BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A $100-per-person charge for foreigners entering Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and other popular national parks is stoking apprehension among some tourist-oriented businesses that it could discourage travelers, but supporters say the change will generate money for cash-strapped parks.
The new fee was announced Tuesday by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and takes effects Jan. 1. Foreign tourists also will see a sharp price increase for an annual parks pass, to $250 per vehicle. U.S. residents will continue to be charged $80 for an annual pass.
The change in policy puts the U.S. in line with other countries that charge foreigners more to see popular attractions.
At the Whistling Swan Motel just outside Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana, owner Mark Howser estimates that about 15% of his customers are foreigners. They come from Canada, China, India, Spain, France, Germany and elsewhere, said Howser, who also runs a bakery and general store.
Those visitors already pay up to $35 per vehicle to enter the park. Adding the $100-per-person charge for foreigners, Howser said, “is a sure-fire way of discouraging people from visiting Glacier.”
“It’s going to hurt local businesses that cater to foreign travelers, like myself,” he said. “You’re discouraging them from seeing something in the country by attaching a fee to that experience.”
A Yellowstone tour operator, Bryan Batchelder with Let’s Go Adventure Tours and Transportation, said the charge represents “a pretty big hike” for the roughly 30% of his clientele that are foreigners. That percentage has been going up in recent years after Batchelder switched to a new booking service.
Next summer, he said, will reveal how the new charge plays out among foreign visitors. “They’ll probably still come to the country, but will they visit national parks?” Batchelder asked.
The charge also will apply at Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Everglades, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Yosemite and Zion national parks.
Interior officials described the new fee structure as “America-first pricing” that will ensure international visitors contribute to maintaining parks.
For Yellowstone park alone, the $100 charge could generate $55 million annually to help fix deteriorating trails and aging bridges, said Brian Yablonski with the Property and Environment Research Center, a free market research group based in Bozeman, Montana.
If the charges for foreigners were extended to park sites nationwide, Yablonski said it could generate more than $1 billion from an estimated 14 million international visitors annually.
“Americans are already paying more than international visitors because they are paying taxes,” Yablonski said. “For international visitors, this is kind of a no-brainer, common sense approach.”
Many other countries charge international visitors an extra fee to visit public sites, said Melissa Weddell, director of the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research. Foreign visitors to Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, for example, pay $200 per adult, while Ecuadorian nationals pay only $30, according to tourist websites for the islands.
A coalition of current and former employees park service denounced the new charge.
“In a year where national park staff have already been cut by nearly 25%, we worry this will be yet another burden for already overworked employees,″ said Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks.
“National parks should be available and accessible to all, or America’s best idea will become America’s greatest shakedown,″ she said.
Gerry Seavo James, deputy campaign director for Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All campaign, said Trump and his administration have worked for nearly a year to undermine the park service, slashing its budget and firing thousands of staff.
“Gouging foreign tourists at the entrance gate won’t provide the financial support these crown jewels of our public lands need,” he said. “Without that support, we run the risk of our true common grounds becoming nothing more than playgrounds for the super-rich.”
Interior Department spokesperson Elizabeth Peace said the agency previously did not collect data on international visitors but will start doing so in January.
Republican lawmakers in July introduced a bill in Congress that would codify the surcharge for foreign visitors to national parks. It’s sponsored by West Virginia Rep. Riley Moore and Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, who served as interior secretary during Trump’s firs term.
“President Trump and Secretary Burgum are putting Americans first by asking foreign visitors to pay their fair share while holding entrance fees steady for the American people,” Zinke and Moore said in a statement Wednesday.
Daly reported from Washington, D.C.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
FILE – Tourists flock to Mather Point at Grand Canyon National Park, Oct. 1, 2025, in Grand Canyon, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service says it is going to start charging international tourists an extra $100 to enter some of the most popular U.S. parks.
They will be left out of fee-free days that will be reserved for American residents.
The announcement Tuesday declaring “America-first entry fee policies” comes as national parks deal with the strain of a major staff reduction and severe budget cuts.
They’re also recovering from significant lost revenue during the recent government shutdown.
The change will take effect Jan. 1 and impact 11 national parks.
The announcement says foreign tourists will also see their annual parks pass price jump to $250, while U.S. residents will continue to be charged $80.
WASHINGTON — The National Park Service said Tuesday it is going to start charging the millions of international tourists who visit U.S. parks each year an extra $100 to enter some of the most popular sites, while leaving them out of fee-free days that will be reserved for American residents.
The announcement declaring “America-first entry fee policies” comes as national parks deal with the strain of a major staff reduction and severe budget cuts, along with recovering from damage during the recent government shutdown and significant lost revenue due to fees not being collected during that time.
The fee change will impact 11 national parks, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
As part of the changes, which are set to take effect Jan. 1, foreign tourists will also see their annual parks pass price jump to $250, while U.S. residents will continue to be charged $80, according to the department’s statement.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a post on the social platform X that the changes make sure U.S. taxpayers who support the park service “continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations!”
A White House post on X laying out the increased fees ended with the phrase, “AMERICANS FIRST.”
The announcement follows a July executive order in which President Donald Trump directed the parks to increase entry fees for foreign tourists.
“There’s a lot to unpack in this announcement, including many questions on its implementation – all which NPCA will raise with the Department of Interior,” Kati Schmidt, a spokesperson for National Parks Conservation Association, said in an email.
The U.S. Travel Association estimated that in 2018, national parks and monuments saw more than 14 million international visitors. Yellowstone reported that in 2024, nearly 15% of its visitors were from outside the country, which was down from 30% in 2018.
The money made off the new fees will help support the national parks, including with upgrading facilities for visitors and maintenance, according to the statement.
The “resident-only patriotic fee-free days” next year include Veterans Day, which was one of the parks’ eight free days open to everyone in 2025. The Department of the Interior had announced those days by saying they wanted to ensure that “everyone, no matter their zip code, can access and enjoy the benefits of green spaces and our public lands.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service said Tuesday it is going to start charging the millions of international tourists who visit U.S. parks each year an extra $100 to enter some of the most popular sites, while leaving them out of fee-free days that will be reserved for American residents.
The announcement declaring “America-first entry fee policies” comes as national parks deal with the strain of a major staff reduction and severe budget cuts, along with recovering from damage during the recent government shutdown and significant lost revenue due to fees not being collected during that time.
The fee change will impact 11 national parks, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
As part of the changes, which are set to take effect Jan. 1, foreign tourists will also see their annual parks pass price jump to $250, while U.S. residents will continue to be charged $80, according to the department’s statement.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a post on the social platform X that the changes make sure U.S. taxpayers who support the park service “continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations!”
The announcement follows a July executive order in which President Donald Trump directed the parks to increase entry fees for foreign tourists.
“There’s a lot to unpack in this announcement, including many questions on its implementation – all which NPCA will raise with the Department of Interior,” Kati Schmidt, a spokesperson for National Parks Conservation Association, said in an email.
The U.S. Travel Association estimated that in 2018, national parks and monuments saw more than 14 million international visitors.
The money made off the new fees will help support the national parks, including with upgrading facilities for visitors and maintenance, according to the statement.
The “resident-only patriotic fee-free days” next year include Veterans Day, which was one of the parks’ eight free days open to everyone in 2025. The Department of the Interior had announced those days by saying they wanted to ensure that “everyone, no matter their zip code, can access and enjoy the benefits of green spaces and our public lands.”
Golden reported from Seattle.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
POWELL, Ohio — POWELL, Ohio (AP) — The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has welcomed its second baby elephant in a single calendar year for the first time in its nearly 100-year history, a milestone that the Ohio attraction is touting as a win for conservation.
Thirty-eight-year-old Phoebe gave birth to the male Asian elephant calf at 10:41 p.m. Tuesday. The 222-pound (100-kilogram) offspring is not yet on view to the public. That’s so the pair gets uninterrupted bonding time and the zoo’s animal care and conservation medicine team can provide round-the-clock monitoring as the baby begins to stand, nurse and explore his surroundings.
The calf’s father, Sabu, lives at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. They were paired through a national zoo initiative that aims to support healthy, genetically-diverse populations of threatened and endangered species in professional care.
Although there have been recent signs of hope for Asian elephants in the wild, habitat degradation and the challenges of maintaining genetic diversity are among reasons they remain endangered.
The baby joins Phoebe’s already large family, which includes another male and two female offspring. Her daughter Sunny, who is 16, gave birth to a female calf named Rita Jean four months ago.
The zoo said it will continue to share updates on public viewing opportunities, naming plans and other baby milestones.
Squatters have moved into Yosemite National Park’s campgrounds and rule-breakers are pushing boundaries as ranger patrols are stretched thin during the prolonged federal shutdown, according to a park employee who described growing disorder inside the park.
“There are lots of squatters in the campgrounds,” the employee told SFGATE. “There are lots of people that truly believe they can do whatever they want because of the lack of rangers. They’ve told us.”
The employee said only one wilderness ranger is currently working the entire park — and that person is technically a volunteer, not a National Park Service (NPS) employee.
The Department of the Interior, which oversees the NPS, confirmed to Fox News Digital that it is “aware of reports” of escalating violations and is investigating.
Yosemite National Park has seen problems with the lack of rangers during the shutdown, according to a report.(Reuters)
“We are aware of reports of BASE jumping in Yosemite and investigate all reports,” a department spokesperson said. “BASE jumping is illegal in all national parks, including Yosemite, due to the significant safety risks it poses to participants, the public and first responders.”
