Category: National parks

National Parks in Jeopardy Due to Potentially Massive Budget Cuts
America’s national parks—a mainstay for family vacations, cross-country road trips, and RVers—are under threat like never before. Last week, the Trump Administration released its preliminary budget objectives for 2026, which included massive budget cuts for the National Park Service that would impact staffing, maintenance, and general operations. The budget plan also floats the idea of ceding control of some national parks to the states, effectively removing them from NPS oversight and demoting them from the National Park System altogether.
President Trump’s proposed 2026 budget includes a $1.25 billion reduction to the Park Service’s funding. That includes a $900 million cut to the operating budget, a $197 million cut to the Historic Preservation Fund, and a $77 million reduction to further recreation and preservation funding. It also includes a $73 million cut to park construction, most of which is focused on repairing, expanding, and improving existing infrastructure to enhance visitor experience.
Photo Credit: BlueBarronPhoto/Getty
That’s not all. According to the National Parks Conservation Association, the new budget eliminates all the remaining funds allocated to the NPS in the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act from a few years back. The NPCA also says that $267 million of the budget cuts directly impact park staffing, which was already deficient even before the Administration eliminated over 1,000 jobs earlier in the year.
Taken as a whole, these budget cuts could have a devastating impact on the National Park System. Historically, the Park Service has often been underfunded, which has led to understaffing and a backlog of maintenance issues. Recent legislation—like the Inflation Reduction Act and the Great American Outdoors Act—has tried to address some of those issues, with some progress being made. Now, much of that work looks to be undone, and the future of the park system looks more uncertain than ever before.
Photo Credit: Kraig Becker
According to the Park Service itself, the National Parks contributed more than $55.6 billion to the US economy in 2023 alone, supporting 415,000 jobs in the process. Many of those jobs—and revenue—support the gateway communities that are found just outside of the park boundaries. The NPCA says that in order for the Trump Administration to hit its budget numbers, as many as 350 park sites could be eliminated. The impact that could have on the travel and tourism sectors surrounding those locations could have deep and long-lasting consequences.
The final budget plan isn’t due until later in the month, at which time more details will likely be revealed. It will take much longer for the impact of the budget cuts to be felt, should they be approved by Congress. It isn’t hard to predict what impact those cuts could have, however, with under staffing and lack of updated infrastructure being the most obvious. It is highly possible that some areas of the parks could be closed to visitors, and campsites could be shut down, as well. Long lines, staggered entry times, and fewer Park Rangers onsite are already a reality, but those conditions will likely be further exacerbated.
Photo Credit: Kraig Becker
The budget process is in full swing, and the White House has made it clear it is looking to cut costs in far-reaching ways. But for a variety of reasons, the National Park Service should not be one part of the federal government that should be slashed. The NPS not only safeguards some of the most beautiful and wild places in the country, it helps make those places accessible to visitors. And, as already noted above, the parks deliver a lot of benefit back to the country’s economy, generating billions of dollars in revenue and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.
To be fair, budget cuts won’t take all of that away, but it would have an undeniable impact on the country. And once these things are lost, what hope is there for getting them back?
Stay tuned for further news on this development. If you’re motivated to help save the parks and what they have to offer, consider contacting your representatives in Washington. Also, stay connected with the National Park Conservation Association for more insights.
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2025-05-08
National Parks to See Before You Die
Sometimes, the boldest moves bring the greatest rewards…
