National Park Service mandates widespread closures of facilities — from Yosemite to Everglades

The National Park Service on Tuesday began initiating nationwide closures of visitor centers, campgrounds, restaurants and lodges — from Point Reyes and Yosemite to the Grand Canyon and the Everglades — to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Most public lands and roads at the country’s more than 400 national park sites remained open, but officials with the U.S. Interior Department directed administrators at each property to shut down facilities as they saw fit to comply with local, state and federal efforts to limit human interaction. In California, where shelter-in-place policies are among the strictest in the nation, Yosemite National Park shuddered park-run visitor centers and museums, at least through March 31. Privately run concessions, including the Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Lodge and other hotels and food-service operations in the park were directed to close at noon Tuesday through the end of the month. All roads into the park remained open. Nearby Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks made a similar decision Tuesday, shutting down park-run visitor services until further notice, including the Giant Forest Museum. Visitors can still enter the park.Some privately run concessions, including the Wuksachi Lodge, continued to operate...MORE