Why COVID is Causing Problems for America’s National Parks

Cliffs in Yosemite. Photo by author.

The fact is that we Americans don’t want to put our lives on pause. We don’t want to give up summer vacations. Some of us are reluctantly doing so.

Others are trying to find ways to vacation that are safer. RV rentals are up, with people seeing them as a way to maintain social distancing while going somewhere else.

And this is causing problems for America’s National Parks.

These problems boil down to one thing: People who normally go to, say, Disney World, are going to Yosemite or Yellowstone instead.

And sadly, a proportion of these people do not know Park etiquette, let alone wilderness etiquette.

If you’re heading to a park and it’s not your normal type of vacation (let’s say what you really wanted was to go to Rome), then please, please learn the etiquette and appropriate behavior.

Grand Canyon Rim at Bright Angel trailhead. Photo by author.

How to Behave in a National Park

Here are some basic rules for “popular” areas of parks (I’ll talk about the backcountry in a bit).

1. Don’t litter. National Parks are being, well. Trashed. Literally…