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Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, the chief spokesperson for the National Park Service, confirmed what is already widely known, that yes, parks are more crowded than ever, saying, “It’s no secret that this summer has been one of our busiest summers ever. We don’t have official numbers, but preliminary visitation statistics show that the most popular 12 to 15 national parks are seeing record numbers.”
One of the biggest issues facing parks is that many visitors want to take their own perfect photograph of the same iconic site, causing a chokepoint for crowds to gather. At popular spots in Yosemite and the Grand Canyon, some visitors have fallen to their deaths while taking photos, prompting the park service to create a guide for safe selfie-taking. One option to avoid such accidents is to erect a "selfie station," a wooden stand that is designed to hold a camera for a safe and easy photo experience.
One approach for dealing with crowds that is gaining traction is the use of reservation systems to visit popular sites, cutting the total number of visitors permitted to enter to begin with. The park service also launched an app this year that points people to other public lands near popular parks in case they are turned away, an acknowledgement of a hard truth: perhaps there simply isn’t always enough space at America’s most iconic attractions for everyone who wants to visit them.
Despite the massive crowds, the traffic, and the noise, the park service says it’s a good thing that so many people are getting out to experience parks and public lands. “We want people to have exceptional experiences and we’re looking at ways to enhance opportunities for people to plan to have the best experience and stay safe,” says Anzelmo-Sarles.
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The mountains are really the water towers for much of the freshwater in the world.”
