2021

Current State of Transportation 

Priorities and Needs

National Park Service Transportation Program Goal

To preserve and protect resources, while providing safe and enjoyable access to and within the national parks, 

using sustainable, appropriate, and integrated transportation solutions.

www.nps.gov/transportation

The National Park Service transportation These areas include: 

system provides over 300 million visitors 

per year with access to America’s most 

treasured landscapes and historic 

sites. This transportation system also 

contributes to economic benefits and 

connects national parks with nearby 

communities. 

The Federal Lands Transportation 

Program (FLTP) is one of the primary 

funding sources for NPS transportation 

infrastructure. Other funding sources, 

including the Great American Outdoors 

Act, provide significant, necessary funding 

for major transportation projects.

To maintain a high quality, multimodal 

transportation system and address key 

transportation priorities, NPS allocates 

funding across three theme areas.

Protect 

the Climate & 

Advance Resource 

Protection

Enhance Visitor 

Experience &

Connect Diverse 

Communities

Reinvest in 

the System & 

Make Legacy 

Investments

Indiana Dunes National Park

Grand Canyon National Park

Photo Credit: NPS Photo Credit: NPS
2

NPS Transportation Today

transit systems 100

miles of front 

country trails 4,600

5,500

miles of paved 

roads

1,400

bridges

6,100

paved parking 

areas

Today, the NPS transportation system 

faces major challenges, including 

overcrowding in some parks and visitation 

challenges in others. The NPS needs 

to keep pace with rapidly changing 

technologies and maintain aging 

infrastructure. The NPS also faces damage 

from climate change and severe weather, 

and needs to make its infrastructure 

more resilient while also reducing carbon 

emissions.

Climate change has increased the frequency of 

extreme weather events and natural disasters, 

severely impacting transportation systems and 

facilities on public lands, such as this parking 

lot at Assateague Island National Seashore. 

The NPS has conducted over 20 vulnerability 

assessments and found that access roads and 

other transportation infrastructure are highly 

vulnerable to coastal hazards and sea-level rise.

Photo Credit: NPS

Assateague Island National Seashore

The NPS is actively working to address 

these challenges through investments in 

its transportation system, including the 

roads, bridges, transit systems, front 

country trails, and ferries that provide 

critical access to and within parks. 

The NPS and its U.S. Department of 

Transportation partners maintain this 

infrastructure using transportation 

industry standards and performancebased, data-driven decisions.

Providing active transportation opportunities 

and keeping pedestrians and bicyclists safe are 

NPS priorities. The Cleetwood Trail at Crater 

Lake National Park requires investment to 

address critical safety issues and maintenance 

needs, including mitigating nine unstable 

slopes, reconstructing the trail retaining walls, 

grades, and cross slopes to make the trail 

level and stable, and rehabilitating the failing 

bulkhead and floating docks at the marina.

Photo Credit: NPS

Crater Lake National Park

 The NPS transportation system consists of:
3

Protect the Climate & 

Advance Resource Protection

The NPS is meeting its mission to protect 

and preserve natural and cultural 

resources by reducing transportation 

carbon emissions and preparing its assets 

for extreme weather events and climate 

change. 

The NPS invests in low and no carbon 

transportation options like transit, electric 

vehicles, and trails for walking and biking. 

Strategies like wildlife crossings, managing 

traffic congestion, and use of quieter 

pavement materials help to minimize the 

impact of the transportation system on 

natural, cultural, and historic resources.

Priorities include:

Electrifying 

transit buses and 

expanding the 

electric vehicle 

charging network.

Implementing 

projects to reduce 

damage from 

climate change.

The NPS is raising the Tamiami Trail (U.S. 

Highway 41) to restore seasonal water flow 

to Everglades National Park. The project will 

improve ecological connectivity and replenish 

aquifers across south Florida, making the state’s 

freshwater supply more resilient to climate 

change.