Despite the shutdown, the department said the National Park Service “will continue to keep parks as accessible as possible during the lapse in appropriations.”
“Critical functions that protect life, property and public health will remain in place,” the statement continued. “Law enforcement officers remain on duty and will respond to violations, trespassing or resource damage.”
The enforcement gap has coincided with a visible rise in risk-taking behavior.
El Capitan stands in Yosemite National Park, California, on Jan. 14, 2015.(Ben Margot, File)
Videos and images circulating on social media show BASE jumpers leaping from El Capitan, unauthorized campers occupying closed campgrounds, and climbers scaling Half Dome’s cables without permits — all in violation of park regulations.
Though Yosemite was once a hub for the sport in the 1970s, BASE jumping has been banned in national parks since the 1980s.
BASE, an acronym for Building, Antenna, Span and Earth, is described by the department as “the recreational sport of jumping from fixed objects, including artificial structures and natural features, using a parachute to descend to the ground.”
Officials note that violators face fines up to $5,000 or jail time under federal regulations. Enthusiasts have continued to participate in secret over the years, typically jumping at dawn or dusk to avoid detection.
A motorist passes through the Tioga Pass fee station at the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park, which is vacant of available employees to collect fees that help fund the park, on the first day of the government shutdown on Oct. 1, 2025.(David McNew/Getty Images)
“You hear them before you see them,” Charles Winstead, who witnessed a dozen illegal BASE jumps in the park last week, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Then the parachute pops and there’s no more noise.”
Winstead shared a video on Instagram capturing one of the BASE jumpers, noting it was the second group he had witnessed that day.
“More base jumpers! Definitely feeling some freedom to flout the rules due to the shut down. Second group today,” the caption read.
Conservation advocates say these incidents are part of a larger pattern of disorder when national parks operate without proper staffing. During the 2018–2019 shutdown, Yosemite and other parks suffered vandalism, illegal off-roading, and waste accumulation that took months to repair, according to park advocates.
“This is exactly what we warned about. And this is why national parks need to be closed until the government re-opens,” Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, said in a statement on Friday. “This shutdown is making an already bad situation at national parks and public lands far worse. And the longer this goes, the worse it is going to get. The situation is dangerous and reckless for our parks, public lands and the visitors who love them.”
Visitors hike the Mist Trail toward Vernal Falls on Aug. 31, 2025, in Yosemite National Park, California.(Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
The coalition, which consists of more than 40 former NPS leaders, had previously urged Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to close all 433 national park sites if government funding lapsed, citing ongoing staffing shortages.
“Leaving national parks open without National Park staff to help protect visitors and resources is not only irresponsible—it’s dangerous. We don’t leave museums open without curators, or airports without air traffic controllers and we should not leave our National Parks open without NPS employees,” Thompson wrote.
According to the National Parks Conservation Association, nearly 25% of the Park Service’s permanent staff has been lost since January, leaving many parks, including Yosemite, without enough personnel to ensure visitor safety or respond quickly to emergencies.
At the same time, the Department of the Interior has emphasized maintaining access where possible.
The department’s September 2025 contingency plan states that during a funding lapse, essential functions such as law enforcement and emergency response continue, and that most park areas “will generally remain accessible” with limited services.
Earlier this year, Burgum echoed that approach, directing that national parks “remain open and accessible,” underscoring a commitment to ensure “all Americans have the opportunity to visit and enjoy our Nation’s most treasured places,” even with staffing constraints.
Fox News Digital reached out to Yosemite National Park officials for comment.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
Stepheny Price is a Writer at Fox News with a focus on West Coast and Midwest news, missing persons, national and international crime stories, homicide cases, and border security.
MEDORA, N.D. — MEDORA, N.D. (AP) — The day his young wife and mother died, Theodore Roosevelt wrote in his diary that “the light has gone out of my life,” and it was only through extended trips to the isolated Dakota Territory in the 1880s that he regained “the romance” of living.
A library examining the country’s 26th president will open next summer in the North Dakota landscape remarkably similar to what Roosevelt would have experienced: far from any city and surrounded by rugged hills beneath a vast sky.
The isolation that was so appealing to Roosevelt remains today, and it raises a question.
How many people will visit a museum so distant from the rest of America?
“I think that’s a calculated risk that is being taken, and I actually think it’s a good one,” said Clay Jenkinson, a public humanities scholar and Roosevelt author who believes the area’s beauty will help draw visitors.
The nearly 100,000-square-foot facility near Medora, North Dakota, is planned to open July 4, 2026, America’s 250th anniversary. All living presidents have been invited.
Library Foundation CEO Ed O’Keefe said he wants the library to be where “kids drag their parents,” a setting for picnics, weddings and even presidential debates.
Library boosters have a $450 million fundraising goal, with $344 million in cash and pledges so far, including from oil executive Harold Hamm and Walmart heir Rob Walton and his wife, Melani. Construction, design and related costs alone are pegged at $276 million. Other costs include millions for developing exhibits and digitizing archives.
The library rises from the flat, grassy top of a butte across a highway from Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which had more than 732,000 visits last year. A path leads onto the library’s sloping roof planted with grasses and flowers. Inside, enormous rammed-earth walls of layered colors represent the dramatic Badlands.
“This is a purposeful place. We like to say that the library is the landscape,” O’Keefe said.
Roosevelt came to the Badlands to hunt bison in 1883. He invested in a ranching operation and returned multiple times over several years following the deaths of his wife and mother.
Stories of his adventures live on, from riding with cowboys to knocking out a bully in a bar and apprehending three boat thieves.
In an Independence Day speech in Dickinson, Roosevelt gave his famous “I like big things” oration, which more or less was the beginning of his speaking career, said William Hansard, public historian at Dickinson State University’s Theodore Roosevelt Center.
“He goes on to talk about how all of the material prosperity that America has means nothing if it’s not backed up by morals and virtues. … All these big things in the world don’t matter if Americans don’t have good character to use them and to use them well and correctly,” Hansard said.
Roosevelt’s time in Dakota largely ended after cattle losses in the terrible winter of 1886-87. He later said he never would have been president were it not for his time in North Dakota.
Roosevelt is a favorite president of people across the political spectrum, and his use of executive power — such as conserving public lands and building the Panama Canal — has shaped the modern presidency.
“Roosevelt will frequently do things that he believes are morally and legally right, and let Congress debate it later,” Hansard said. “He rules very, very much by executive order, and again, this is something that’s been a huge debate over the past several presidencies on both sides of the aisle.”
The Roosevelt library might be the loneliest presidential center in the country. Medora has about 160 residents, and is hours away by car from North Dakota’s largest cities of Bismarck and Fargo.
The Obama Presidential Center is going up on Chicago’s South Side. Florida Republican officials recently gifted nearly 3 acres of prime real estate in downtown Miami for President Donald Trump’s presidential library. Other presidential libraries include locations in Atlanta, Boston and Dallas.
Library boosters are hoping tourists visiting Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone and Theodore Roosevelt National Park will add the library to their itinerary.
But there’s no question North Dakota’s winters can be brutal with subzero temperatures and blizzards that close highways and make travel nearly impossible.
Still, Roosevelt admirers note that earlier attempts to create Roosevelt libraries in other places fell short, and it was in North Dakota where the idea really took root.
“We North Dakotans who justly feel that we created Theodore Roosevelt, that he became the Theodore Roosevelt of American greatness and memory during his time here in North Dakota, we feel that it would be very appropriate to have a presidential library in the heart of the Badlands,” Jenkinson said.
And beyond hardy winter travelers, O’Keefe said, library planners want to bring thousands of eighth graders from a five-state area to the library outside of summer, envisioning a “night at the museum” program.
“It’s not going to be as busy as the summer, but that’s the magic of it. You get a little more of the Badlands to yourself,” O’Keefe said.
O’Keefe said the facility will “humanize, not lionize” Theodore Roosevelt.
“We’re not going to shy away from the controversies and things that, perhaps if this library had been built 125 years ago, wouldn’t have been mentioned,” O’Keefe said.
It would be a travesty to portray Roosevelt only as a wholly good figure, said Jenkinson, who called him a man of his times, a bully, an imperialist and perhaps a warmonger.
He invited Black leader Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House. But he discharged “without honor” an entire regiment of 167 Black soldiers without due process, in connection with a shooting in a Texas town. Roosevelt encouraged photographer Edward S. Curtis in his photography of Native peoples, and some Native Americans were among Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.
“But he also believed that Anglo-Saxon white America had a right and even a duty to dispossess Native peoples and install what he took to be a superior civilization. There was no ambiguity about that,” Jenkinson said.
Kermit Roosevelt said he hopes the library helps people understand the legacy of his great-great-grandfather.
“I really do think Theodore Roosevelt is important for us now because of his ability to appeal to people across the political spectrum and, in our polarized times, maybe bring people together and give them a sense of what it means to be American,” he said.
South Africa’s world-famous Kruger National Park could become known by a new name if some local politicians have their way.
The vast wildlife sanctuary, called the Sabi Game Reserve at the time, was re-christened in 1926 to honour Paul Kruger. He was president in the late 19th Century of what was known as the South African Republic, which forms part of what is now the east of South Africa.
