parked on the side of the road where possible and walked about a half mile to each site we wanted to visit. Given the two experiences back to back I preferred the controlled access.

 

[GeoffnCheri]

They did this last year at many larger parks. Not new

 

[RV Sailor]

Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 when the population of the United States was about 38.5 million. There were few visitors from overseas at that time and most US citizens didn't venture farther than 5 miles into town from the farm to buy supplies. Per the 2020 census, there are now 332,639,000 people in the US. On top of that, the last time we visited a national park (2019), it seemed to me that at least 1/3 of the visitors were from Europe and Asia. The bottom line is that there are just too many darned people on the planet. Personally, I haven't camped in a National Park since the late '70s. We now stay outside the parks and enter the parks in our car. Between the choice of letting the hoards trash the parks or limiting access, which would you choose?

Rob

Totally agree

 

[boyscout]

Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 when the population of the United States was about 38.5 million. There were few visitors from overseas at that time and most US citizens didn't venture farther than 5 miles into town from the farm to buy supplies. Per the 2020 census, there are now 332,639,000 people in the US. On top of that, the last time we visited a national park (2019), it seemed to me that at least 1/3 of the visitors were from Europe and Asia. The bottom line is that there are just too many darned people on the planet. Personally, I haven't camped in a National Park since the late '70s. We now stay outside the parks and enter the parks in our car. Between the choice of letting the hoards trash the parks or limiting access, which would you choose? Rob

I took the following photo on a cold day in mid-June about four years ago. Beautiful. Peaceful.



Then I moved back thirty-forty feet and took this photo.



Would it have been a more-enjoyable experience if I was alone? Of course. Was my experience ruined by those people being there? Absolutely not! I arrived, parked, spent about 40 minutes there and left, all on my own volition. I'd take that experience 366 days per year over the experience of waiting for and being herded onto park buses and being shuttled around to "enjoy" the park as officials have decided I should enjoy it.

"Trash the parks"?!! I've thoroughly visited 32 of the 60 U.S. national parks - most in a car, no trailer - which is most of the parks in mainland U.S.A. I haven't seen much of any "trashing" and I've been in many of them multiple times and sometimes at peak times of year. I've been to Yosemite three times, Yellowstone four times, etc. Again, of course it would be nicer to be there with fewer people, but my eyes say that impulses toward strict regulation are appearing under pressure not from real "trashing" of the parks but from people who feel that they have a right to the 1872 eco-experience in these parks, even if it constrains the ability of others to enjoy them.

The parks and their staff have by any visible measure coped well with the pressure on them, and in the absence of serious trashing it seems to me that experiences as unfettered as possible - rather than officially-designed theme park tours - will improve public appreciation for them and ensure impulses to preserve them and the same experience for others.

 

[tortise]

We experienced this timed entry system in Acadia last fall and in my opinion, the system is well intentioned but has serious flaws. Though you are restricted to entry during a narrow window of time (30 minutes ) there was no assurance of a parking spot so the result was cars circling the lots waiting for someone to leave so congestion was as bad or worse then before. The reservations could only be made online and much of the park and the surrounding island has poor or nonexistent internet service. Then of of course there is the weather issue, we were totally fogged,in during our alotted time on Cadillac Mtn.
I have discovered similar issues for our planned stops, in Zion and Glacier this summer with additional restrictions on windows to make a reservation. Zion road access is limited to shuttle busses and commercial tours, Glacier tickets required for access to Going to the Sun Road but they are good all day. Then there is the need to find good internet access on the road the day and time reservations become available.
Still researching other parks on our route.

 

[Lane Hog]

We had plans for going to Zion this summer, but may just stay away because of this. I've got a special needs daughter who won't live by a rigid schedule, so I guess we'll go in the off-season..

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[fmartinmn]

We had plans for going to Zion this summer, but may just stay away because of this. I've got a special needs daughter who won't live by a rigid schedule, so I guess we'll go in the off-season..

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Morning Lane Hog
when we were at Zion two years ago they were operating a "Hop on, Hop off" shuttle program. Go at your own pace, take as much time as you want and then move on. No one herding you. Same at RMNP, Grand Canyon, Glacier. Before you give it up, double check the current process.

 

[BubbaChris]

We had plans for going to Zion this summer, but may just stay away because of this. I've got a special needs daughter who won't live by a rigid schedule, so I guess we'll go in the off-season..

I live less than an hour from Zion and visit multiple times a year. 4 years ago I took my mother who requires a walker.

