Zion's announcement that there would be no shuttle service in January was not warmly received/NPS
Zion National Park in Utah long has had a problem with too many people in too little space, and that likely will continue into the new year for some time.
"May as well go to Disneyland, crowds are less," wrote one person who follows Zion's Instagram feed after the park announced there would be no shuttle service from Springdale, Utah, into Zion Canyon in January.
"We expect that shuttles will return for President's Day Weekend and weekends after that until they start everyday service in March," the park's post said. "When we are not using shuttles, we expect the Canyon parking to fill up every day, especially early on weekends and holidays. If the parking is full, access may be difficult or impossible."
Zion is one of a number of parks -- Acadia, Arches, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain and others -- that get clogged with vehicles and visitors at times during the year. While the park staff has been working on a strategic plan to solve the overcrowding issue, when the plan might surface for public review hasn't been announced.
Acadia staff last year gained approval to work on a reservation system to control congestion in the park, while Arches staff is searching for a solution after Interior Department staff told them not to look to a reservation approach.
When Zion staff announced on New Year's Eve via Instagram that shuttles would not be running in January, the news was not warmly embraced.
"Permit lottery with priority for Americans," read one reply.
"But why no shuttles if parking is filling up?" wrote another follower.
"I’m curious why the shuttles are discontinued for one month if they are needed. Why not weekend and holiday shuttle service? Do the drivers just get laid off for the month?" wrote another.
Park staff did not immediately respond to the questions.
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Comments
Truly felt like an amusement park when I went there. If you're looking to enjoy nature and not the scenes of crowds, this isn't the place to go. limitinf the number of people by permits might be a solution that we have to come to unfortunately if we want to preserve the experience. Overall, there disappointed. Go to Disney world instead.
I agree. I'm glad we visited the National Parks decades ago, it was crowded then but we were always able to find off-the-beaten-track spots to escape them. I have no desire to go again & face the crowds & traffic. Who wants to sit in a line of cars for hours? Not me!