For Afrikaners, descendants of 17th Century European settlers, Kruger is revered as a hero who led the resistance against British colonialism.
But for the majority of South Africans, he is viewed as a relic of the country’s racist past, as he was one of those responsible for driving black Africans off their land and excluding them from having a say in running the republic.
Many South African cities, towns, roads and other major infrastructure have been given new names since the end of the legalised system of racial discrimination, known as apartheid, and the beginning of the democratic era in 1994. Though sometimes controversial, the decisions have been justified as a way to break with what went before – both the apartheid and colonial era.
But the proposed Kruger name-change does not just touch on history, it also could have a bearing on the country’s fragile economy.
Tourists go to the park in their hundreds of thousands every year to view the wildlife on offer [AFP via Getty Images]
The national park, home to elephants, lions, hippos, leopards and many other animals, attracts almost a million visitors a year, and is a jewel in the crown of South Africa’s tourism industry.
Some argue that changing Kruger’s name could threaten that.
Part of the park is in Mpumalanga province and in September, as the country celebrated Heritage Month, representatives from the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) put forward a proposal in the region’s legislature to change Kruger’s name.
“How do we celebrate our heritage as South Africans when we still have our beautiful national parks named after the architect of apartheid Paul Kruger,” EFF representative Rhulani Qhibi was quoted as saying in a stirring speech. While not historically accurate, as apartheid in its legal form was introduced decades after Kruger’s death, the rhetoric reflects the way he is viewed by some.
The EFF also proposed the renaming of other key landmarks in the province, including the Kruger Mpumalanga International airport.
But in their haste to remove Kruger’s association with the park, the EFF, whose national leader is the firebrand MP Julius Malema, put forward another problematic name: Skukuza.
Skukuza, which means “he who sweeps clean” in the Tsonga language, was the nickname given to the park’s first warden, James Stevenson-Hamilton, who was known for driving out poachers and black communities that lived in the park in its early days, among other things.
The EFF leader in Mpumalanga, Collen Sedibe, was quoted in South African publication Sunday World as admitting the party’s blunder.
“We are still engaging with the land claimants at Kruger National Park and the people who were staying there because they said Skukuza is not the right name. He was the man who kicked them out of the park,” Sedibe said.
The Paul Kruger statue in Pretoria has sometimes attracted the ire of protesters – it was daubed with red paint in 2020 [Gallo Images via Getty Images]
Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum condemned the EFF’s proposal as “cheap politics and proof that political power-hunger in the province outweighs informed or responsible decision-making”.
The group vowed to mount legal challenges to any attempts to rename the park without due process and blasted the EFF for criticising its namesake.
“The Kruger National Park was created thanks to Kruger’s vision [and] to ignore Kruger’s contribution to the establishment of the country’s most important national park… is opportunistic and blatantly spreading lies,” AfriForum’s Marais de Vaal said in reaction to the news.
The motion to change the name was adopted by the provincial legislature after receiving support from its largest parties, the African National Congress (ANC), which is in power nationally, and uMkhonto weSizwe.
Despite it not being legally binding, as there is a national process that any name change needs to go through, detractors have warned that if approved it could damage the tourism sector, which contributes almost 9% to the country’s economy.
It could have “severe consequences… it might even dilute the international recognition of this park and South Africa as a tourism destination that we’ve built over so many years”, tourism expert Prof Elmarie Slabbert told the BBC.
There would also be the cost of having to rebrand the park.
The academic, a research director at the North West University’s school of tourism management, did acknowledge “that we need to honour indigenous heritage”.
“But the effect on the economy is going to be so significant that we need to decide where do we spend our money. We’ve got such a high unemployment rate at this point in time that I believe that is where the money should go.”
More than 30% of the working-age population are unemployed – ranked by the World Bank as one of the worst jobless rates of any nation – and youth unemployment is even higher.
But economics is not the only basis on which name-change decisions have been made.
The need to address the inequities of the country’s past has been seen as vital.
The Indian Ocean city of Gqeberha was known as Port Elizabeth until 2021 [Getty Images]
For instance, the name of former Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, a key figure in implementing apartheid, has been removed from many places.
Other changes include the city of Port Elizabeth. Named after the wife of a 19th Century British official, it is now called Gqeberha, the Xhosa word for the river that runs through it. King William’s Town, after William IV, is now Qonce, also referring to a river.
Johannesburg’s international airport, once known as Jan Smuts – honouring a former prime minister – is now called OR Tambo, after the anti-apartheid leader and former president of the ANC.
Some cities, like the capital, Pretoria, have kept their monikers but the local government areas under which they come have been renamed.
Plenty of other renaming ideas have been floated, including changing the name of the Eastern Cape seaside town of Port Alfred, which commemorates Queen Victoria’s second son. Some have even suggested changing the country’s name to Azania.
Many of these proposals have divided public opinion, and to ensure that changes are not just made on a whim there is an extensive legal process that needs to be completed.
It is managed by the South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) and begins with an application either by individuals, communities or institutions to the body’s provincial branch.
The proposal is discussed and could lead to a public consultation. Once this has been concluded, the name-change plan is sent to the national office.
If it is thought to satisfy “all the requirements”, a recommendation will then be made to the sports, arts and culture minister for a final decision, SAGNC chairperson Dr Nkadimeng Mahosi told the BBC.
“What is happening here [in Mpumalanga’s legislature], does not go according to what the national act says… [and] is political point-scoring,” he said.
As a national landmark, and the fact that different government departments will need to have a say, Kruger is a unique case, Dr Mahosi added.
There are then several bureaucratic hurdles that need to be negotiated before the name Kruger ever disappears from tourism brochures.
But the debate has revealed the sensitivities that continue to exist around how to deal with the country’s past and the legacy of those who used to govern it.
More about South Africa from the BBC:
[Getty Images/BBC]
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — The remnants of a tropical storm brought flooding across parts of the Southwest on Saturday, prompting hundreds of evacuations in southwestern Colorado as mountain streams raged above their banks and crews toiled to protect property with sandbags.
Hardest-hit areas included Vallecito Creek, where almost 400 homes were under an evacuation order north of a reservoir 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the small tourist city of Durango.
The Upper Pine River Fire Protection District urged people to avoid bridges, with trees being washed downstream. The high school in nearby Bayfield was opened to take in evacuees.
Rising floodwaters topped flood control systems that were built after inundations almost 20 years ago. The water was expected to peak Saturday night, and after a lull Sunday, yet more heavy rain was forecast for Monday and Tuesday.
After telling customers to leave, Blue Spruce RV Park & Cabins general manager Debby McCall was waiting to hear if authorities would tell her to go too.
“I’ve never seen this much water come down. It’s just absolutely insane,” said McCall, a lifelong area resident who has lived at the RV park for 16 years.
Crews sandbagged the park to protect its septic systems from flooding on the Vallecito Creek.
“I’ve been seeing hot tubs floating down the river,” McCall said. “It’s definitely a state of emergency up here.”
The good news, McCall said, was that the Vallecito Reservoir downstream has been low after months of drought and seemed to have plenty of room to handle the floodwaters.
Two months ago, dry weather was fueling wildfires across western Colorado. They included one of the biggest in the state’s history that caused a prison to be evacuated.
Flooding also was inundating roads and basements Saturday in southern Utah, where firefighters in Washington City rescued a person and their dog from a car caught in floodwater.
The rain came from the remnants of Tropical Storm Priscilla, which began moving inland over California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico on Thursday.
Aspen trees in peak fall yellow were a dramatic backdrop to the Colorado floodwaters. Meanwhile, the moisture was bringing another sign of changing seasons: High-elevation snow expected in the next few days.
In fewer than 15 minutes, two separate carloads of people pulled up to the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez last Saturday. But then they turned away because the 325-acre park, with its Victorian mansion, historic pear orchard and visitor’s center, had been closed to the public without notice.
“What’s going on?” a man in one car asked. When told that the park was closed because of the federal government shutdown, he said, “I didn’t expect a historic site to be closed. I feel bad.” He had driven an hour from Santa Clara to Martinez, having heard that a famous American once lived there.
That eminent figure is Muir, the Scottish-born naturalist who founded the Sierra Club and hosted President Theodore Roosevelt on a camping trip in Yosemite in 1903. Muir is called the “father of the national parks,” in part because the writing he did in his Martinez study persuaded Americans to see their wilderness areas as treasures to preserve, not as resources to be exploited.
John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, pictured on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, is closed to the public due to the government shutdown. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
But since Oct. 1, Muir’s home has been shuttered, a closure Jonathan Jarvis, the director of the park service from 2009 to 2017, and Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada and clean air senior program manager of National Parks Conservation Association, said was emblematic of the murky future of the National Park Service.
Popular national parks in the Bay Area such as Alcatraz, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore remain open during the shutdown, though some of the larger open-air parks will offer bare-bones services. But three smaller, historic parks have been closed in Contra Costa County: Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial in Concord, and the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site in Danville.
Tao House, located at the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site in Danville, where playwright Eugene O’Neill and his wife, Carlotta, lived from 1937 to 1944, is one of the national parks closed due to the federal government shutdown. (Cindi Christie/Staff Archives)
Jarvis and Rose said they fear the shutdown could become a pretext to drastically reduce funding for the country’s public parks, even as they broke attendance records in 2024, with 332 million visits. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump proposed $900 million in cuts to the park service — as detailed in a May 2 letter to the Senate Committee on Appropriations from Russell Vought, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget — potentially wiping out budgets for at least 350 of the 433 parks, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.