If your daughter allows you a disabled parking placard, you can take it into the Visitors' Center and get a "Red Pass" that allows you to drive up the main canyon during the times which are normally shuttle-only. There will be plenty of parking available most days when the shuttles are operating.

Please let me know if you have other questions.

Best regards,
Chris

 

[chrisandtara]

We were in Zion last week. For the portion of the road that goes up towards the lodge/narrows/angel's landing, you can either take a shuttle or you can park at the visitor center and walk/bike up. Shuttle tickets are released in two groups, months ahead of time and again at 5PM the day before. You have to reserve your preferred hour between 7AM and 2PM, and each hour window has ~350 tickets. We were very careful to have the reservation webpage preloaded and on-screen right at 5, as we'd been warned tickets sell quickly. The 8AM slot was gone within 5-10 minutes.

We were able to get our preferred 8AM slot, and we showed up in line right on time. There are a couple benefits to the limit, namely that the shuttle line is virtually non-existent early in the day and that the valley is, for the most part, not crowded. Moving between stops inside the valley required almost no waiting if you do it by shuttle. I did hike to angel's landing around 9:30 or 10 and by then there were enough people even with the ticketing that it was very crowded, but other hikes that day were more sparse.

Lane Hog, if it's helpful, you don't have to arrive at the top of your hour. You can get in line/on the bus over the hour-long range.

 

[BB&LAB]

We had plans for going to Zion this summer, but may just stay away because of this. I've got a special needs daughter who won't live by a rigid schedule, so I guess we'll go in the off-season..

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I do not know what your daughter special needs are, but I do not see this as "a rigid schedule" just have to plan a head to make the reservation. Since for many people going to a National Park involves travel long distances and typically require some sort of reservation for lodging whether a camp ground or hotel, requiring advanced planning. Adding one more reservation to the mix should not be a big deal.

 

[Overtaxed]

The bottom line is that there are just too many darned people on the planet.

The problems caused by this are obvious, but the simple statement you made is just not understandable to the vast majority of the world.

 

[Rvlife]

We were in Zion last week. For the portion of the road that goes up towards the lodge/narrows/angel's landing, you can either take a shuttle or you can park at the visitor center and walk/bike up. Shuttle tickets are released in two groups, months ahead of time and again at 5PM the day before. You have to reserve your preferred hour between 7AM and 2PM, and each hour window has ~350 tickets. We were very careful to have the reservation webpage preloaded and on-screen right at 5, as we'd been warned tickets sell quickly. The 8AM slot was gone within 5-10 minutes.

We were able to get our preferred 8AM slot, and we showed up in line right on time. There are a couple benefits to the limit, namely that the shuttle line is virtually non-existent early in the day and that the valley is, for the most part, not crowded. Moving between stops inside the valley required almost no waiting if you do it by shuttle. I did hike to angel's landing around 9:30 or 10 and by then there were enough people even with the ticketing that it was very crowded, but other hikes that day were more sparse.

Lane Hog, if it's helpful, you don't have to arrive at the top of your hour. You can get in line/on the bus over the hour-long range.

I would also add that shuttle tickets are free from 2-4, but the line is long. We’re currently in Zion. I think the shuttles make it a more enjoyable experience without the hordes of automobiles. My one complaint is that once you return to the visitor’s center, you cannot re-enter the park on that day’s shuttle ticket. So you have to plan carefully to spend the entire day in the park.

 

[dugals]

Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 when the population of the United States was about 38.5 million. There were few visitors from overseas at that time and most US citizens didn't venture farther than 5 miles into town from the farm to buy supplies. Per the 2020 census, there are now 332,639,000 people in the US. On top of that, the last time we visited a national park (2019), it seemed to me that at least 1/3 of the visitors were from Europe and Asia. The bottom line is that there are just too many darned people on the planet. Personally, I haven't camped in a National Park since the late '70s. We now stay outside the parks and enter the parks in our car. Between the choice of letting the hoards trash the parks or limiting access, which would you choose?

Rob

Our National Parks have been overused and loved to death! Yes it's restrictive and will probably be more so, but I it should be preserved in the most pristine condition as possible.

Cheers

 

[Likes to tow]

I believe all the changes coming to some National Parks are due to be implemented in May sometime. Those visiting recently will not experience any change in the policy. To be told exactly what day and WHAT HOUR just really takes a lot from the experience especially since I must apply for this entrance pass weeks ahead of time!!!!!