OFFICE OF 

INSPECTOR GENERAL 

U.S.DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

CARES Act Flash Report 

The National Park Service’s 

Coronavirus Response Operating Plans 

During the COVID-19 

pandemic, the NPS closed 

most park facilities and some 

parks entirely. As the NPS 

begins to reopen parks 

across the country, we 

reached out to park 

superintendents to determine 

whether the national parks 

had developed or had begun 

developing COVID-19 

response operating plans. 

We found: 

The National Park Service (NPS) manages 419 parks, including 

national parks, recreation areas, seashores, and monuments, in 50

States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories. In response to 

the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the NPS made 

significant changes to its normal operations to ensure the safety of its 

visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners. These operational 

changes included closing most park buildings, facilities, and 

restrooms, and in some cases, entire parks. As an outdoor respite for 

the public, however, some outdoor recreational spaces—where local 

public health guidance allowed—remained opened. Through internal 

guidance, the NPS directed its parks to follow the most stringent 

public health guidance provided by Federal, State, and local officials 

when making decisions related to park operations. 

With States now easing stay-at-home restrictions, and in response to

the White House’s emphasis to open the national parks, some parks 

intend to or have already increased access by implementing a phased 

reopening. Therefore, on May 5, 2020, we initiated a review of the 

NPS’ COVID-19 response operating plans to reopen the parks. Our 

scope included reviewing the reopening plans for the NPS’ 62 national 

parks. 

We initially planned to review the guidance the NPS provided to the 

national parks, obtain each national park’s individual plan, and 

determine if the national parks followed NPS guidelines. We could not 

continue with our review as planned because the NPS had not yet 

disseminated its finalized guidance, National Park Service COVID19 Adaptive Operations Recovery Plan, to assist the national parks in 

developing reopening plans. Specifically, the NPS told us on May 7, 

2020, that it had developed the guidance, but the U.S. Department of 

the Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) still needed to review and approve it, which occurred by May 

19, 2020. When we learned that the NPS had not yet distributed 

guidance, we revised our review to contact each of the 62 national 

park superintendents and report on each national park’s current 

operating status, anticipated reopening date, and whether the national 

park had begun developing a COVID-19 response operating plan. 

The NPS issued its guidance to the parks on May 28, 2020. 

CARES Act Flash Report • No. 2020-CR-039 • Issued June 25, 2020 1 

• The NPS maintained

ongoing communication,

provided interim COVIDrelated guidance, and

issued its finalized

COVID-19 operating

guidance on reopening its

parks on May 28, 2020.

• Thirty national parks had

already began opening or

anticipated a phased

reopening between May

2020 and July 2020.

• Ten of those 30 national

parks had not begun

developing a plan to

reopen.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The National Park Service 

COVID-19 Adaptive 

Operations Recovery Plan 

provides: 

• Strategic direction,

guidance, and an

adaptive decision making

framework to reopen in a

phased approach, when

the risk to employees and

the public can be

sufficiently mitigated

• A risk assessment tool for

reopening public-facing

facilities and identifying

reasonable mitigation

techniques to protect

employees, volunteers,

contractors, and visitors

• NPS’ roles and

responsibilities regarding

reopening plans

• COVID-19 mitigation

strategies such as:

o Social distancing

protocols

o Cleaning procedures

o Occupancy limits

o Monitoring employees

health in the

workplace

o Signage requirements

o Ventilation guidance

Results of Our Review 

We found that as of May 12, 2020, most of the national parks were 

entirely closed or still partially closed—only allowing access to 

outdoor recreational spaces, such as hiking trails, roads, and open 

water. Of the 62 national parks, we noted that 32 did not yet have an 

anticipated date to increase recreational access, visitor services, or 

use of some facilities, while 30 had either already began a phased 

reopening or anticipated an opening date between May 2020 and 

July 2020.1 We also noted that 21 of those 30 parks had already 

begun reopening or anticipated opening in May 2020 (see Figure 1). 