Even though a House Appropriations Committee proposal would avert the administration’s “most damaging” cuts, the park service has still lost a quarter of its permanent staff since earlier this year, the parks association said. With the shutdown, more than 9,200 parks employees have been furloughed without pay, according to the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service Contingency Plan.
Friday, Vought announced on X that “The RIFs have begun,” referring to reductions-in-force of the 750,000 federal employees currently furloughed because of the shutdown. Politico confirmed with an OMB spokesperson that the reductions “are substantial” and “not furloughs.”
“The administration has been calling it a reduction in force, but it would just be a mass termination of potentially hundreds of thousands of additional park service staff,” Rose said.
The park service, in an email, said it “remains committed to maintaining as much access as possible to park lands during the lapse in appropriations. Critical functions that protect life, property and public health will continue to be staffed.”
The spokesperson did not respond to a question about potential layoffs, saying, “We do not have comment on personnel matters.” The White House Press Office’s automatic reply email stated media members could expect delays in responses because of the shutdown.
In contrast to the official parks service statement, Rose and Jarvis describe a more dire situation: To stay open, larger open-air national parks are relying on skeleton crews, which may be challenged to stop vandalism, harm to wildlife or damage to natural resources. Rose also said public safety is compromised, as help could be delayed if visitors get lost or injured.
This situation is the result of “a combination of incompetence and intent,” said Jarvis, who lives in Pinole. During a 2013 government shutdown, he closed all the national parks and said it’s “stupid” that parks are not all closed right now, though this move would be politically unpopular. He said the circumstances around this shutdown are unlike anything he’s seen. “It’s chaos upon chaos,” he said of the current state of the national park service.
Jarvis and Rose describe a top-down style of leadership in the U.S. Department of the Interior, which runs the park service, resulting in confusing information about what’s open, what’s closed and how the public should be notified. The national parks shutdown contingency plan stated that park websites and social media would not be updated, nor will regular notices of road or trail closures be posted.
Jarvis has raised concerns that the Trump administration is setting up national parks to fail. In a worse-case scenario he described in The Guardian, the parks’ failure would give this administration an excuse to privatize the park service’s high-visitation “cash cows,” such as Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon.
As for the hundreds of smaller parks, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in May proposed the idea of transferring them to state agencies, as recommended by the Office of Budget and Management. Jarvis said that wouldn’t be easy, given that each national park was established by Congress and new legislation would be needed to strip them of their status. It’s also questionable whether many states could step in to run these parks, he said.
The John Muir site and the other Contra Costa parks fall into that category. The park service manages more than 130 sites that highlight places related to significant figures and events in American history. This includes famous battlegrounds, presidential homes and others that have been established to elevate narratives about those sidelined in traditional texts.
Interior of the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park visitor center on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Richmond, Calif. This site is closed to the public due to the government shutdown. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
So the Bay Area is home to the Rosie the Riveter park, which spotlights women who contributed to the war effort, local Japanese Americans and Black migrants from the segregated South. World War II also provides the backdrop for Concord’s Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, which honors 320 Black soldiers killed in a 1944 explosion while unloading munitions — a tragedy that led to desegregation of the military.
Even if the Trump administration doesn’t have the legal authority to offload these sites, Jarvis expressed concern about the “moral aspect” of sending the message that they should be removed from the national park system.
“You’re basically saying that the people that the stories that these parks represent are not relevant to the American experience, and that’s just horrible,” Jarvis said.
U.S. Capitol Police watch over an area to be used by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and top Republicans in Congress for a news conference on the government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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NEW YORK — Crowds of people loaded onto boats to tour the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Wednesday morning with no immediate signs of the government shutdown that is triggering the furlough of about two-thirds of National Park Service employees.
But in Philadelphia, the nation’s birthplace, tourists enjoying a crisp fall morning on Independence Mall were thwarted in their hopes of visiting the Liberty Bell. They were being turned away at the entrance and could only steal glances of it inside a glass pavilion.
A shutdown contingency plan released by the park service late Tuesday said “park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors.” However, given sharply reduced staffing, parks without “accessible areas” will be closed during the shutdown. And sites currently open could close if damage is done to park resources or garbage is building up, the plan says.
Yet with limited information offered on government websites, questions were popping up across park service social media sites on Wednesday, with people asking if camping permits would still be good at places like Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico and if the gates would be open at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.
The furlough of almost 9,300 park employees means parks that stay open can provide only limited services such as protection of life, property and public safety, the plan says.
In Mississippi, the state’s most-visited cultural attraction, Vicksburg National Military Park, was shut down. A nonprofit group was trying to work out an agreement to re-open it using donated money to pay for staff. At Acadia National Park in Maine, there were no park rangers in sight and would-be hikers in search of trail maps found empty receptacles outside a closed visitor center.
The plan did not detail which of the park service’s more than 400 sites are considered inaccessible. The Associated Press requested further details in emails and a telephone call to officials with the National Park Service and Department of Interior on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The park service oversees large national parks such as Yellowstone and Grand Canyon, national battlefields, national monuments such as the Statue of Liberty and historic sites including Independence National Historical Park, home of the Liberty Bell. Those attractions often serve as economic engines for nearby communities.
Many national parks stayed open during a five-week shutdown in Trump’s first term. Limited staffing led to vandalism, overflowing garbage, damage to natural resources and illegal off-roading.
A group of 40 former National Park Service superintendents had urged the Trump administration to close the parks during a shutdown to prevent a repeat of the damage that occurred in 2018 and 2019. They warned a shutdown now could be even worse with parks already under strain from a 24% staff cut and severe budget reductions.
During a 2013 shutdown, the park service under former President Barack Obama turned away millions of visitors to its more than 400 parks, national monuments, and other sites. The service estimated that the shutdown led to more than $500 million in lost visitor spending nationwide. That also caused economic damage to gateway communities that border national parks and are heavily dependent on the visitors they draw.
The contingency plan allows parks to enter into agreements with states, tribes or local governments willing to make donations to keep national park sites open.
States where national parks draw major tourism lobbied to keep them open during past shutdowns, and Utah agreed to donate $1.7 million in 2013 to keep its national parks open. Arizona, Colorado, New York, South Dakota and Tennessee have also donated money to keep parks staffed during previous shutdowns.
Colorado’s governor suggested the state could do that again this time for Rocky Mountain National Park. But a spokesperson for the governor of Arizona said last week that it cannot afford to pay to keep open its national parks that include the Grand Canyon.
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Brown reported from Billings, Montana. Matt Rourke contributed from Philadelphia and Susan Montoya Bryan contributed from Albuquerque
Shutdown could trigger nationwide economic ripple effects
Smithsonian museums open briefly, but parks face closures
Plunged into a government shutdown, the U.S. is confronting a fresh cycle of uncertainty after President Donald Trump and Congress failed to strike an agreement to keep government programs and services running by Wednesday’s deadline.
Roughly 750,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed, some potentially fired by Trump’s Republican administration. Many offices will be shuttered, perhaps permanently, as Trump vows to “do things that are irreversible, that are bad” as retribution. His deportation agenda is expected to run full speed ahead, while education, environmental and other services sputter. The economic fallout is expected to ripple nationwide.
“We don’t want it to shut down,” Trump said at the White House before the midnight deadline.
But the president, who met privately with congressional leadership this week, appeared unable to negotiate any deal between Democrats and Republicans to prevent that outcome.
This is the third time Trump has presided over a federal funding lapse, the first since his return to the White House this year, in a remarkable record that underscores the polarizing divide over budget priorities and a political climate that rewards hard-line positions rather than more traditional compromises. Plenty of blame being thrown around
The Democrats picked this fight, which was unusual for the party that prefers to keep government running, but their voters are eager to challenge the president’s second-term agenda. Democrats are demanding funding for health care subsidies that are expiring for millions of people under the Affordable Care Act, spiking the costs of insurance premiums nationwide.
Republicans have refused to negotiate and have encouraged Trump to steer clear of any talks. After the White House meeting, the president posted a cartoonish fake video mocking the Democratic leadership that was widely viewed as unserious and racist.
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday said Republicans want to resolve the health care issues that concern Democrats but will not negotiate until the government reopens.
Until then, he stressed, people and federal workers will be affected in a variety of ways, and, as examples, he cited people on federal food assistance programs, potential flight delays for air travelers and service members not getting paid while they report for duty.
“It’s craziness, and people are going to suffer because of this,” Vance said on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.”
What neither side has devised is an easy off-ramp to prevent what could become a protracted closure. The ramifications are certain to spread beyond the political arena, upending the lives of Americans who rely on the government for benefit payments, work contracts and the various services being thrown into turmoil.
“What the government spends money on is a demonstration of our country’s priorities,” said Rachel Snyderman, a former White House budget official who is the managing director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank in Washington.
Shutdowns, she said, “only inflict economic cost, fear and confusion across the country.” Economic fallout expected to ripple nationwide
An economic jolt could be felt in a matter of days. The government is expected Friday to produce its monthly jobs report, which may or may not be delivered.
While the financial markets have generally “shrugged” during past shutdowns, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis, this one could be different partly because there are no signs of broader negotiations.
“There are also few good analogies to this week’s potential shutdown,” the analysis said.
