National Parks Week begins this weekend, kicking off with free entry to all parks on Saturday, April 19 — just weeks after mass layoffs and court-ordered reinstatements of some park workers.
The week runs through April 27 and is an annual celebration of the parks, with events including a “Park Playlist” theme which celebrates “musical connections” to national parks.
Last year, national parks hit a record of more than 330 million visitors. Amid Trump administration budget cutting, there have been questions about how that trend might play out this year.
The park service says on its National Parks Week online site that visitors may experience fluctuating hours and other changes as the service makes “adjustments” in staffing levels, including onboarding summer seasonal staff.”
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently issued an order to reassure that all national parks would “remain open and accessible.” The directive came after about 1,000 National Park Service employees were fired — and later reinstated by court order.
Many of the most visited parks are in our region include Grand Canyon in Arizona, Zion in Utah, Grand Teton in Wyoming, Yellowstone, spanning Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, Rocky Mountain in Colorado, Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, and Death Valley in California.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio (KNPR) in Las Vegas, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