Yellowstone National Park, for example, began its first phase of 

reopening on May 18, 2020. Bryce Canyon National Park and Grand 

Teton National Park are other examples of national parks that reported 

a phased reopening on May 13, 2020, and May 18, 2020, respectively. 

Figure 1: The National Parks' Anticipated 

Reopening Dates Varied Between 

May and July 2020 

Anticipated 

reopening in 

May: 

21 

Anticipated 

reopening date 

in June: 

6 

Anticipated 

reopening date in 

Reopening date 

to be 

determined: 

32 

July: 

3 

Although the National Park Service COVID-19 Adaptive Operations 

Recovery Plan was not yet finalized when some parks began to 

consider reopening, the NPS had maintained communication with its 

national parks and provided interim COVID-19-related guidance 

throughout the closure. To the NPS’ credit, when we contacted the 

superintendents, we found that many of the national parks had 

already developed or had begun developing COVID-19 reopening 

plans. Specifically, for the 30 national parks that had either already 

began a phased reopening or anticipated reopening between May 

2020 and July 2020, we found that 20 national parks had developed 

or had begun developing a phased reopening plan with COVID-19 

considerations. 

1 We did not receive a response from one park, and one national park in Alaska, which is a preserve with no facilities or trails, did not close 

because of the pandemic. 

CARES Act Flash Report • No. 2020-CR-039 • Issued June 25, 2020 2 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Considering the risks 

associated with COVID-19 

and the phased reopening 

of the national parks, and 

now that the NPS has 

issued formal guidance to 

all 419 parks, the NPS 

must ensure: 

• All locations have a parkspecific plan to reopen

that incorporates, at a

minimum, the guidance

in the National Park

Service COVID-19

Adaptive Operations

Recovery Plan

• Every location has

appropriate policies and

procedures in place to

operate in a way that

provides public access

while protecting visitors

and staff from further

transmission of the virus

We also found, however, that 10 of those 30 parks had not started 

developing a COVID-19 operating plan for reopening (see Figure 2). 

For example, Biscayne National Park in Florida and Petrified Forest 

National Park in Arizona had not begun developing COVID-19 

reopening plans but had anticipated reopening in May and June, 

respectively. Further, on May 4, 2020, Everglades National Park 

reopened some of its park facilities and services, including the 

marina store, restrooms, gas pumps, and fish-cleaning stations. We 

found that although the Everglades National Park provided us with a 

document listing a few general park restrictions and a 

concessionaire’s plan noting precautions for operating the marina 

store, fuel pumps, and bath house, Everglades National Park had not 

begun developing an overall COVID-19 reopening plan. The 

Everglades National Park, as well as other parks that have begun a 

phased reopening before receiving the NPS guidance, should develop 

or update their COVID-19 operating plans to incorporate, at a 

minimum, the guidance provided by the NPS. 

Figure 2: National Parks Anticipating 

Reopening in May, June, or July Had Not 

All Started Developing COVID-19 Plans 

4 

17 

3 

3 3 

May June July 

Parks That Started Developing COVID-19 Plans 

Parks That Have Not Started Developing COVID-19 Plans 

We acknowledge the challenge the NPS has had in this ever-changing 

and unprecedented situation. We also recognize that the NPS cannot 

take a one-size-fits all approach to reopening its locations, as each 

national park must consider guidance from Federal, State, and local 

officials. Considering the risks associated with COVID-19 and the 

phased reopening of the national parks, it is imperative that all NPS 

locations have a park-specific plan to reopen. Now that the NPS has 

issued its formal guidance to all 419 locations, it must ensure that 

moving forward every location follows, at a minimum, the NPS 

guidance and has appropriate policies and procedures in place to 

operate in a way that provides public access while protecting visitors 

and staff from further transmission of the virus. 

CARES Act Flash Report • No. 2020-CR-039 • Issued June 25, 2020 3