Across the government, preparations have been underway. Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, headed by Russ Vought, directed agencies to execute plans for not just furloughs, as are typical during a federal funding lapse, but mass firings of federal workers. It’s part of the Trump administration‘s mission, including its Department of Government Efficiency, to shrink the federal government. What’s staying open and shutting down
The Medicare and Medicaid health care programs are expected to continue, though staffing shortages could mean delays for some services. The Pentagon would still function. And most employees will stay on the job at the Department of Homeland Security.
But Trump has warned that the administration could focus on programs that are important to Democrats, “cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like.”
As agencies sort out which workers are essential, or not, Smithsonian museums are expected to stay open at least until Monday. A group of former national park superintendents urged the Trump administration to close the parks to visitors, arguing that poorly staffed parks in a shutdown are a danger to the public and put park resources at risk. No easy exit as health care costs soar
Ahead of Wednesday’s start of the fiscal year, House Republicans had approved a temporary funding bill, over opposition from Democrats, to keep government running into mid-November while broader negotiations continue.
But that bill has failed repeatedly in the Senate, including late Tuesday. It takes a 60-vote threshold for approval, which requires cooperation between the two parties. A Democratic bill also failed. With a 53-47 GOP majority, Democrats are leveraging their votes to demand negotiation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said Republicans are happy to discuss the health care issue with Democrats — but not as part of talks to keep the government open. More votes are expected Wednesday.
The standoff is a political test for Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who has drawn scorn from a restive base of left-flank voters pushing the party to hold firm in its demands for health care funding.
“Americans are hurting with higher costs,” Schumer said after the failed vote Tuesday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson sent lawmakers home nearly two weeks ago after having passed the GOP bill, blaming Democrats for the shutdown.
“They want to fight Trump,” Johnson said Tuesday on CNBC. “A lot of good people are going to be hurt because of this.”
Trump, during his meeting with the congressional leaders, expressed surprise at the scope of the rising costs of health care, but Democrats left with no path toward talks.
During Trump’s first term, the nation endured its longest-ever shutdown, 35 days, over his demands for funds Congress refused to provide to build his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall.
In 2013, the government shut down for 16 days during the Obama presidency over GOP demands to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Other closures date back decades.
Five unoccupied houses along North Carolina’s Outer Banks collapsed into the ocean Tuesday as Hurricanes Humberto and Imelda rumbled in the Atlantic, the National Park Service said, marking the latest private beachfront structures to fall into the surf there in recent years.
The homes, once propped on high stilts, collapsed in the afternoon in Buxton, a community on the string of islands that make up the Outer Banks, said Mike Barber, a spokesperson for the park service.
No injures were reported, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore said in a post on social media.
In videos shown by the local station 13News Now, homes teetered on stilts battered by the waves before plunging into the surf. The shoreline was clogged with debris, two-by-fours, cushions and an entire home as wave after wave rolled in from the Atlantic.
The post said that more collapses were possible given the ocean conditions, and urged visitors to avoid Tuesday’s sites, including areas several miles south to stay clear of debris.
North Carolina’s coast is almost entirely made up of narrow, low-lying barrier islands that have been eroding for years as the sea level rises. Seventeen privately owned houses have collapsed on Seashore beaches since 2020, the park service said.
The first 15 were north of Buxton in Rodanthe, but a Buxton home fell into the surf two weeks ago.
The threat to these structures often builds when storms affect the region, as is the case with the two latest hurricanes, even as they headed further out in the Atlantic.
Portions of eastern North Carolina were subject to coastal flood advisories and warnings, the National Weather Service said, while dangerous surf conditions were expected in the area through the rest of the week.
Ocean overwash on Tuesday also prompted the state Transportation Department to close a portion of North Carolina Highway 12 on Ocracoke Island. The ferry connecting Ocracoke and Hatteras islands also was suspended Tuesday, the department said.
BUXTON, N.C. — A beachfront stilt home along the Outer Banks in North Carolina has collapsed into the surf, bringing the total number of houses claimed by the Atlantic Ocean to 12 in the past five years.
The two-story, wood-shingled home at the north end of Hatteras Island collapsed Tuesday afternoon, littering the sand with nail-studded debris. The house was unoccupied, said Mike Barber, a spokesman for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
“Seashore staff are out today, cleaning up the beach to the south of the collapse site,” Barber said in an email Wednesday. He said the homeowner has also hired a contractor to “work primarily near the house collapse site to remove the bulk of the remaining house structure and nearby debris associated with the collapse.”
The previous 11 home collapses since May 2020 were all in the tiny village of Rodanthe, the eastern-most point in North Carolina, and made famous by novelist Nicholas Sparks. During the state’s recent brush with Hurricane Erin, many locals were watching two beachfront houses there, but they survived the surf.
The latest house to succumb was less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the famed Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which was moved 2,900 feet (884 meters) inland in 1999 to save it from erosion.
The federal government owns about a third of America.
Since we’re on a path to bankruptcy, it would be smart to sell some unused property.
President Donald Trump’s Interior Secretary says it may be worth as much as $200 trillion. Selling just a fraction of it would reduce our enormous debt.
Not just that—since government doesn’t manage things well, selling or leasing some would leave it in better condition.
Federal bureaucrats have been slow to do controlled burns and remove deadwood that becomes fuel for fires.
“Fires on federal lands accounted for more than half of the acres burned,” says the Congressional Budget Office.
But whenever a politician suggests selling any land, environmental activists freak out.
Jennifer Mamola of The John Muir Project says the government must hold on to every bit of land it owns “to solve our biodiversity crisis.”
“What is a biodiversity crisis?” I ask her in my new video.
“Human fingerprints are on the scale, and we are out-tipping it!”
Like many activists, she’s not knowledgeable about science.
“We are in very tumultuous weather times,” she tells me. “The fact that Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina is just unprecedented!”
No, it’s not. Hurricanes hit North Carolina all the time.
“I guess I mean the travel trajectory, right?…[Helene] started in the Gulf and then it went all the way up. Seems pretty unprecedented—going inland.”
Actually, lots of hurricanes go inland. Floyd caused catastrophic flooding; almost every river basin in eastern North Carolina surpassed 500-year flood levels. Matthew brought record flooding. Florence caused about $17 billion in damages.
Still, Mamola sees weather changes. “It’s really not that predictable anymore because we have our thumb on the scale….In the nearly 40 years I’ve been alive, we’re definitely seeing a shift!…D.C., I’ve lived there 10 years. We had a drought last summer!”
But drought isn’t more common. The Environmental Protection Agency says the last 50 years have actually been wetter than average.
If government sells any land, Mamola says, loggers and mining companies will destroy it.
Climate media company The YEARS Project peddles a deceitful video that says, “Imagine the Grand Canyon filled with oil rigs. That’s the world Pendley wants to live in.”
“Pendley” is William Pendley, who ran the government’s Bureau of Land Management during Trump’s first term.
I confront him with what the activists say:
“Picture Yellowstone being strip mined for coal. These are the kinds of policies he advocates for.”
“Absolutely not!” he replies. “We’re not going to do parks. They made it up!”
He wants to sell, as Congress has done for decades, “multiple-use” land: “It’s supposed to be used [for] oil and gas, mining, grazing.”
He says private lease holders would manage it better.
Also, says Pendley, “The best forest managers are tribes and states because they’ve got skin in the game.”
The governors of Utah and Nevada agree. They, too, want the feds to release some land.
Most of Utah is federally owned. Utah sued the feds for the right to buy some of it. But so far, no success.
In Nevada, 80 percent of land is federally owned and controlled. Gov. Joe Lombardo wants “immediate and systematic release of federal land.”
“Why should it be controlled by the federal government?” I ask Mamola. “What if Utah or Nevada say they can do it better?”
Mamola replies, “They’re not going to be able to maintain it.”
But the feds don’t maintain it! The Park Service is $23 billion behind on repairs.
Despite the incompetence of federal management, Mamola wants the feds to buy even more land.
“They own 50 percent of the West. Isn’t that enough?” I ask. “What would be enough?”
“I’m happy to give up some of the East Coast,” she replies.
Yikes.
But the silly people win. They’ve convinced voters that no land should ever be sold. Sen. Mike Lee (R–Utah) saw which way the political winds were blowing. He withdrew his proposal to sell public lands.
Too bad. We’re deep in debt. The feds should at least lease unused land.
Washington bureaucrats don’t need to control half the West.
NEW YORK — For more than 150 years, horse-drawn carriages have been trotting through Manhattan’s Central Park, weathering the arrival of the automobile, years of criticism from animal rights activists and even a mayoral administration that vowed to ban the tourist activity.
But now the influential nonprofit that manages the 843-acre park — and has previously stayed out of the debate — has now thrown its support behind a proposal to wind down the industry as early as next summer.
The Central Park Conservancy argued in an Aug. 12 letter to the City Council that horse carriages have an outsized impact on public safety and road infrastructure in the increasingly crowded park.
“We can’t be just frozen in time,” said Elizabeth Smith, the conservancy’s CEO, in an interview this week. “Horses are too unpredictable and the roadways are too busy with too many different kinds of users now — bikers, runners, pedestrians, strollers.”
Smith noted other cities have done away with the nostalgic rides, including San Antonio, which passed a five-year phase out of the industry last year. Chicago banned it starting in 2021 and Montreal did the same the year prior.