Two years ago, I made a choice that many dream of but few act on: I took a leap of faith and walked away from a successful career as an attorney and Senior Vice President of a major commercial insurance brokerage firm to pursue adventure and the open road.
My passion for camping and exploration was sparked at an early age, shaped by childhood trips with my grandparents in their modest Nomad travel trailer emblazoned with a Good Sam sticker.
My sister and I explored every corner of Oregon with Grandma and Grandpa, from the shores of the Oregon Coast to the dramatic cliffs of Hells Canyon and everywhere in between. We camped in incredible places, explored small towns, hiked, swam in crystal-clear lakes, panned for gold, and never missed a single museum along the way.
Image source: author
I also grew up obsessed with cars—especially fast ones. I slept in a race car bed, surrounded by toy Porsches and posters of sports cars plastered across my walls.
Twenty-five years later, I was finally in a position to graduate from toy Porsches to the real thing. I wanted to get the absolute most out of the experience, which meant daily driving my 911 in all weather conditions, logging countless track days, navigating rough terrain to reach remote hiking trailheads, and racking up miles on road trips every chance I got.
Creating the Fastest RV in the World
It wasn’t until I was preparing for a road trip to Colorado that the idea hit me: why not mount a rooftop tent on the Porsche to create a camper that is equally at home in the fast lane of the Autobahn as it is off the grid?
I found a nearly mint Yakima Skyrise rooftop tent on Craigslist and set my sights on creating the fastest RV in the world. My goal was a setup that offered the flexibility and convenience of rooftop tent camping without compromising the Porsche’s driving dynamics.
The result? A complete game-changer! With other cars, reaching the campsite or hiking trailhead is often an afterthought. Now, the drive itself is an exciting part of the adventure.
Image source: author
National Park Cannonball Run: 51 Parks in 50 Days
In late summer 2024, I set out on what I thought would be the final chapter of a yearlong mission: road-tripping to all 51 national parks in the contiguous United States. I had visited 46 and just 5 remained. I visited my Grandpa the day before I hit the road.
The timeline was tight. Starting from Washington state, I had 13 days to reach Isle Royale, Avadia, Everglades, Biscayne and Dry Tortugas. It didn’t take long for things to go off the rails. A rockslide on Going-to-the-Sun Road, an August snowstorm on Logan Pass in Glacier and a cancelled ferry to Isle Royale nearly derailed the mission. That’s when I remembered that I had visited the East Coast parks in the fall of 2023. By revisiting them again, I could reset my 1-year deadline and keep the dream alive.
This set me up to take a shot at something bigger: visiting all 51 national parks and 48 states in the contiguous United States in a single 50-day road trip. I had visited many of these parks before, some multiple times, so I knew exactly how to make the most of the short time I would have in each one.
Somehow, I pulled it off – 51 national parks and 48 states in just 50 days while camping on top of the Porsche for 50 consecutive nights. I averaged over 500 miles of driving and 6 miles of hiking a day for 50 consecutive days. Countless setbacks and challenges arose along the way that would have caused most people to fold. So many opportunities to take the easy route, give up and head back home…
But every morning I woke up before sunrise, answered the bell, pressed onward and was rewarded with lifelong memories.
Image source: author
11 National Parks to See Before You Die
My cannonball run was packed with a lifetime’s worth of memories. Here are the national park experiences I think everyone should have before kicking the bucket:
1. Sunrise at Canyonlands National Park
The Shafer Trail is a narrow, unpaved road that cuts through the cliffs into the heart of Canyonlands National Park. Wake up early and hit the trail to have it – and the sunrise – all to yourself.
Image source: Unsplash
2. Exclamation Point at Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is probably one of the most underrated in the system. It’s where I fell in love with national parks and most visitors to the park never make it to the North Rim. They’re missing out!
Most days, you have the place all to yourself. The views are better too, especially from Exclamation Point. You aren’t going to find a better view for a 3-mile hike. Peering over the edge of the rim of the 2,000-feet-deep vertical canyon wall to the Gunnison River below will take your breath away.

