Zion Closure if Budget doesn't go through?

Does anybody know if there's any reality to the national parks closures rumors if they don't work out a budget? I've got a trip planned to Zion, and I'm wondering if I'm going to get shafted...

Will we still be able to get in and climb?

That sucks man. Although I think they MAY get something worked out before Saturday, if there is a shutdown, I'm betting the Park will be closed. CNN mentioned a total of over 300 Parks, Monuments, Sea Shores, etc. An option would be to go to Moab. Tons of climbing outside the parks, on similar rock. But no Big Walls.

I feel your pain!

Yes, National Parks will indeed be closed.

Don't cancel your trip, there are p plenty of alternatives in that area.

How long would this shutdown last — the end of the budget year, Sept. 30? I forget how long it was the last time this happened. I wonder, if parks are closed, would they extend the expiration date of parks passes? I kind of doubt it.

There's a bunch of other shit about this event that pisses me off, but I'll leave it at this, for sanity's sake.

Wouldn't this be a shut down of services, like unattended kiosks? The land itself is still public lands

I couldn't think of a better time to be there...
Bring your bike!

It seems to me you all are taking the political rhetoric a bit too seriously.

And a shutdown would only be a few days or possibly weeks.

Monomaniac wrote:It seems to me you all are taking the political rhetoric a bit too seriously. And a shutdown would only be a few days or possibly weeks.

I hear you, but it has happened in the past and is a possibility. The first one was 8 days, second was 17 days. ALL Park land is closed. No Ranger to patrol = a big gate across the entrance. NO bikes or foot traffic allowed.

Hopefully it wont happen though; I'm keeping my fingers crossed just for Morgan.

J. Albers wrote:Yes, National Parks will indeed be closed.

So, closed means that we can't get in at all, right?

We'll still head down, and bail to Moab, or maybe Red Rocks. Will Red Rocks be affected? It's not a national park, is it?

What if N Korea invades Zion, who will protect us?

Mark Nelson wrote:Wouldn't this be a shut down of services, like unattended kiosks? The land itself is still public lands

That would be awesome. Maybe I'll call and find out.

Cool, tell them we can have advanced scouts volunteering in place as militia on the wall just in case we get invaded. It might alleviate some fears that could be generated by the mass media

MorganH wrote: So, closed means that we can't get in at all, right? We'll still head down, and bail to Moab, or maybe Red Rocks. Will Red Rocks be affected? It's not a national park, is it?

I was talking to the Climbing Lead from the BLM and he said that the loop road would be closed if this happens. However, the upside is you still get access to Calico Basin, Oak Creek (with a bit of walking), First Creek and Black Velvet . Plus, I would imagine you could still hike over the Calico Hills (First Pullout,Second Pullout and Sandstone Quarry) from the Calico Basin and get to some of the areas in pullouts.

In fact, this weekend some friends of mine and I went to the Jane's Wall and I went there from the loop road, they came from Calico Basin and we only beat them there by like 10 minutes, but they didn't have to drive the loop on the way out.

It's interesting that our parks aren't self sustaining financially with $25 dollar fees to drive through and $10 dollar additional fees to do anything fun. I'm tempted to think that they could bring in a nice income rather than be a massive expense. I guess I don't understand the economics of running a park, but it seems to me that costs should be relatively low.

If the entire park was unpaved, everything was bike/hike accessible, people cleaned up after themselves etc, the only cost would be utilities at a pay booth and staff to clear trails, which is often times better done by volunteers anyway. All the above sounds like a pretty awesome place left as natural and untouched as possible. Maybe accessibility is where the expense is and who am I to say that wheelchairs and walkers should be denied the enjoyment of nature. 'Handi-capable' access is an interesting issue in itself(off topic).

Anyone else have a problem with the logic behind closing the gates if the park is closed/un-staffed?

Tyson Taylor wrote: Anyone else have a problem with the logic behind closing the gates if the park is closed/un-staffed?

You're forgetting the massive beauracracy in Washington DC (and throughout the country) "needed" to provide guidance to the guy that picks up the trash.

I have another thought. If the govt were to shut down, how much effort would they put into vacating the park prior to shutdown? Perhaps you just need to be there before it closes and make yourself hard to find.

Am I wrong in also assuming that "closed" just means closed roads and empty kiosks? Public lands = still accessible by foot in many cases...right? I would highly doubt you would be hassled for hiking a few miles and having a great, people-less time.

Darren in Vegas wrote: I was talking to the Climbing Lead from the BLM and he said that the loop road would be closed if this happens. However, the upside is you still get access to Calico Basin, Oak Creek (with a bit of walking), First Creek and Black Velvet . Plus, I would imagine you could still hike over the Calico Hills (First Pullout,Second Pullout and Sandstone Quarry) from the Calico Basin and get to some of the areas in pullouts. In fact, this weekend some friends of mine and I went to the Jane's Wall and I went there from the loop road, they came from Calico Basin and we only beat them there by like 10 minutes, but they didn't have to drive the loop on the way out.

Can you get to Juniper Canyon (Rainbow Wall) if the loop road is closed?

I think they should pay for the parks to be open out of the congressmen's wallets...

Yeah the word is they will close the park if the Gov shutdown occurs. Since Sr-9 runs through Zion np and its considered essential they plan on keeping it open. In previous shutdowns the gate past the Zion lodge was closed and no access to the end of the canyon road. Many people here in sprindale are very concerned. It could result in lots of canceled reservations and loss revenue. I run a guide service in the area but as previous posts state we would not be able to operate on BLM or FS lands where we have permits. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

That's awful Caleb, hope it turns out well. I haven't considered the impact to local economies that lie adjacent to our national parks. I hope they consider that when making their decision.

It's all such a big mess, you close down a tourism hot spot to save money and local economies suffer, the people in those areas then apply for government assistance to pay their bills, and the net effect seems to be more suffering, less tax dollar input and more output. I'm sure I'm blowing it all out of proportion though.