Gov shutdown shuts down...

Tourists from around the world blindsided by Muir Woods closure

By Amanda Bartlett

On any given year, Muir Woods National Monument draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world to take in the pristine views, trails and wildlife that make up one of the last ancient redwood forests left in the Bay Area. 

On Wednesday, however, tourists were greeted by an unexpected sight at the entrance: a sign informing them the Marin County park was “closed due to a lapse in appropriations” after the federal government shutdown went into effect at 12:01 that morning. A ranger on duty stood in front of a growing line of cars and tried to offer alternative nearby parks for them to visit, but there was no way around the disappointment. The reservations many of the visitors had booked months in advance had been cancelled.

One of them was Abel Philip, who told NPR he was visiting the 544-acre forest from Mumbai, India, and had pulled over onto the shoulder of the road while he deliberated his next move. “So that is something, you know, very inconvenient, especially for tourists coming all the way from India,” he said. “So yeah, that's pretty sad, I would say.”

As of Sunday morning, the park remains closed — you can still go through the process of trying to book a shuttle or parking reservation on its website, but an advisory warns hopeful visitors that they will be turned away with a full refund. “We apologize for the inconvenience,” it reads. 

Muir Woods is one of the only parks in the Bay Area to close completely amid the shutdown that has cancellations extending all the way to the Blue Angels at Fleet Week. Popular destinations like the Presidio, Fort Funston and Alcatraz remain open, despite the latter briefly falling into chaos when tours were shut down for a day. Meanwhile, parking lot and bathroom closures have impacted other sites like Lands End, Stinson Beach and Crissy Field. Earlier this week, the Chronicle reported a gate had closed off the road to Fort Point National Historic Site overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. 

The news was just as much of a surprise for Muir Woods staff, who told KQED they didn’t learn of the closure plan until the afternoon before the shutdown was slated to go into effect. SFGATE reached out to a spokesperson for the park but did not hear back by time of publication.

It’s not the first time Muir Woods has been embroiled in controversy at the hands of the federal government. In July, the National Park Service removed an exhibit that aimed to tell a more complete history of the site, including the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo peoples who stewarded the land for centuries, the role of colonial violence in their displacement and the efforts by the California Club — a women’s organization — to save the forest in the early 20th century. It was the first confirmed removal of what the Trump administration has referred to as “improper ideology” under a directive from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued earlier this year. 

Nearly 200 miles east, the gates to Yosemite National Park remain open, but other concerns remain for the skeleton crew still working there. Fee-collecting staff told SFGATE they were informed they would be assigned to unpaid shifts starting Wednesday before they were suddenly furloughed that day. Fire crews and search and rescue teams are working without pay, but backcountry rangers are not on duty, which could lead to delayed response times in the event of an emergency. Tour companies affiliated with the park also reported widespread cancellations.

It leaves questions about the state of the parks after the last government shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019 — the longest in U.S. history — resulted in piles of trash and overflowing bathrooms in Joshua Tree, and multiple trails and campgrounds closed off due to the presence of human waste in Yosemite.

“Then it’s calamity – right?” Don Neubacher, former superintendent at Yosemite National Park and Point Reyes National Seashore, told NPR. “‘Cause you just don’t have the staff to take care of the parks overall.”