Image source: author

3. Camp at “The Wall” – Badlands National Park
“The Wall” is one of my favorite places to camp. The dispersed camping site is located in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland and offers a stunning view of Badlands National Park, especially at sunrise.
Image source: Unsplash

4. Kayak The Badwater Basin in Death Valley
Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, sitting at 282 feet below sea level.
Tens of thousands of years ago, Badwater Basin was home to Lake Manly. This ancient lake has long since evaporated, but it makes a brief and rare reappearance every once in a while. When it does, kayak across its shallow waters for a life-changing experience.
Image source: author

5. Hike America’s Tallest Dune
Great Sand Dunes National Park is a Martian-like park in Colorado that has to be checked off the list.
Star Dune measures 741 feet from base to summit and is tied for the title of tallest sand dune in North America. There is no trail, and hiking in sand is exhausting, so start early and get back before it gets too hot.
Image source: author

6. Explore America’s Largest Caves at Carlsbad Caverns
The Big Room in Carlsbad Caverns National Park is the largest single cave chamber by volume in North America. It has been called “The Grand Canyon with a roof over it,” and it is hands down one of the most stunning places in the national park system.

Image source: author
7. Paddle to Canada at Voyageurs National Park
The United States / Canada border extends through the three largest lakes in Voyageurs National Park. With the proper documentation, you can paddle across the border on an extended canoe trip that’ll change your life.
Image source: author
8. First Sunrise in the Continental U.S. at Acadia
Acadia National Park in Maine is home to Cadillac Mountain. The mountain’s summit, with an elevation 1,530 feet, is the highest point within 25 miles of the Atlantic Coast and the first place to see the sunrise in the continental United States.
Image source: author
9. Last Sunset in the Continental U.S. – Olympic National Park
Cape Alava in Olympic National Park is the westernmost point of the mainland in the Lower 48 and the place to see the last sunset in the contiguous United States.
Image source: author

10. Bison Herds at Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Theodore Roosevelt National Park is one of the best places in the park system to see bison. There are so many in the North and South units of the park that the NPS routinely transfers many to other locations to maintain an appropriately sized population for the park.
Image source: author
11. Sunrise Over Crater Lake
When I arrived at Crater Lake National Park on the morning of day 47 of my National Park Cannonball road trip, I was met with one of the most stunning sunrises that I had ever seen. The sky was on fire. It was absolutely magical.
I didn’t fully realize how special it was until I got back to cell service and received a message that my Grandpa had passed away a few hours earlier. My love for exploring, the outdoors and camping was born from childhood adventures with my Grandpa. Gramps loved what I was doing and was always excited to hear about the places I had seen that he had never visited.
During our last conversation, the day before I left on this trip, he jokingly asked to come along (even though he was in no shape to travel). He might not have been with me for the entire trip, but I’m certain he was with me during that sunrise over Crater Lake.
Grandpa giving his send-off via a Crater Lake sunrise. | Image source: author

