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By Jasmine Laws
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National Parks will remain partially open as the U.S. government shuts down, a Department of the Interior (DOI) plan made public on Tuesday evening appears to indicate.
"Park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors," the contingency plan said. But buildings that require staffing, such as visitor centers, will be closed.
A DOI spokesperson confirmed this was the case, telling Newsweek that the department "will keep critical services open and running for the benefit of the American people despite efforts by Congressional Democrats who are trying to close our parks, stop U.S. energy production, and prevent our first responders like our law enforcement from keeping our streets safe and our wildland firefighters from fighting wildfires."
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"The Department hopes Congressional Democrats will get serious and agree to fund the government because every day this shutdown continues it is hurting the American people even more," the spokesperson said.
Newsweek reached out to the National Park Service (NPS) outside of regular working hours via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The NPS oversees 433 parks, historic sites and other units across the U.S, but has already reported a staffing crisis at a time of record visitor levels. In 2024, the National Park Service reported more than 331 million recreational visits.
There was some confusion around whether the parks would remain open during the last government shutdown in 2019, and then President Donald Trump ordered parks to remain open to the public.
However, as many park employees were furloughed, trash piled up, and restrooms grew increasingly unsanitary. The Joshua Tree National Park in California was also temporarily closed due to damage caused to the park's protected trees by unsupervised tourists.
As a result, former National Park superintendents have been pushing for park closures in the face of understaffing. There are concerns that the current shutdown could have a worse impact than in 2019, as the NPS is already under strain following a 20 percent reduction in staff and severe budget cuts implemented earlier this year.
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What To Know
The federal government had to shut down after the Senate adjourned on Tuesday night with no funding resolution for the new fiscal year, as both political parties continued to block the other's stopgap proposals.
A government shutdown means only essential services are allowed to continue operating until funding legislation is passed, and, as a result, thousands of federal workers are being furloughed while many more will likely go without pay.
While the NPS plan states that national parks will generally remain open, more than half of NPS staff—9,296 of 14,500 employees—will be furloughed.
Of the remaining employees, 2,700 will continue to work as their roles are necessary to "protect life and property," the plan states, while 2,500 will not be affected as their pay is not financed by the annual appropriations affected by the shutdown.
The plan says any parks with accessible areas that collect fees under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA)—which is separate from federal appropriations—will use the available funding to continue providing basic visitor services, such as restroom sanitation, trash collection, campground operations, law enforcement and emergency operations.
While park roads, lookouts, trails and open-air memorials will remain open, emergency services will be limited, the plan says.
What People Are Saying
Some 40 former National Park superintendents said in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum last week: "National parks don’t run themselves. It is hardworking National Park Service employees that keep them safe, clean and accessible. If sufficient staff aren’t there, visitors shouldn’t be either."
They added: "Leaving parks even partially open to the public during a shutdown with minimal—or no—park staffing is reckless and puts both visitors and park resources at risk."
Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, which helped organize the letter, said: "We don’t leave museums open without curators, or airports without air traffic controllers, and we should not leave our national parks open without NPS employees."
What Happens Next
Lawmakers are set to reconvene on Wednesday to continue trying to pass legislation, and, in the meantime, many federal agencies' contingency plans will kick into action.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
Update 10/01/25, 12:03 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from the Department of the Interior.
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