Can You Visit National Parks During a Government Shutdown?

As I slowly navigated the icy road leading into Grand Canyon National Park last week, I found myself feeling uneasy; and it wasn’t just because of the slippery road.

I was visiting the Grand Canyon in the first couple of days of 2019. It was supposed to be a fun holiday break trip with a friend who’s always dreamed of visiting the Grand Canyon. But our visit unfortunately coincided with a partial government shutdown that was, at that point, going into its second week.

The National Park Service is a federal agency, and is one that is almost always affected when the US government shuts down over budgetary issues.

I knew we could still visit the Grand Canyon during the 2019 shutdown; after backlash over national parks and lands…