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2025-04-22
National Park Visitation Hit an All-Time High in 2024
2024 was a banner year for America’s national parks, with record numbers of people flocking to those iconic locations. Last week, the National Park Service released its visitation numbers for last year, which saw 331.9 million people pass through the entrance gates of such famous places as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Glacier. That number tops the previous record of 330.9 million visitors set back in 2016.
In addition to managing the 63 locations designated as “national parks,” the NPS also oversees another 370 “units” that include national historic sites, battlefields, seashores, memorials, and parkways. Those places range in size from the Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial in Philadelphia, which covers just .2 acres, to the sprawling wilderness that is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska. That remote and wild destination spreads out over 13.2 million acres.
Photo Credit: Kraig Becker
The Park Service not only released the overall national park visitation numbers for 2024, but also released its list of the most popular destinations that fall under its care. This year, there were a couple of shake-ups on that list, with the Blue Ridge Parkway—a perennial favorite with road trippers—slipping out of the number one spot for the first time in years. That happened because large sections of the scenic route were shut down this past fall due to damage from Hurricane Helene.
Utah’s Zion National Park and Arizona’s Grand Canyon NP continue to battle it out for the number two and three positions on the most visited national parks list. This year, Zion took that honor, which went to the Grand Canyon last year. Both finished behind Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which has been number one for decades.
El Capitan and Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Photo Credit: Getty
The top ten list of most visited national parks—with the total number of visitors—is as follows:
1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (12.19 million)
2. Zion National Park (4.94 million)
3. Grand Canyon National Park (4.91 million)
4. Yellowstone National Park (4.74 million)
5. Rocky Mountain National Park (4.15 million)
6. Yosemite National Park (4.12 million)
7. Acadia National Park (3.96 million)
8. Olympic National Park (3.71 million)
9. Grand Teton National Park (3.62 million)
10. Glacier National Park (3.20 million)
And the list of top ten sites managed by the Park Service looks like this:
1. Golden Gate National Recreation Area (17.18 million visits)
2. Blue Ridge Parkway (16.73 million)
3. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (12.19 million)
4. Gateway National Recreation Area (8.92 million)
5. Lincoln Memorial (8.47 million)
6. Gulf Islands National Seashore (7.80 million)
7. Natchez Trace Parkway (7.36 million)
8. George Washington Memorial Parkway (6.78 million)
9. Lake Mead National Recreation Area (6.41 million)
10. Vietnam Veterans Memorial (5.29 million)
With a recent survey indicating 80% of all campers plan to stay in a national park in 2025, the new visitation record may not stand all that long. Then again, with the Park Service facing severe budget cuts and staff layoffs, it could be a very challenging year for the organization and visitors alike. Hopefully, most of those issues will get sorted ahead of the busy summer travel season, but as of now, many campgrounds are closed, visitor centers have limited hours, and guided hikes and tours are on hiatus. If you’re planning a visit to a park in the months ahead, be sure to check what services are available before you go.
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2025-03-10
How the National Park Service Layoffs Could Impact Visitors This Summer
America’s national parks are some of the most popular travel destinations in the country, drawing more than 325 million visitors on an annual basis. Most come to take in the natural beauty and historical significance of these places, which are among the most iconic locations in the entire country. But thanks to a series of budget cuts and staff layoffs by the Trump Administration, these places are now facing new challenges which could have a major impact on how they operate.
On February 14, more than a thousand National Park Service employees lost their jobs as part of sweeping staff cuts across the entire government. Among those who were let go were park rangers, wildlife and land management specialists, administrators, and other important personnel. Those were all full-time employees of the NPS, many of whom had years of experience in the parks.
Additionally, when President Trump took office for the second time in January, he immediately instituted a hiring freeze across all governmental departments and agencies. That order put an immediate halt on the Park Service’s annual hiring spree, which is used to find thousands of seasonal workers ahead of the start of the busy summer travel period. Thankfully, the NPS was given the go-ahead to resume that process and has even been given permission to hire additional staff this year. But delay in hiring may make it difficult to fully staff the parks this year.
So what does this all mean for anyone planning to visit the national parks in the months ahead? While we’re still sorting through just how the loss of permanent staff and the delayed hiring of seasonal workers will impact the Park Service, it is already becoming clear that it will change our experience in the parks in some dramatic ways.
Image Courtesy of Dustin Montgomery/Shutterstock
Long Lines, Delays, and Closures
Provided the hiring process goes according to plan over the next few months, and the National Park Service can hit its staffing goals, it should have even more seasonal staff than in the past. But the lack of experienced full-time employees will still be a challenge, as the NPS was already understaffed before the latest round of cuts and layoffs. Simply put, seasonal hires won’t be able to replace the highly trained rangers and administrators who have been let go, which will likely lead to a lack of services, potential maintenance issues, and possibly safety concerns.
