[aslyfox]

. . . . Also, in parks like Yellowstone, some of the animals are more available in the cooler weather and you don't have to fight as much to get good camera shots. Mid-summer, however, it can be a zoo and I'm not talking about the animals, and be prepared to pay the premium accommodation rates along with the shoulder to shoulder traffic

In my vast experience [ we will be going back to Yellowstone in June of 2020, my third time, Judy's second ]

you are only guaranteed to see the scenic sites: the rivers, water falls, hot springs, mud pots and geysers etc., etc. etc.

( and people )

certain types of wildlife not so much - they tend to run on their own schedule

remember that you travel through Yellowstone, on foot, on horseback, bicycle or on two lane roads occupied with all the other vehicles and some times animals as well

_______________________

. . . There should also be a If You're In My Area type thread. Post local honey holes around where you go.

if you are headed to certain areas, you are free to post about it and invite others who may be in that area to contact you about the trip and the possibility of meeting

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Last edited by aslyfox; 09-18-2019 at 04:11 AM.

[Snafu711]

I‘m currently visiting Utah and experience the situation first-hand (We‘ll head to Moab by the end of the week). What I‘ve seen at Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef so far is similar to what you can see at other popular tourist spots as well:

first the sheer number is up. Everytime I revisit a place I was ten or twenty years ago, I find it a lot more crowded than it was then.
Second: with more retirees and young couples traveling outside the traditional vacation season „Memorial day to Labor day“, spring and autumn become busier.

Third: if you habe to go where everybody goes to see what everybody considers a must-see then be prepared to get in line. We hiked Bryce Canyon together with some thousand other visitors. Next day we did a day hike in Red Canyon, just a few miles away, and had the whole canyon with all its beauty all for ourselves (except for one group of horse riders).

Bottomline: there is no Lonely Planet anymore, except in places that require some (physical) effort to get there. That‘s not specific to Utah, that‘s global.

[aslyfox]

it is not limited to our National Parks or other spots in the US

it is world wide:

Bloomberg Opinion

Economics

Tourism Is Eating the World
Congestion taxes seem like the inevitable answer.

. . . Unfortunately, there will come a point where over-tourism makes travel both logistically inconvenient and much less enjoyable for everyone. The problem can be ameliorated by spreading tourists around to less crowded destinations, as Japan is trying to do. Some destinations, like Amsterdam, are cutting back on advertising and self-promotion. But eventually there will be no choice but to start charging tourists a fee.

The inevitable rise of congestion pricing will be bad news for the emerging global middle class. It means that the dream of cheap globetrotting will never be for everyone -- at least, not if you want to go to famous places. Trips to premium destinations such as Venice will eventually become things only the well-off can afford. There will be more tourists than in the age before air travel and the internet, but tourism may never become as ubiquitous a middle-class luxury as sliced bread or automobiles.

The world is big, but it isn’t big enough to be everyone’s personal playground.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-08-12/tourism-is-overwhelmin...p-destinations

[baro-nite]

That's a pretty good article, other than describing congestion pricing as "inevitable" (the old saw about the two certainties in life notwithstanding, there's scarcely such thing as an "inevitable" policy), "bad news for the middle class", etc. I have a trip to NZ coming up, not exactly tourism but I have already paid the new tourism tax. At NZ$35 it is barely rounding error on the cost of the trip. The idea of rationing visits to US national parks is not a new one, and while it's not much used yet, if you want to reduce visitation then that is the way to do it.

[stevebrot]

The idea of rationing visits to US national parks is not a new one, and while it's not much used yet, if you want to reduce visitation then that is the way to do it.

Even on weekdays at Mt. Rainier in summer, the parking lots are full. Overnight backcountry and climbing access has been rationed for several decades (since early 1970s) with a cap on the number of people allowed overnight in each of several wilderness and alpine zones and limited ability to reserve a spot in advance.


Steve

[baro-nite]

Overnight backcountry and climbing access has been rationed for several decades

Yes, that's the one type of rationing within US national parks and wilderness areas I'm aware of. And I'd put that in a different category; preserving relatively low-traffic wilderness areas is a different problem than managing the crush of day visitors.

I was impressed by the changes to the Mariposa Grove area of Yosemite when we visited earlier this year, moving the parking lot and visitor center farther down and starting a shuttle bus. Not an easy balance to strike but I think they did a good job of it.