I’ve used these for some bathroom needs when one isn’t available. I keep them in the car.
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I heard an interview with Amy Schumer in which she talked about having to use the bathroom while stuck in the car … in front of her nanny, no less. I’m giggling just thinking about how she described it. Definitely best to be prepared!
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I’ve seen a few reports from Rocky Mtn National Park but nothing negative about services or facilities. Cute pictures of twin moose born a few weeks ago.
I know the timed entry system went back into effect on June 1 (you can get in very early or after 3 pm without a reservation but during the day you need a reservation.
I was just at Assateague National Seashore - a place we visit numerous times per year. No lifeguards this year. The cut to volunteers and employees puts wildlife and the ecosystem at great risk. An example is a lack of rangers to police people crabbing, who can’t follow the rules on what crabs they can legally take home. The same rangers who keep visitors from harassing the horses, from speeding, from being too stupid to understand the importance of correctly storing food. It’s people who love the park struggling to protect it from the 2.6 million people who visit per year.
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We were in Denali three weeks ago. We were told that the Murie Science and Learning Center is closed this summer due to staffing cuts.
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I saw a news piece on the National parks/visitors this summer over the weekend. It was upbeat and said things are much better than expected. People are working long days and long weeks, but things are okay. They were mostly interviewing people at Smoky Mtn.
One of the hotel owners interviewed said their reservations are down. A guy said they’d made reservations and plans months ago and decided to just go for it, and were surprised at how well things were going.
I was in Estes Park (gate to Rocky Mtn National Park, but we didn’t go into the park) a few weeks ago and the town was much less crowded than I expected. Parking wasn’t a problem at all.
I wonder whether the mix of visitors will be different this year, given reports that international visitors are more reluctant to come to the US. Last week’s announcement of potential surcharges on National Park admission for foreigners may add marginally to the deterrent effort too.
I think NPS employees are a bit like teachers in that even in times of scant funding, they somehow make it all work due to devotion to their “clients”, i.e., students for teachers and park lovers for NPS. Many could be doing other jobs for much more $$$ and better living conditions but keep at it due to love of the parks.
I hope what I just wrote makes sense—I may not have articulated my thoughts very clearly…
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On a practical matter, how are they going to verify foreign tourists vs US residents? Have everyone present their driver’s license or passport to prove they are not a foreign tourist?
They already require a photo ID with signature (typically your drivers license) to verify your annual pass. Additional evidence is needed for the special passes (disabled, veteran, senior, etc) and some of these passes like the access pass for the disabled are only available to permanent residents/citizens.
The only potential difference is whether for a carload of visitors the surcharge will be per person, or if one adult US citizen/resident in the car who buys the pass is sufficient to avoid additional fees. I’d guess the latter is how it will be implemented in practice.
Long days and weeks do eventually take a toll on workers. On the other hand being worried about the employment axe falling may have some staff being willing to work more days/hours if there is more pay for it - make the $ while you can.
If there is not more pay for the time then that is not ok.
[quote=“Iglooo, post:29, topic:3690277, full:true”]
On a practical matter, how are they going to verify foreign tourists vs US residents? Have everyone present their driver’s license or passport to prove they are not a foreign tourist?
[/quote],
They can set the fee at $50 per car (I think it is currently $25) and then give a discount to US residents who show a DL, buy a daily pass or senior or military pass. At many parks you already have to make a reservation so it could just be one more question on the reservation system.
We just came back from RMNP, and it was fine. My son did say that it’s “fine for now,” meaning that as maintenance issues arrive, they will fall behind in them. We arrived at the entrance by 8:00 to get in before timed admission at 9:00, expecting a 15-30 minute backup, and there was none. We drove straight through the admission gate.
Multiple days in Yellowstone and all seems good - well staffed, roads in good repair, clean bathrooms, ranger info sessions occurring plus visible rangers throughout the park. We were surprised as all seems “normal”. Diverse groups of visitors both US and international - all lovely to date. With that said, we are sleeping and dining outside of the Park, so can’t comment on these areas -picnic areas clean.
Because it is relatively close by, we have visited Acadia NP every year for almost 40 years. When we reached the eligible age, we obtained the Golden Eagle Pass, which is supposed to allow free admission to any national park property.
This is actually no longer true. At Acadia if you want to drive to the summit of Cadillac Mountain during peak season, you need to go online and get a “free” reservation. The catch is that the “free” reservation requires a six dollar service charge. So free isn’t really free, now is it?
This is not a special excursion or activity, just permission to drive on a road that is otherwise free off-peak. This just gets under my skin—paying a website six bucks for something “free”
Ugh.
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I just did a quick search and couldn’t find the answer but remember listening to a podcast a couple of years ago and it was brought up that the “service fee” you highlight is a fee that’s going to the vendor that’s managing the website and not to the NPS - and how many millions of dollars is basically a money grab (similar to Ticketmaster) for something that’s supposed to be for the general enjoyment of the citizenry.
I completely agree with you - it gets under my skin as well.
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I don’t have a problem with charging international visitors more. In Europe, some museums charge non EU passport holders more for a ticket.
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I think it is the same at RMNP, but if you go before nine or after 3, you don’t need the reservation
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The reservation charge to drive the roads in RMNP was 2$. And the same is true for Glacier National Park and Mount Rainier as well. Haven’t been to Acadia - no idea why that would be 6$!
A vehicle reservation costs $6 and the fee covers the park’s cost of administering and staffing the reservation system and completing necessary infrastructure improvements.
As with most National Parks, Acadia turned into a circus with Covid. Too many people driving like maniacs to see a sunset on Cadillac Mountain. I have no issue with this system.