State parks Coronavirus closings

jkjenn · March 2020

Know before you go: state parks campground closings related to Coronavirus

https://www.campendium.com/camping/covid-19-state-by-state-campground-closures-responses/

nhmike · March 2020

Good heads-up.

Michigan_Mike · March 2020

They have closed all the state parks here in New Mexico so this is going to create a lot of issues for snow birds. I’m sure the BLM areas are doing a brisk business theses days.... Sad that it has come down to this and with the homeless out there across America it may get real ugly.

jkjenn · March 2020

National Park Service Campgrounds remain open at this time:

https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/public-health-update.htm

JeffroNC · March 2020

Thanks for posting this information. We are at an Oregon park and are heading to Washington next week. We are going to give Seattle a pass though.

ontheroad · March 2020

Alabama is OPEN!

BrianZ · March 2020

(UPDATED 4-10-20):

Virginia State Parks will only open for day use ..

Overnight facilities are closed through June 10th. The closure includes all cabins, campgrounds, camping cabins and yurts, as well as restrooms and bathhouses.

But, please check the link below to be sure of current status.

Here's the virus update link..
https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/covid-19-update

I guess we can still camp in our yard.

Verna · March 2020

If you are traveling or preparing to travel, be sure to check the link given to us by @jkjenn at the beginning of this post.

All Illinois State Park campgrounds are closed.

Correction: Florida’s State Parks will close 3/20/2020.

There are other rumors that I have heard, but Campendiem doesn’t report these.

Keep informed.

jkjenn · March 2020

PA campgrounds are now closed.

jkjenn · March 2020

In addition, PA rest areas are now closed. Gas, convenience stores and porta potties are available at turnpike service plazas.

ChanW · March 2020

Sure hope gas stays available. Trucks gotta deliver toilet paper.

Tampakayaker · March 2020

jkjenn said:

PA campgrounds are now closed.

So I guess while you're hiking its digging a hole and using leaves?

mickietucs · March 2020

Good info, Jenn - thanks. If this continues into the summer, it sure may put a dent in everyone's travel plans. Right now, my plan is to leave Tucson for 3 months beginning in July. Hoping the places I have reservations at will remain open. Wow, this is something!

mona · March 2020

No camping in Florida state parks for 60 days.

dragonsdofly · March 2020

To all those contributing, thanks for the info. Both the husband and me are diabetic, and nearly 70. With all of my terminal diagnoses, except for his work, we are practically house bound, and being very cautious. All updates are really appreciated! Our plans to have a short vacay in the northeast, utilizing forest service or blm sites (yes, there are a few), may be in serious jepoardy. If you travel, fair weather and good roads to all. Stay safe out there!

jkjenn · March 2020

dragonsdofly said:

To all those contributing, thanks for the info. Both the husband and me are diabetic, and nearly 70. With all of my terminal diagnoses, except for his work, we are practically house bound, and being very cautious. All updates are really appreciated! Our plans to have a short vacay in the northeast, utilizing forest service or blm sites (yes, there are a few), may be in serious jepoardy. If you travel, fair weather and good roads to all. Stay safe out there!

The Colorado mountains are asking people not to come. Gunnison has actually ordered people who dont live there to leave. As of Saturday, Vail had 20 patients in their 13 bed facility.

My advice to people is to stay home. You will be touching surfaces when you fill up and therenis likely to be at least some human contact. Smaller communities need people to stay away.

Also, closures seem to be happening fast, so unless you are boondocking, your travel could be in vain

It would be a good time for me to go west and work from my camper, but out of respect for the residents of those areas, I am staying away. I don't need to unintentionally or unknowingly carry it.

We have 15 days to slow the growth of this spread. I hope we all do our part.

Marceline · March 2020

Message received from ReserveCalifornia (California State Park reservation system) this morning:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The safety of our entire California State Parks family and visitors is our highest priority. With the situation surrounding COVID-19, we understand that your travel plans may change. Effective immediately, State Parks will be waiving any fees for cancellations or modifications to your ReserveCalifornia tour or camping reservation due to COVID-19 concerns. This fee waiver will be in effect until April 15, 2020.

State Parks continues to monitor the situation with COVID-19 closely and will follow any guidance provided by California’s Governor’s Office via the California Department of Public Health(CDPH), Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

If you do plan to visit one of our 280 park units, we recommend you bring soap for hand washing and hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol when water is not available. Continue to follow the health guidelines provided by CDPH and CDC.

Please be advised that this situation is evolving and we will continue to provide you with updates as we have them. We thank you for your patience, trust and continued support. Together, we will navigate through these challenging circumstances.

If you have additional questions, please call our Customer Service at 1-800-444-7275. Hours of Operation: 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST (except New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day). The best times to call are midday and midweek, when the phone lines are less busy.

Regards,

Contact Center Agent

https://www.reservecalifornia.com

1-800-444-7275

Available: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM PST 7 days a week

VictoriaP · March 2020

Florida state parks now closed to camping after March 20. https://www.floridastateparks.org/learn/safety-updates

I keep waiting for WA parks to do the same. But for now, they’re still open except for groups:

NOVEL CORONAVIRUS – COVID 19 MESSAGE

March 16, 2020

State parks and camping remain open. In response to Gov. Inslee’s mandate, we are making the following changes to operations through April 30:

Visitor and interpretive centers are closed.
Most special activities and special permits are cancelled.
Planned programming is cancelled.
Group camp and group reservations such as picnic shelters are restricted.

We are taking additional measures to limit visitor and staff interactions at offices and at registration. This includes:

Using drive-up/walk-up windows when possible.
Limiting the number of visitors in an office.
Providing electronic options for purchasing passes and making reservations.
Using automated pay stations, where available.

