This article explores the impact of reservation systems implemented by national parks to manage overcrowding. While these systems aim to improve visitor experience and protect natural resources, they also raise concerns about accessibility for historically marginalized communities.
Visitors gathered at Glacier Point to watch the sun set over Half Dome in California's Yosemite National Park, which implemented a reservation entry system from 2020-2022. At 7:59 a.m. Mountain Time on the first day of March, people across the world hovered over keyboards and smartphones, ticking away the seconds until Recreation .gov released its block of coveted reservations for entering the park during July. The clock hit 8 a.m., setting off a mad race to click “Book Now”.
Those spots went fast. The remote North Fork area, in the park’s northwestern corner, sold out within 10 minutes. Glacier’s stunning main thoroughfare, Going-to-the-Sun Road, filled completely in half an hour. Some people got lucky that day, but many more came away disappointed, including Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke, who lamented on Twitter that he couldn't secure a reservation for his family.While backcountry hikers and river runners have long dealt with the difficulty of nabbing permits for high-demand destinations, casual travelers haven’t had to wrestle for reservations simply to enter a national park—until recently. A solution to overcrowding? After years of struggling with record-breaking visitation and crowding, three parks rolled out pilots of so-called managed access systems to stem the tide. Glacier National Park instituted a day-use reservation system in 2020 and plans to release details about the 2025 reservation process after February 26. Rocky Mountain National Park will require reservations for entry from May 26 to October 10, 2023. Yosemite National Park had a reservation entry system from 2020-2022 and will announce details for the 2024 system in the spring. Each park’s rules are different, and for many, confusing. Pass requirements vary by date and location within a park, and are valid in some places for one day and in others for three days. Parks release a percentage of passes months in advance but reserve a portion for the day before (see box below). Successfully planning a summer trip is an experience Alex Kim, founder of an outdoor group for people of color called Outdoor Afro, describes as stressful. Starting with the National Park Service’s Centennial in 2016 and skyrocketing with the COVID pandemic, park visitation numbers have surged. “We’re seeing unprecedented levels of sustained demand in a lot of these parks,” says Will Rice, an assistant professor of parks, tourism, and recreation management at the University of Montana who studies reservation systems. Cars line up at Yosemite’s Big Oak Flat entrance on July 2, 2021. The pandemic led to record visitation at national parks like Yosemite. “The parks belong to the American people, and there’s no substitute for being in a national park,” says Scott Gediman, public affairs officer for Yosemite. But “when you’ve got two-and-a-half hours waiting in line to get in, then you get there and shuttle buses are packed and there are long lines for food, it’s just not a good experience.” Add environmental damage caused by trampling feet and illegal parking, and the problem compounds. Enter what Rice calls the “rationing of recreation.” For those who do get a reservation, most say managed access leads to a much better trip. Park representatives are quick to note that they’re not trying to reduce visitation, just spread it out throughout the day and the season. All three parks succeeded in that: Since implementing their systems, Glacier, Rocky Mountain, and Yosemite have seen lines at entrance stations and shuttle buses dwindle, parking cease to be a competitive sport, traffic gridlock ease, and people enjoying their experience more. “We have done a survey of people who got reservations,” says John Hannon, Rocky Mountain’s management specialist. “They’re very supportive of timed entry once they’ve experienced it.” Yosemite visitors reported similar sentiments. “And anecdotally, a lot of people were seeing more wildlife,” notes Gediman. But limiting access, even if only during peak hours, necessarily leaves some people out. Under these systems, a certain type of visitor is more likely to snag the golden ticket. At the very least, it’s someone who plans well in advance. But also it’s someone with high-speed internet and a credit card, a job that allows for vacation planning months ahead, and familiarity both with Recreation.gov’s reservation platform and the English language. (Recreation.gov is only available in English, though it does provide a limited Spanish language translation tool.) Advocates worry that means historically marginalized communities—who may already face challenges in accessing public lands, from lack of resources for leisure travel to fear for their physical safety outdoors—are left out. For some, reservation systems are “a deterrent on top of deterrents when it comes to our national parks,” says Teresa Baker, co-founder of the Outdoor Equity Initiative. For others, it’s a necessary step to protect these treasured natural spaces. Part of the solution might lie in creating more ways to nab a reservation. “We need to expand the idea of how we ration these things,” says the University of Montana’s Rice. “People have different preferences and needs when it comes to how they want to gain access to these highly demanded recreational resources.” Park officials say they’re well aware of these issues, and continually tweak their systems to help all potential visitors get a fair shake.
Travel National Parks Reservation Systems Overcrowding Accessibility Recreation Environmental Impact Tourism
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