If your summer travel plans include a national park visit, don’t forget to first check if you need a reservation or participate in a lottery to get in.
That’s right; the country’s most popular parks are limiting visitors. So, if you want to see the sunrise at Acadia National Park or the towering redwoods in Muir Woods, you’ll need reservations. Parks have been slammed with tourists, creating crowded parking lots, traffic jams and general craziness during peak travel times.
Yellowstone National Park, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, had 4.82 million visitors in 2021, according to a story in Conde Nast Traveler. More are expected for this season, both in Yellowstone and throughout the national park system, because of long-delayed travel plans. While Yellowstone will, no doubt, be packed, it does not require reservations for visitors.
For a good summary of where you’ll need reservations (hint: sooner is better), and how to get them, go to recreation.gov
Parks that are requiring timed admissions or are offering a lottery for popular hikes include:
- Acadia National Park, Maine
- Arches National Park, Utah
- Glacier National Park, Montana
- Haleakala National Park, Hawaii
- Muir Woods National Monument, California
- Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
- Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
- Zion National Park, Utah