The carriage industry argues it’s being unfairly singled out, despite the number of horses in the park barely budging since World War II.
There are currently 68 licensed carriage owners with a total of about 200 horses and 170 drivers, according to the Transport Workers Union, which represents industry employees.
Meanwhile, Central Park sees some 40 million visitors annually, many of them increasingly zipping around on rental bikes or hitching a ride on one of the human-powered pedicabs that line the park’s entry points. Cars were banned from the park’s drives in 2018.
Eliminating carriage horses also goes against famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision for the park, with its hilly paths and undulating roads tailor-made for leisurely carriage rides, argues Christina Hansen, a longtime carriage driver and industry spokesperson.
“We’re seeing the park the way it was meant to be seen,” she said as she gave a recent tour, which runs about $72 for the first 20 minutes and $29 for each additional 10 minutes.
Animal rights groups have long complained the horses can get easily spooked on city streets, leading to accidents and injuries. They also claim the horses are overworked and live in inadequate stables and their drivers flaunt city regulations, including leaving behind piles of horse manure. All animals are supposed to be fitted with manure-catching devices.
“There’s simply no way to operate horse-drawn carriages and have it be safe or humane for the horses,” said Edita Birnkrant, executive director of the animal rights group New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets. “No amount of regulation can change that. Lord knows we have tried.”
The conservancy’s call came after a carriage horse collapsed and died near its stables earlier this month, with videos and photos of the animal’s body in a city street circulating widely online.
But the organization, which was formed to revitalize the park in the 1980s, didn’t weigh in on the animal welfare concerns in its letter to the council.
Smith said the tipping point was two recent incidents of carriage horses running amok: in May, a spooked horse bolted from its handler and ran loose through the park. Days later, two more horses broke free from their drivers and crashed into a fleet of parked pedicabs, breaking a driver’s wrist and causing other injuries.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ office declined to say this week whether the proposed ban would even be heard, let alone put to a vote this session.
Zachary Nosanchuk, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams, said the Democratic administration will meet with industry representatives and advocates to discuss a “better path forward” on the “sensitive issue,” acknowledging Adams’ predecessor spent eight years unsuccessfully trying to end the industry.
Carriage horse owners and drivers maintain their horses enjoy a life of relative ease compared to rigorous farm life in Pennsylvania Amish country, where most are purchased.
Under city regulations, each is inspected by a veterinarian twice a year and the maximum age they can work at is 26.
They work a maximum of nine hours a day and must stop giving rides if it’s above 89 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) or above 80 F (27 C) with high humidity.
They also don’t work if the temperature plummets below 19 F (minus 7 C) or if there’s severe weather, and must get at least five weeks vacation a year outside city limits with daily access to pasture.
“My horses, I give them a nice life,” Onur Altintas, a longtime carriage owner and driver. “In Kentucky, they’re racing the horses. That’s abuse, if you are looking for abuse.”
On a visit to one of the Manhattan stables this week, ornately decorated carriages were parked on the ground level and horses were housed on the second and third floors in stalls measuring at least 8-by-10 foot (2.4-by-3 meter) and padded down with hay, although there was no outside pasture.
Lynn Buckalew, a tourist from Utah lined up for a carriage ride earlier this week, said a guided jaunt through the park was high on her to-do list. But she was taken aback when she learned about the complaints of abuse and the Aug. 5 death of a 15-year-old mare from an aortic rupture less than two months into the job.
“You know that’s sad, if that’s the case. It makes me look at it a little different,” Buckalew said as her husband hopped on the carriage and the driver called her aboard.
Dozens of former rangers, park volunteers, and local residents protested at the gateway to Montana’s Glacier national park on Wednesday against the staff cuts and hiring freezes that have thrown many national parks into crisis, including Glacier.
Current and former staffers and watchdog groups say the cuts have meant staff are not able to keep up the facilities and infrastructure. Some say the park has been left with inadequate infrastructure and too little staff to be able to respond to emergencies.
Although it might look to visitors like operations in Glacier are normal, “it’s like walking down a Hollywood movie set where the front looks great but there’s nothing behind it,” said Sarah Lundstrum, Glacier program manager with the National Parks Conservation Association.
The protesters held signs, chanted and waved at tourists during a visit to the park from the Congressional Western Caucus. Hosted by Montana Republican congressman and former interior secretary Ryan Zinke, the caucus came to the park to showcase the success of the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act, which secured federal funding for protection and maintenance of public lands.
Montana’s Republican senator Steve Daines championed that bill during Donald Trump’s first term, calling it “the greatest conservation win for Montana and the entire country in 50 years”. In May, Daines introduced the America the Beautiful Act to extend federal funding for projects to address crucial maintenance backlogs.
But congressional support for funding projects in national parks comes at a jarring disconnect with the Trump administration’s slashing of jobs at national parks countrywide, including at Glacier, where an already overworked staff has been left with little to no bandwidth to implement projects.
No congressional Republicans, including Daines or Zinke, have spoken up against the cuts and freezes, and all voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that rescinded $276m from the National Park Service (NPS).
“We’re supporting the park, but drawing attention to the fact our policymakers are grandstanding in a national park where behind the scenes they’ve gutted staff and gutted funding,” said Suzanne Hindler, one of the rally’s organizers. She said organizers specifically chose to hold the event outside the park to avoid adding more work for already overburdened park staff during peak tourist season.
Hindler emphasized that funding for national parks is crucial. But without the staff to execute the work, new problems will arise with no one to fix them, she said.
Jan Metzmaker, a longtime park employee who was on Glacier’s first all-women’s trail crew in the 1970s, said: “I can see the deterioration in the services and in the facilities.
“They really need to put some money into those, because this place is crazy with people. It’s being loved to death. But there’s no way that they can do the maintenance and all the things that need to be done in the park now.”
Visitation to national parks reached a record 331.9 million last year. But because of the Trump administration’s hiring freezes, terminations, and buyout and early retirement offers, US national parks have lost nearly a quarter of permanent staff, with seasonal hiring behind by nearly 8,000 positions. Further staff cuts, described as “deep and blunt” and “aggressive and swift” by National Parks Traveler, the multi-media outlet that covers NPS, are held up in court but may still be forthcoming.
In Glacier, which has seen a 7.5% increase in visitors from last year’s record high, the park is trying to operate with a 25% loss of staff. Vacancies span from chief ranger and fire positions, wildlife scientists, multiple environmental impact analysis positions, and emergency services, to mechanics, electricians, plumbers, and IT positions.
After the federal government canceled all national parks’ internet contracts this year, Lundstrum said, Glacier now uses StarLink, which some staffers say is spotty, goes down entirely, and often fails to connect park dispatch and 911 calls. There’s only one IT person remaining to address technical problems, those staffers, who asked to remain anonymous because they fear retaliation for speaking out, in a park that spans the Continental Divide, has no cell service, and regularly sees lost and injured hikers and encounters with wildlife, including the park’s dense population of grizzly bears.
On top of that, said a current park employee who spoke on condition of anonymity, there are no longer enough staff to safely respond to emergencies. It’s only luck “that the park hasn’t had any big events this year”, they said. “In past years we’ve had big fires, major search-and-rescue operations, really critical injuries. It’s only a matter of time until there’s an event we can’t respond to appropriately and there’s a mass failure of a system.”
And yet the interior secretary Doug Burgum issued an order in April requiring all parks to remain “open and accessible” despite the reduced staff. In Glacier, that might come at the cost of visitor and staff safety.
The department of the interior did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the concerns the staffers and watchdog groups raised. The offices of Zinke and Daines also did not respond to a request for comment.
The staffers say that remaining staff are doing “twice the job they used to”. Law enforcement are covering twice their previous area, maintenance workers are doing jobs they are not trained for, and outside recreation operators, such as Glacier Guides and Montana Raft, are emptying trash and cleaning bathrooms at river accesses to make up for the gaps. The mentality inside the park, said the employee, “is that if you’re the only one left, you’ll do whatever you can to help”.
The Association of National Park Rangers reported that “amid federal budget cuts, some seasonal employees at Yosemite national park worked for as long as six weeks without pay in recent months as park supervisors struggled to manage hiring”.
One of the rally attendees, a local woman named Kathy who asked not to be identified by her last name, is a volunteer with the Glacier National Park Association. “We do restoration, painting, backcountry patrol, visitor center, vehicle reservations. We want to do things, but unfortunately, we don’t have enough supervisors – rangers – to have volunteers.”
“It feels like the government is setting us up to fail,” said the Glacier employee.
Experts worry that Trump’s budget proposal to cut 36% of the national park budget, which could force the closure of up to 350 park units, is a deliberate attempt to sabotage the park system as an excuse to sell those lands for profit.
“Hollowing out staffing, cutting budgets, changing priorities – all of that very much lends itself to the idea of essentially causing those agencies to fail at meeting their mandates, and that will lead to the call for privatization,” said Lundstrum. “Because if the government can’t manage that land, then obviously somebody else should, right? In documents like Project 2025, there are calls for the privatization of land, or the selloff of land.”
Multiple sources say that morale among Glacier staff is low. “The civilian federal workforce used to be nonpartisan, so you always felt like you could have your opinion – liberal or conservative – without fear of retribution,” said one employee. “And now the undertone is to stay under the radar. If you speak up and say ‘this is wrong’, you pretty much have a target on your back.”
