Assessing Impacts to National Park Visitation From COVID-19

Abstract

Yosemite National Park is a popular tourist destination with high visitation levels that have increased throughout the summer season over the past several decades. Like with other protected areas, high visitation levels pose challenges for coordinating resources, infrastructural capacity, and visitor experiences. Use limits, including rationing vehicle entry at gates by reservation, are one possible strategy to manage visitation levels. After an initial full closure, the park chose to operationalize a multiphased permit system for day-use and overnight entry over the course of the pandemic in accordance with local and national guidelines for operational safety. While park closures and other entry restrictions have been common in recent years due to wildland fires and other natural hazards, the pandemic-related entry limits represent a nearly yearlong experiment. The prolonged entry ration along with restrictions to group activities has limited visitation and potentially reduced transmission of the novel coronavirus. We review the per capita COVID-19 case count in surrounding counties given the flow of tourism from outside the region, assess the changes in access to the park with the novel reservation system, compare monthly visitation during the 2020 use limits with prior decadal averages, detail how high visitation levels and crowding persist, and review the Park’s plans for an ongoing day-use permit system. We conclude with the ongoing challenges managers face in light of continued high visitation. Readers will be able to debate the efficacy of use limits and what may be a sustainable level of visitation for the park.

How the COVID-19 pandemic changed patterns of green infrastructure use: A scoping review

“…In addition, the included articles differed as to the effect of lockdown restrictions on visitation, with ten reporting both increases and decreases ( [17] , [19] , [30] , [36] , [37] , [47] , [57] , [60] , [89] , [91] ). Seven studies reported that GI use decreased during lockdown ( [7] , [13] , [31] , [40] , [41] , [48] , [49] ) while three studies reported that use increased during lockdown but decreased as restrictions were eased ( [13] , [20] , [29] ), or that GI use increased during school, gym, and entertainment venue closures ( Curtis et al, 2021 ), suggesting that GI was used as a stopgap to replace other activities that resumed as lockdowns eased.…”

“…In line with a shift towards more local GI during the pandemic, accessing GI on foot also increased as driving generally decreased ( [19] , [84] , [83] ). Jenkins et al (2021) assessed how Yosemite National Park implemented restrictions on visitors during the pandemic and reported that park managers implemented a day-use and online permit system and suspended “walk-up” reservations. This change in access was used to limit the park’s capacity to roughly 50%.…”

“…Activities that increased included visiting GI with children or grandchildren, dog walking, being with family or friends, exercising, and undertaking a new activity ( [24] , [55] , [67] ), vigorous exercise ( Grzyb et al, 2021 ), and foraging, gardening, hiking, photography, relaxing alone, walking, and wildlife watching ( Morse et al, 2020 ). Activities that decreased included traveling ( Grzyb et al, 2021 ), group activities ( Jenkins et al, 2021 ), and camping and relaxing with others ( Morse et al, 2020 ). Erdönmez and Atmiş (2021) found that picnics did not increase, but a respondent in Herman and Drozda (2021) observed more people having picnics.…”

“…Adherence also varied due to trail width, as more users were able to social distance on wider trails than narrower trails ( Schneider et al, 2021 ) and more isolated trails ( Venter et al, 2020 ). However, two studies found that conditions in the parks they studied did allow for social distancing either due to less crowding, which made it easier for groups to social distance ( Jenkins et al, 2021 ) or that a large open space allowed people to form “bubbles” in order to social distance from other users ( Herman and Drozda, 2021 ). Concerns over whether other users would be following social distancing protocols were cited in four studies ( [36] , [43] , [57] , [67] ) and in some cases these concerns led others to either actively avoid others while using GI or modify the type of GI they used in order to avoid others, including not using GI because of these concerns ( [35] , [36] , [37] , [54] , [55] , [91] ).…”

“…Changes in visitation conditions included spending more time in GI ( [36] , [91] ), using GI more in weeks with holidays or when temperatures were higher ( Lu et al, 2021 ), and that respondents observed how empty or less crowded GI felt ( Jenkins et al, 2021 ). The length of visit generally increased, indicating that people had more time to spend in GI as a result of the pandemic, though Lu et al (2021) found that GI use increased when the weather was warmer and during weeks with holidays which would likely have led to an increase in GI use without a pandemic.…”