Visitors Flocking to Yellowstone Couldn’t Care Less About Ongoing Government Shutdown or the Bad Weather

Last Saturday, a Reddit user who had never visited the Yellowstone National Park visited it for the first time. As the government shutdown continues to keep America’s national parks in a deadlock, they, too, have come across rumors about how Yellowstone could shut its doors soon. But when they stepped inside the park, “everything was normal,” except that the workers at the entrance booth didn’t charge them for the tickets. Hotels and visitor centers continued to function as usual, as well as restrooms and gift shops. Even with the shutdown jolting the chain of national parks into an impasse, Yellowstone has maintained its crowd, thanks to a few of its employees who continue to serve wholeheartedly despite no pay, according to a report by KBZK News.

The shutdown was initiated on October 1, 2025, triggered by the squabble unfolding in the federal funds department, as a result of which, Congress locked up its funds. Congressmen refused to pass bills for non-essential services across the country. Hammered by a sudden blockage of funds, the national parks were dragooned into furloughing their employees and putting up restrictions on their visitors. Many of them had to put a latch on their doors permanently until the government signaled signs of loosening the shutdown.

Like other parks, Yellowstone is getting steamrolled under the dwindling federal funds. Half of the park’s service staff is on furlough. Administrative offices are vacuously catching dust. Payroll and planning departments are also on a pause. Non-critical maintenance is stalled, as well as the research and management departments. Yet, when it comes to the visitors, they remain in the state of perpetual bliss that Yellowstone is known for. Turns out, people are more interested in relishing the current weather than the restrictions that the shutdown has bulldozed on the park.

Despite the cold weather of fall, throngs of crowds are flocking in and out of the park’s Old Faithful Geyser. Snowflakes raining on the boardwalks have only made their visit more enjoyable. Delicious swirls of aroma wafting from the surrounding coffee bars are an add-on for visitors, amidst a stunning contrast of cool snow and the billowing steam of hot springs. According to Mountain Journal, the park welcomed nearly 5 million visitors last year. This year, the number doesn’t seem to have sunk, even with the shutdown prevailing.

“They couldn’t tell that anything was missing from their experience,” remarked Stephanie Miller and her husband, Kim, who recently visited the park from Ontario, Florida. Shane Hall, who arrived from Indiana, echoed the same sentiment, “I can't tell a difference one way or the other. So far we've just been driving and stopping and looking at the sights.”

Kelly Hart, the co-owner of Free Wheel and Heel, a bike and ski shop in West Yellowstone, shared that although she feels bad for the employees who were not furloughed and who are working without pay, it makes her happy to see that people are still getting the best of Yellowstone. “People pay a lot of money to come to Yellowstone, and when they can't see everything that they intended on seeing, or going where they wanted to go, then, you know, they may not come back,” she added. According to a report by the NPS Department of the Interior, nearly 9,296 of the park agency’s 14,500 employees were expected to be furloughed. The plan said that “park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors.”

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