One young mother who came to the rally with her two small sons asked not to be identified because her husband is a federal employee; just this month, the justice department fired an official whose husband developed a phone app that tracked Ice agents.
“Having these two little guys is just a constant reminder of how much our world is changing, and the need to stand up for it. Everything could be gone in a blink,” the mother said.
Glacier is also the national park poster child for climate change, as its namesake glaciers are predicted to be completely gone in the coming decades. Yet the administration, without any pushback from congressional Republicans, has cut and scrubbed climate science and reversed Biden-era initiatives to curb climate change.
In his press release, Daines said he introduced the America the Beautiful Act “so that people can get outside and enjoy the natural beauty we’re lucky to have here in the US”, and that he was “proud” to “protect our outdoor way of life for generations to come”.
Hildner said she was not fooled. She said: “To see capitalism as the driving force for managing lands, rather than conservation, is really terrifying: for myself, for what it means for future generations, and what it means for the planet. How do we as a public help the folks who’ve been elected to govern see what the real costs are?”
Fall is one of the most rewarding times to travel — cooler temperatures, lighter crowds, and if you time it right, landscapes ablaze with crimson and gold. Whether you’re chasing foliage, festivals, or fresh air, the question remains: where can you go to maximize the fun without draining your wallet?
WalletHub’s “” study offers a data-driven answer. With pure enjoyment in mind, they ranked all 50 states across 26 indicators — from movie ticket prices to national park access to nightlife per capita.
Whether you’re planning a weekend escape or a longer fall road trip, these rankings offer a fresh lens on where to go — and why.
Overall Winners: States That Deliver Across the Board
If you want a destination that checks multiple boxes, these five states top the overall fun rankings:
California: From beaches to mountains, theme parks to wine country, California offers endless variety — and it ranks high in restaurants, performing arts, and outdoor recreation.
Florida: Known for sunshine and theme parks, Florida also scores well in marinas, golf, and nightlife.
Nevada: Las Vegas alone gives Nevada a nightlife edge, but the state also offers desert beauty and quirky roadside attractions.
Illinois: Chicago’s cultural scene boosts Illinois in performing arts, restaurants, and entertainment variety.
New York: From Broadway to the Adirondacks, New York blends urban energy with natural escapes.
Nightlife Lovers Rejoice
If your idea of fun includes dancing, live music, or late-night bites, these states shine:
Nevada: No surprise here — Vegas is a nightlife juggernaut.
Illinois: Chicago’s bar scene and music venues make it a top contender.
California: LA, San Diego, and offer diverse nightlife experiences.
Washington: Seattle’s indie music and craft cocktail culture earn it a spot.
Wisconsin: A sleeper hit — college towns and brewery culture give Wisconsin unexpected nightlife appeal.
Foodies, Take Note
Looking for culinary variety? These states rank highest in restaurants per capita:
California: From Michelin stars to taco trucks, the food scene is unmatched.
New York: Global flavors and iconic eats — from bagels to banh mi.
Florida: Seafood, Cuban cuisine, and Southern comfort all shine.
Texas: BBQ, Tex-Mex, and bold flavors make Texas a foodie favorite.
Illinois: Deep-dish pizza and farm-to-table dining elevate the Midwest.
Tee Time and Tranquility
Quiet fairways, crisp air — fall golf at its finest.
Prefer a slower pace? These states lead in golf courses and country clubs per capita:
Michigan: Scenic fairways and fall foliage make it a golfer’s dream.
Iowa: Affordable and accessible courses across the state.
Wisconsin: Home to championship courses and cozy clubhouses.
Florida: Year-round play and resort-style amenities.
Arts and Culture Buffs
If you love live performances and cultural experiences, head to:
New York: Broadway, off-Broadway, and everything in between.
California: A rich mix of theater, film, and music festivals.
Minnesota: The Twin Cities boast a surprisingly vibrant arts scene.
Illinois: Chicago’s theaters and comedy clubs are world-class.
Florida: From ballet to jazz, the arts are alive statewide.
Skiers and Snow Seekers
Planning ahead for early snow? These states have the most skiing facilities per capita:
Vermont: Quaint towns and powdery slopes make it a fall-to-winter favorite.
Montana: Big sky, big mountains, and uncrowded runs.
Alaska: Rugged and remote — for the truly adventurous.
Colorado: Legendary resorts and high-altitude beauty.
Maine: Small but mighty ski areas with New England charm.
Coastal Escapes and Marina Views
Highland Light, quiet sentinel of the Cape Cod shore.
If water is your happy place, these states offer the most marinas per capita:
Florida: Boating, fishing, and waterfront dining galore.
New York: From the Hudson to the Finger Lakes, options abound.
Connecticut: Charming coastal towns and sailing culture.
Maryland: Chesapeake Bay beauty and nautical heritage.
Massachusetts: and beyond — a sailor’s paradise.
Nature Lovers and Park Explorers
Want to immerse yourself in the great outdoors? These states offer the best access to national parks:
Alaska: Vast wilderness and jaw-dropping landscapes.
Wyoming: Home to Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
New Mexico: Desert beauty and ancient ruins.
South Dakota: Badlands, Black Hills, and more.
Variety Is the Spice of Fun
Vermont’s quiet beauty, one sweeping view.
If you want a little bit of everything — arts, entertainment, recreation — these states offer the most variety:
South Dakota: From Mount Rushmore to quirky roadside attractions.
Maine: Lighthouses, lobster, and leaf-peeping.
Minnesota: Lakes, museums, and music festivals.
Michigan: Great Lakes charm and cultural depth.
Vermont: Cozy towns and creative communities.
Smart Ways to Travel More and Spend Less
To help travelers enjoy budget-friendly adventures, WalletHub tapped a panel of experts for tips on maximizing fun without overspending.
Robby Lybrand, Chef Instructor, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management – University of South Carolina, says, “For those looking to enjoy travel and leisure without breaking the bank, there are several effective strategies. Planning ahead remains one of the most important ways to save money, booking hotels and experiences midweek or in the off-season can result in deep discounts.
Travelers can also explore discount platforms like Groupon, TodayTix, or city tourism cards that bundle attractions. Many communities offer a wealth of free attractions, museums with free days, city-sponsored concerts, public art walks, and state parks provide high-value, low-cost options. Families can also explore youth and amateur sports events, which offer affordable ticket prices and still bring the excitement of competition. With a little creativity, travelers can maximize “fun density”, packing memorable experiences into even a modest budget.”
Where Will Fun Take You This Fall?
Whether you’re chasing fall foliage, live music, or a quiet round of golf, WalletHub’s rankings offer a roadmap to fun. With a bit of planning — and maybe a few creative detours — you can pack joy, adventure, and affordability into your next trip.
Southern Utah has the highest concentration of natural wonders found anywhere on earth. And pet friendly Kanab is the perfect basecamp for your adventures! With three national parks, two national monuments, a national forest, a national recreation area, a state park, and all the activities Kanab has to offer, exploring here with your pets is a dream!
In many ways pet friendly Kanab, Utah feels much as you’d expect any city with less than 5,000 residents to feel. It has a friendly, small-town vibe where serenity and relaxation come easily.
But Kanab’s serendipitous location provides once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to experience some of the most spectacular scenery in America. Visitors here are spoiled with options. And at the end of each day, the unique accommodations and brilliant restaurants restore your body for the next day’s adventure.
Kanab’s Top Attractions
If you’re on a mission to visit America’s most amazing places, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better vacation destination than Kanab, Utah! Three national parks within easy driving distance. Two breathtaking national monuments. A stunning national forest. A national recreation area visited by more than two million people a year. And that’s just the beginning!
National Parks
Bryce Canyon National Park
Just a 90 minute drive from pet friendly Kanab, Bryce Canyon is known for its incredible rock formations. Like a forest of spires and fins clinging to the canyon walls, the fantastically colored hoodoos are constantly changing.
Wind, rain, snow, freezing, and thawing sculpt the stone, forming new hoodoos while turning others to piles of clay. No matter how many times you visit, there’s always something new to see.
More than five million people visit the Grand Canyon each year. But only a fraction of them come to the North Rim. From Kanab, you can be there in 90 minutes!
Unfortunately, people traveling with pets will find the North Rim less pet friendly than the South Rim. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeing!
At the North Rim dogs are allowed on the Bridal Path and the portion of the Arizona Trail that runs between North Kaibab Trailhead and the north entrance of the park. Both trails are pretty, but neither have views of the canyon.
Pets are also allowed at the picnic areas and in the parking areas of the overlooks. So, pack a lunch and plan to drive the 30 miles of scenic roads at the North Rim, stopping along the way to take in the views.
Zion National Park, Utah’s oldest and most popular park, is a 40-minute drive from pet friendly Kanab. With the red and white walls of Navajo sandstone towering 2,000 feet above you, hiking with your pet in Zion is an experience you’ll never forget.
Leashed pets can join you on all paved surfaces at Zion. This includes along public roads and parking areas, in the developed campgrounds, at all turnouts, and on the Pa’rus Trail. In addition, pets are welcome in the picnic areas and on the grounds of the Zion Lodge.
Over 250 million years of the Earth’s geologic history can be seen in the colorful cliffs at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the monument covers nearly 1.9 million acres. And the Grand Staircase unit is just a few minutes from pet friendly Kanab.
Choose to explore on your own, or hire one Kanab’s excellent outdoor guides and outfitters to show you the hard-to-reach places.
