National parks brace for summer surge
- The National Park Service is heading into summer after reporting 323 million recreation visits in 2025, while the Trump administration is pressing a 2027 budget plan that would cut park operations. - The administration’s budget proposal calls for a $736 million reduction to park operations, and Interior’s new fee policy charges nonresidents $250 for annual passes and $100 at 11 parks. - Congress rejected earlier staffing cuts in January, but parks groups say the service has already lost nearly 25% of its workforce since January 2025. (npca.org)
America’s national parks are entering the 2026 summer season with heavy demand and a new fight over staffing and money. (nps.gov) (doi.gov) The National Park Service said on March 13 that its sites logged 323,014,305 recreation visits in 2025, with more than 13 million overnight stays and 26 parks setting visitation records. Great Smoky Mountains National Park led all national parks at 11,527,939 visits. (nps.gov) That surge is colliding with President Donald Trump’s 2027 budget request. Parks advocates say the proposal would cut National Park Service operations by $736 million, or more than 25%, after the agency already lost more than 4,000 staff since January 2025. (npca.org) (doi.gov) The staffing fight has been building for more than a year. On Feb. 14, 2025, the National Parks Conservation Association said the Interior Department exempted 5,000 seasonal jobs from a hiring freeze while cutting 1,000 permanent National Park Service jobs. (npca.org) Congress pushed back in January 2026, when the Senate appropriations package held park operations funding flat and included provisions aimed at retaining and rehiring park staff. The same parks group said the service had still lost more than 24% of its permanent workforce since January 2025. (npca.org) The Interior Department has also changed how visitors pay to get in. Under rules announced in November and effective Jan. 1, 2026, U.S. residents still pay $80 for an annual America the Beautiful pass, while nonresidents pay $250. (doi.gov) Nonresidents without an annual pass now pay an added $100 per person fee at 11 of the most visited national parks, on top of the standard entrance fee. Interior said the policy is meant to keep access “affordable” for U.S. residents and direct more revenue into park maintenance and visitor facilities. (doi.gov 1) (doi.gov 2) On the ground, visitors are already seeing the strain in trip planning. The Detroit Free Press reported April 25 that some Michigan National Park Service and state recreation sites are closed this season for repairs and construction, including continued closure of the Munising Falls trail at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore through 2026. (freep.com 1) (freep.com 2) Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told senators on April 22 that the administration’s budget would make federal lands “safe and accessible for all Americans.” Parks advocates say the same budget would leave fewer rangers, shorter visitor-center hours and more delayed maintenance as summer crowds arrive. (doi.gov) (npca.org) The next test is in Congress, where lawmakers will decide whether to accept the proposed cuts or repeat January’s move to protect park operations. Until then, millions of visitors are heading to a park system that is still drawing record crowds and still arguing over how many people it has left to handle them. (npca.org) (nps.gov)