We ask that all visitors exhibit personal responsibility and take steps to protect their health and the health of others.

As the situation changes, we will continue to follow the governor and public health officials’ guidance when it comes to managing our park system.

Take care!

gspdx · March 2020

Oregon State Parks are still open for now.

https://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=v.dsp_featureArticle&articleId=272

One line from the statement on the Oregon State Parks website: Visiting a park is a good way to improve mental health, relieve stress and exercise, things we especially need now, so follow the guidelines for protecting your personal health and enjoy your next visit.

ontheroad · March 2020

For any Canadians...we also have had our National Parks and historic sites that are associated with Parks Canada closed... haven't heard anything at the Provincial level..

mona · March 2020

Add North Carolina state parks to the list.

ChanW · March 2020

I guess I'm headed to Oregon!

N7SHG_Ham · March 2020

@ChanW hurry, more things closing everyday, it would not surprise me at all if the state parks get closed.

Denny16 · March 2020

This is dumb, a State Park campground with 20+ feet between everyone is safer than a city!
cheers

jkjenn · March 2020

Denny16 said:

This is dumb, a State Park campground with 20+ feet between everyone is safer than a city!
cheers

It might seem like that for you, but not for the workers who have to keep it open or for the local health systems when you dont realize you have it and become their patient.

jkjenn · March 2020

Chaffee County, in Colorado has now also ordered visitors to leave. This is the area just south of Twin Lakes (Granite) to south of Salida.

Denny16 · March 2020

Good point, but if you feel ill do not travel, if you feel ill while traveling, go home. I was thinking more of parks being used by local area residents, say within 200 miles so it is an easy day trip to get to a recreation area destination. Yes Ione parks require workers, but with normal prudent precautions, maintaining an open park with minimal staff for day or overnight use, should not be any different from a supermarket remaining open. A store will have more issues with more people per square foot, compared to a open area park. One could always limit how many are using it at a time, like cut camp sites in half to create more separation.
just some random thoughts...
cheers

VictoriaP · March 2020

Denny16 said:

Good point, but if you feel ill do not travel, if you feel ill while traveling, go home. I was thinking more of parks being used by local area residents, say within 200 miles so it is an easy day trip to get to a recreation area destination. Yes Ione parks require workers, but with normal prudent precautions, maintaining an open park with minimal staff for day or overnight use, should not be any different from a supermarket remaining open. A store will have more issues with more people per square foot, compared to a open area park. One could always limit how many are using it at a time, like cut camp sites in half to create more separation.
just some random thoughts...
cheers

It’s all about staffing and the facilities, which would need more frequent than usual maintenance to limit the spread of the disease. This virus spreads through droplet and fecal contamination. Protective gear is necessary to protect staff doing the cleanup, and such gear is nearly impossible to obtain for healthcare workers, let alone park staff.

So limit it to self contained RVs, you say? That still takes additional personnel to check each and every camper that comes in.

And if this has shown us anything, it’s that a large chunk of the population refuses to quit acting selfish and stupid, which means someone will end up having to police the sort of dense clustering behavior we’ve been seeing on Florida beaches during spring break. I’m rather stunned they aren’t closing more parks outright instead of leaving them open for day use. (It’ll happen once people start mobbing them now that restaurants and bars are closed.) I live in the heart of ground zero for the US epidemic, and am watching people arguing that their 100 person group camping trip in April, with three planned potlucks and some group events, “will be just fine” even though almost all attendees are 60 and over and riddled with comorbidities. Never mind it’s also illegal under the current state of emergency here.

The simple fact is that most state and national parks are already short-handed, and will be more so while we get through this. Boondocking areas are still open for camping in many places, as are many private RV parks, and we can hope that will continue. But under a state of emergency, staffing parks is a non-essential service for the general public. It’s on every individual in the country to hunker down in place for a time, for everyone’s sake. Being able to travel as we wish is a luxury; in this crisis, it’s definitely not something we’re guaranteed or entitled to do.

Edit to add: The other reason for closing them is that in some areas, they’ll be used by the National Guard and state emergency services for staging tent hospitals, isolation, & triage units. That’s already begun in some places.

DougH · March 2020

Saw a report redirected from The Guardian that the Secretary of the Interior declared National Parks are all free until further notice. Is this misinformation or verified? Could not find it on the NPS site.

Announcement: https://t.co/Iqzg2BPPSg

I went to nps.gov and doi.gov and could find no such post in the recent announcements section. So I'm leaning towards this being misinformation that Guardian sadly picked up without verification.

Duplicated here:

Moderators: feel free to delete this post if you agree or leave this as an advisory that you can't trust all normal news sources consistently when it comes to state and national park closures and pricing.

NOTE: It appears the suspension of the National Park fees is true @DougH. https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/public-health-update.htm. —-Sharon - Moderator

pthomas745 · March 2020

What are are up against in the US is what will be a rising tide of hospitalizations, since we were a bit "tardy" in responding. You can be sick and be a "carrier" for weeks before your symptoms show up, and you will spread it everywhere you visit. From Dave Anderson's blog:

"It is a strategy where we will not see immediate success and the first success will “merely” be a slowdown in the rate of increase of infections and hospitalizations.

Anyone showing up to the hospital today was infected at the end of February or the first week of March.

Anyone showing up at the hospital next Monday will have been infected in the first half of March when there were instructions to wash your hands and cough in your elbow and little else.

Anyone showing up at the hospital at the end of March will have been infected as everyone was heading to the bars and restaurants and Spring Break for one last hurrah before everything started to lock down."

Sharon_is_SAM · March 2020

It appears the suspension of the National Park fees is true @DougH. https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/public-health-update.htm

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NOVEL CORONAVIRUS – COVID 19 MESSAGE