Willis Creek Canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
People come from all over the world to see the colorful sandstone swirls in Vermilion Cliffs. But if you’re driving from Kanab, you can be there in about 45 minutes.
The Marble Canyon Area is easily accessed from Hwy 89A where it crosses the Colorado River. Here you can take in the views from your car or enjoy a short hike. And as you cross the Navajo Bridge keep your eyes peeled for the California condors that make the bridge home.
If you’re looking for a more remote adventure, you’ll need to plan ahead. Dogs can hike with you in Coyote Buttes North (The Wave), Coyote Buttes South, and for overnight trips in Paria Canyon, but both you and your pup must obtain a permit in advance.
Coyote Buttes – Vermillion Cliffs National Monument
National Forest
Dixie National Forest
If you’re looking to do some hiking with your furry travel buddy, don’t miss the Dixie National Forest. Just 30 minutes from Kanab, Dixie covers almost 2 million acres and is criss-crossed by hundreds of miles of trails.
The best part is … every square inch of the national forest is pet friendly! From mountain tops to pastoral valleys, you and your pet could spend a lifetime in Dixie and not see it all.
Lake Powell / Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
The deep blue waters of Lake Powell are framed by soaring red peaks. And from pet friendly Kanab, you can be there in about 75 minutes. Though it’s a popular destination, the shoreline here is longer than the entire West Coast of the United States. So you can always find a secluded cove or canyon.
Of course, being on the water is the main attraction here. And you’ll find pet friendly powerboats, houseboats, and kayak rentals available. So you and your pet can have a ball exploring Lake Powell in the watercraft of your choice. Or, when water levels allow, take the ferry between Bullfrog Marina and Halls Crossing for a leisurely cruise.
Named for a Paiute word meaning “place of the willows,” Kanab, Utah is the perfect basecamp for exploring all the pet friendly wonders of Southern Utah. Offering world-class hiking and hidden slot canyons, it’s also home to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. And having the largest animal sanctuary in the United States in your backyard makes Kanab an extremely pet friendly city! There are few places where pets aren’t welcome in Kanab. So you and your furry travel companion will find plenty to do together!
Best Time To Visit With Pets
Spring and fall are the most obvious times to visit the American Southwest with pets. However, with 256 days of sunshine each year, chances are good that you will see several days of blue skies and sunshine anytime you visit pet friendly Kanab, Utah.
If you’re hoping to avoid the crowds at the national parks, plan your trip in winter when highs in Kanab are in the mid-40s to low 50s. In fact, the only way to experience Zion Canyon — the most popular attraction at Zion National Park — with your pets is to visit when the park’s shuttles aren’t operating. And they only shut down for certain periods between December and February.
An Entertaining History
Before it became travel destination, Kanab was honing its skills as a gracious host to actors and film crews drawn by its scenery. Nicknamed “Little Hollywood,” hundreds of films have been produced in the area since the 1920s when the local landscape became a favorite for cowboy movies.
Celebrating that heritage, more than 90 plaques now make up Kanab’s Walk of Fame. For old movie buffs, strolling around downtown checking out the photos, actor bios, and film credits for the movies and TV shows shot in Kanab and Kane County is endlessly entertaining!
Myles reading Dale Evans’ plaque on the Walk of Fame in Kanab
Kanab’s Pet Friendly Trails System
The selection of pet friendly trails in and around Kanab offers something for everyone. From dino tracks to waterfalls, remote lakes to slot canyons, easy jaunts to all-day treks, you’ll find the perfect option for you and your pet on the Visit Southern Utah website.
Spend A Day At Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
Located on 6,000 acres just five miles north of downtown Kanab, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is much more than its name implies. Started in 1984, Best Friends has gone from caring for animals in search of homes to leading a nationwide movement to bring an end to the killing of homeless dogs and cats. No animal lover would consider a trip to Kanab complete without visiting this inspiring place.
On any given day, the sanctuary is home to as many as 1,600 dogs, cats, birds, bunnies, horses, pigs and other animals. And you’re invited to take a free, guided tour, volunteer to spend time with the animals, or simply enjoy the trails and extraordinary surroundings with your pet.
The sanctuary is open seven days a week, but tours and volunteer opportunities fill up quickly, so be sure to sign up early! During our visit we took the Grand Sanctuary Tour, following the tour shuttle in our car with Myles and listening to the tour guide on our radio. Then we did the Pig & Goat Walking Tour with Myles, keeping him outside the enclosures.
Our next stop was for a wonderful, vegan lunch at Angel Village Café. The view from their patio overlooking Angel Canyon will take your breath away!
Finally, we hit the trails with Myles! Hiking the 1.3-mile Angels Overlook Trail took us to the Gratitude Garden and fantastic views of the canyon below.
There are several trails to choose from, so pick up a trail map at the Welcome Center. And, if you’re not traveling with a pet of your own, sign up to take one of Best Friends’ resident dogs along for company!
Visit Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
Just 22 miles west of Kanab, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park protects 1,200 acres of shifting sand dunes! Created by wind funneling through a notch between the Moquith and Moccasin Mountains, it’s a completely unique landscape to see in this part of the country.
Pets on leash are welcome throughout the park, though walking on the sand can be difficult for dogs and humans alike. Also be aware that much of the dunes are open to OHV use, so watch for vehicles as you explore. If traversing the dunes isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other pet friendly hiking opportunities in Kanab and the surrounding area.
The park also has two campgrounds and a nice picnic area if you are looking for a place to eat lunch.
Where To Stay In Pet Friendly Kanab
Disclosure: We were provided with free accommodations at Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile in exchange for sharing our experience with you.
Hopefully, you’re intrigued enough about pet friendly Kanab to plan a trip of your own. If so, you’ll find a nice selection of pet friendly hotels and several campgrounds to choose from! But if you’re an animal lover, there’s really only one place to stay … Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile.
Located on the north side of downtown Kanab, the Roadhouse is the most pet-centric hotel we’ve ever seen. And staying there helps support the lifesaving mission of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, just five miles up the road.
Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile
In a world where some “pet friendly” hotels barely tolerate pets, we’d give Best Friends Roadhouse a 16 out of 10 on the pet friendliness scale. They offer a truly unique experience — the opportunity to stay in a hotel designed for pets!
Early morning sunshine hitting the red rocks at Best Friendly Roadhouse
Our room was lovely, with a small kitchen equipped to prepare and serve simple meals and a dining area to share them. The bed was incredibly comfortable. And the bathroom was gorgeous!
But a lot of hotels have beautiful rooms and cozy beds. Where Best Friends Roadhouse really stands out is in the ways it caters to pets — starting with their pet policy. There is no pet fee, no weight restrictions, no breed restrictions, cats are welcome, and up to four pets are allowed per room.
But even their stellar pet policy isn’t what makes Best Friends Roadhouse so special. It’s the thoughtful amenities that makes your pet’s stay truly memorable.
After a long day in the car, Myles and I were both delighted to find that the Roadhouse has two dog parks! He got to run around and burn off some energy. And Rod and I were off the hook for a long evening walk.
The hotel provided dog bowls for Myles in our room, but he much preferred slurping from the outdoor dog fountain.
Not being a bath-lover, he was less excited to see the pet spa beside the guest laundry. Fortunately, we didn’t have any incidents that required Myles to get a bath. But it would be super handy for anyone whose dog looks forward to a bit of pampering!
The next treat we discovered (other than the human cookies and dog treats we received at check-in) was that Myles had TWO dog beds to choose from … not including ours!
Dog den at Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile in Kanab, Utah
Myles sleeping on a pull-out dog bed at the foot of the human bed
And the mercantile, in addition to serving a fantastic breakfast, is full of all kinds of goodies. They even have pet gear, in case there’s something you forget to pack.
They’ve even thought of the people who love animals but aren’t traveling with their own pet. The folks at Best Friends Roadhouse will arrange for your choice of a dog, cat, or bunny from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary to sleepover with you. Now, that’s taking pet-friendliness to a whole new level!!
Places To Eat In Pet Friendly Kanab
As I mentioned, Kanab is very pet friendly, and we had no trouble finding outdoor dining options with Myles. From simple takeaway fare, to a vegan taco truck, to outstanding fine dining, going hungry isn’t a concern.
Here is a list of pet friendly eateries in Kanab that offer pet friendly seating:
Angel Village Café – buffet lunch from 11:30am – 1pm daily on the pet friendly patio overlooking Angel Canyon
Best Friends Mercantile – snacks, coffee, and light fare which you can take to go or eat on the covered patio
Brown Box Bakeshop – bakery, soup, sandwiches, and ice cream with sidewalk seating
Fusion House – Pan-Asian cuisine with sidewalk seating
Rocking V Café – comfort food, from buffalo tenderloin to deep dish enchiladas, and the best bread pudding I’ve ever eaten. Pet friendly sidewalk seating.
Wild Thyme Café – fantastic American eatery serving chops, steaks, seafood, and vegetarian options on a quiet, shady deck
Pet friendly patio seating at the Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile
Dog friendly sidewalk seating at Rocking V Café in Kanab
Shaded dog friendly deck at Wild Thyme Café in Kanab, Utah
We hope our stay in pet friendly Kanab, Utah inspires you to explore Southern Utah with your pets! If you’ve visited Kanab, we’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below.
Waggin’ trails!
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