Some of the parks are already starting to adapt to these changing conditions. For instance, Arizona’s Saguaro National Park is closing two of its visitor centers on Mondays, while Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa will close its lone visitor center two days a week. Some parks are also cancelling ranger-led hikes and tours, along with camping reservations. On top of that, some travelers planning a trip to Gettysburg were even notified that their reservations to a lodge on-site were cancelled, too.
One of the more high-profile examples of the Park Service’s current struggles is the delay in opening reservations to camp in Yosemite National Park this summer. The park announced that it was holding off on accepting reservations for the Upper Pines, Lower Pines, North Pines, Wawona, and Hodgdon Meadow campgrounds, indicating that those planning to stay at those locations between June 15 and July 14 would be impacted.
Yosemite officials also removed the requirement for an advanced reservation time for entering the park. In recent years, those reservations helped stagger the number of people entering at any given time, keeping crowds and traffic jams to a minimum. The reservation system was set to become a permanent fixture, but now those plans are on hold. That will likely mean a very crowded experience for visitors this summer.
Based on preliminary reports, it seems most parks are figuring out ways to keep their basic infrastructure and facilities open to the public. But because some of the job cuts include maintenance crews that work on the trails, it is possible that some hiking routes could be closed for extended periods of time. Without enough staff to clear downed trees or fix trails washed out by rains, some parts of the parks may be closed for extended periods. There will be fewer trained medical staff, as well, which could be problematic when dealing with injuries and accidents that occur on-site.
Seasonal employees will pick up some of the work load and most campgrounds are expected to be open once the parks are fully staffed. Still, if your plans include camping in a national park this year, you’ll want to check to make sure the campsites are open and make your reservations well in advance.
Image Courtesy of SeanPavonePhoto/Getty
Long-Term Outlook
While the short-term impact of the national parks budget cuts and staff layoffs is concerning, the long-term impact could potentially be devastating. Many of the staff members who were let go played crucial roles in protecting the natural environment, managing wildlife, maintaining infrastructure, and so on. Those were demanding jobs even before the recent changes. Now, they’re likely to be near impossible or will just get dropped altogether.
Less money and fewer people will change the parks in some fundamental ways that could alter the visitor experience dramatically. Some services (like tours, seminars, and guided hikes) are likely to go away, campgrounds may be closed, infrastructure could fall into disrepair, and the parks will almost assuredly become more dangerous. Most locations only had a handful of medical or search and rescue staff to begin with. Now many of those people are gone, making it more difficult to find a lost hiker or provide first aid to those who are injured on park grounds.
The hiring freeze and layoffs have also had an impact on the US Forest Service, which manages a large team of firefighters across the country. Those men and women are brought on to handle the increasing number of fires that spring up on public lands—including national parks—each year. For 2025, the Forest Service says it is way behind in its process of hiring seasonal firefighters, meaning it may not be fully staffed and trained should wildfires break out in national parks and forests.
Of course, we also don’t know what future budget and staffing plans look like just yet. It is possible that the current administration could alter funding and hiring plans in the future, and the challenges being faced this year are temporary. Under the Biden Administration, more resources were set aside for the National Park Service to help modernize infrastructure and address a backlog of issues. Those plans are now in flux, but they could be restored after the current budgetary review is complete.
Photo Credit: Getty
Summer Travel: Plan Ahead, Be Flexible and Patient
Despite all of the doom and gloom currently surrounding the National Park Service, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the national parks remain some of the best places to visit in the US. That won’t change in the short term, and if you were planning to visit any of the parks this year, you should stick with those plans. Just expect potentially longer lines coming and going, and at visitor centers, onsite restaurants, and other places. You probably won’t see as many park rangers, but seasonal staff will do their best to provide a great experience.
If you’re looking to camp in a national park this year, check availability online and book your sites early. recreation.gov is still the best place to do that, with the most up-to-date information on availability, opening and closings, and amenities found at the campgrounds. It is a resource that can make finding and booking your stays much easier, especially with uncertainty ahead.
As with everything related to government spending, budgets, and staffing, this is a quickly evolving story. For the latest updates, check the National Park Service’s website for the individual parks you plan on visiting. Those webpages should offer insights into hours of operation, which facilities are open, available tours and other events, and more.
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2025-02-27