While I've heard the saying that "The good ol' days were neither", I do remember a time when getting into the park was easier, cheaper, and less confusing. My sympathies lie with the park administrators who are trying to figure out how to navigate the hoards of people that have figured out that National Parks are amazing and should be visited.
On one side, they could just let it roll and there'd be trampling of the landscape, unending lines of vehicles, and no way for Park Service folks to respond to emergencies. On the other side, it's "make everything a pass/permit/fee".
While it seems like the Park Service has erred on the latter side, it's not been static as they try and figure out the best way forward. There are a lot of unintended consequences that they're dealing with and they are, ultimately, finding the "least worst" option (and only making everyone kinda irritated).
The figuring out process has led to some easing of restrictions (especially on the east side of Glacier) which is nice, but it also leads to a moving target. We started a page last year to help navigate some of these changes, with the goal to have one spot for you to find out park information (like vehicle reservations in Glacier or a permit for Angels Landing).
We recently spent a bunch of time updating this "National Park Fees, Passes, Permits, and Reservations" page on our website to bring everything up to speed. If you're heading to any of the seven parks that we have maps for, this may prove helpful. Let us know!
Hope the planning process for the summer is going well for you and you're getting excited for dry trails and less arctic blasts, ice storms, and dangerous conditions. Check out the National Parks page to find the perfect day hikes and our HIKE-ABILITY Program to get fit for the trail.
The trail awaits...
Jake and Kristen
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