fewer staff – As the National Park Service heads into peak summer, fewer permanent staff and rolled-back reservation rules at some popular parks are expected to translate into longer lines, crowded parking, and a less predictable visit—even as demand stays elevated.
By late morning, the parking lots in Yosemite fill up fast—often before the day truly starts. This summer, the pressure is likely to last longer, even if the trip planning sometimes looks easier on paper.
The National Park Service is heading into peak summer with fewer permanent staff and looser crowd-control rules at some of its most popular parks. Advocacy groups say the combination has already contributed to longer lines, crowded parking lots, and less predictable trips. For travelers booking now, the experience may depend as much on timing as on tickets.
Demand is staying high. The National Park Service recorded 323 million visits in 2025, with 26 parks drawing more visitors than ever before. Demand is expected to remain strong this year. driven partly by high flight prices and conflict abroad pushing more Americans to stay stateside or take road trips.
A summer travel report by Expedia found social media interest in domestic vacations was up 77% year-over-year. and 63% of US travelers were planning a domestic trip. Several parks have already shown the strain. Yosemite National Park visitation was up 13% year-over-year in May, while Arches National Park logged record visitation in March.
Staffing is part of the reason conditions may feel harsher at the gate. National Park Service permanent staff is down 25% since January 2025, according to records obtained by the National Park Conservation Association. The Department of the Interior has said it would ramp up hiring of seasonal employees to staff parks and prioritize visitor-facing roles. That shift could mean entrance gates and visitor centers appear fully staffed—while other parts of the operation still struggle.
The staffing picture is uneven. At Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. 48% of permanent positions were vacant as of April. according to the union that represents park employees. The union said the staffing shortage was “placing enormous strain on existing staff. reducing the quality of visitor services. and impairing our ability to carry out the mission of the NPS.”.
Emily Thompson. executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks. said seasonal hiring has been slower this summer as the parks compete for a smaller pool of seasonal staff. and that both front-of-house and back-of-house operations are being affected. Fewer ranger programs, slower maintenance, and reduced capacity to manage parking lots and trails are among the potential impacts.
Thompson described a situation in the Pacific West where one park was so short-staffed that every park employee had to work a shift at their front gate. She declined to name the park to protect the employees.
Even when staffing appears improved, the visitor experience can still suffer. Cassidy Jones. a senior visitation program manager at NPCA. said the NPS mission is twofold: to provide a good visitor experience and to protect park resources in perpetuity. She said. “If you’re only focusing on higher quality visitor experiences with your hiring. you’re neglecting half the equation.” She added. “Visitor enjoyment is dependent on good resource conservation.”.
Crowd control rules are also changing in ways that can make timing less forgiving. Time-entry and vehicle reservation systems were implemented at several national parks in recent years in response to overcrowding and long lines at entrance gates. Many of those measures were rolled back this year.
Yosemite, Glacier National Park, Arches National Park, and Mount Rainier National Park all cut reservation requirements to enter the park in 2026.
Jones said those tools were designed to make park experiences better, more predictable, protect resources, and make operations more effective and sustainable. She argued that the crowding and congestion challenges expected from eliminating managed access systems “have come to pass.”
Over Memorial Day weekend. Yosemite faced full parking lots and hour-plus waits at its entrance. with visitors posting videos of the long line of cars to social media. Yosemite has faced similar problems earlier in the year. including in February. when reservations were dropped for its annual Firefall event—when a waterfall on El Capitan glows bright orange and looks like lava.
The National Park Service said in a statement to Business Insider that the agency is taking a “park-by-park. conditions-based approach to managing visitor access.” It said that in some locations. a comprehensive evaluation found that a “season-long reservation system was not the most effective tool.” Instead. parks are using tools like traffic monitoring and active parking management.
The statement said, “This approach gives visitors more flexibility to plan their trips while still ensuring parks can actively manage peak visitation.”
Taken together, the staffing cuts and the reduction in some reservation rules create a delicate balancing act at the exact point where visitors feel it most: the lines, the parking lots, and the ability of park teams to keep operations moving.
Some parks are still keeping certain controls. Rocky Mountain National Park has maintained its timed-entry reservations for this year. while other parks still require permits or reservations for specific hikes. such as Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park. Jones emphasized that visitors should check for updates about the specific park they are visiting.
Park advocates also recommend avoiding peak times by visiting midweek or arriving early in the morning or late in the day.
NPCA advises taking extra precautions when exploring the parks, saying avoidable search-and-rescue calls can add strain to park staff and resources.
Thompson said visitors should be prepared for long lines and have a backup plan. “Be prepared to wait,” she said, adding that visitors should be patient with park service staff who could be “overworked.” She also urged visitors to show appreciation: “Maybe thank a park employee too.”
National Park Service NPCA staffing shortages summer travel Yosemite Arches Glacier Mount Rainier reservations timed-entry park access crowd control traffic monitoring