Many NPS transportation assets are vulnerable 

to natural disasters. The NPS is investing in 

strategies to adapt to climate change, including 

raising roads and bridges in coastal areas and 

using permeable pavement to reduce flooding.

Photo Credit: NPS

Tamiami Trail Bridge at Everglades 

National Park

Zion National Park

The NPS is replacing Zion National Park’s aging 

transit fleet with one of the largest battery 

electric bus purchases in North America. The 

fleet electrification will help the park reduce 

greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, 

reduce noise, and save on operating costs. 

Additionally, the NPS has over 150 electric 

vehicle charging stations. The NPS is working 

through partnerships to build out a network of 

electric vehicle chargers.

Photo Credit: NPS
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Enhance Visitor Experience & 

Connect Diverse Communities

To improve access for visitors and connect 

parks and communities, the NPS is 

creating a 21st century transportation 

system through investments in transit, 

trails, and technology. These multimodal 

transportation investments ensure a 

national park system that is responsive to 

increased visitor demand and enables carfree trips.

Each year, the approximately 100 NPS 

surface and water-borne transit systems 

carry over 43 million park visitors, 

eliminate over 480 million passenger 

vehicle miles from the road, and reduce 

CO2 emissions by nearly 180,000 metric 

tons.

The NPS is also researching and 

piloting the use of new transportation 

technologies, including: 

• Real-time information on road

closures, bus arrivals, and congestion;

• Partnerships for ridehailing

and bike share; and

• Automated shuttle demonstrations.

Priorities include:

Operating transit and 

maintaining and investing 

in buses, ferries, and 

transit facilities.

Improving existing 

frontcountry trails to good 

condition, investing in 

major trail projects, and 

constructing links in the 

trail network.

Researching and implementing 

transportation technologies 

and pilots to communicate to 

visitors, improve access, and 

manage congestion.

The NPS launched its first automated shuttle

demonstrations at Wright Brothers National 

Memorial and Yellowstone National Park in 

spring 2021. 

Photo Credit: North Carolina Department of Transportation

Wright Brothers National Memorial

The NPS aims to connect residents, visitors, 

and communities to the Schuylkill River Trail 

and foster stewardship of the watershed and 

its heritage.

NPS multimodal investments include trails for 

walking and biking, transit systems to enable 

car-free trips, and partnerships and projects 

with nearby communities. 

Photo Credit: NPS

Schuylkill River Greenways 

National Heritage Area
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Reinvest in the System & 

Make Legacy Investments

The NPS needs to make critical 

investments to maintain and improve the 

condition of roads and parkways, parking 

areas, bridges, and tunnels. Appropriated 

funding enables the NPS to provide a 

safe and efficient transportation system

for visitors while preserving access to 

natural, historical, and cultural resources.

To leverage appropriated funding, 

the NPS pursues grants and strategic 

partnerships with state and local 

governments. Discretionary programs like 

the Nationally Significant Federal Lands 

and Tribal Projects (NSFLTP) Program are 

critical to funding priority megaprojects

across the country.

Priorities include:

Addressing life-cycle 

maintenance and 

reinvestment for 

existing paved roads and 

paved parking areas.

Addressing life-cycle 

maintenance and 

reinvestment for 

existing bridges and 

tunnels.

Yellowstone National Park At Yellowstone National Park, the Frying Pan 

Thermal Springs impeded visibility, creating unsafe 

conditions. The Grand Loop Road was realigned 

around Frying Pan. This realignment re-established 

wetlands and provided for spectacular viewsheds.

There are approximately 50 fatalities and 1,300 

injuries annually on NPS roadways. The NPS is 

working to reduce crashes and improve safety 

through engineering and behavioral programs.

Photo Credit: NPS

The NPS is working to complete the Congressionallyauthorized Foothills Parkway in Great Smoky 

Mountains National Park. In partnership with the 

state of Tennessee, this project enhances access to 

the park while promoting tourism and economic 

development in gateway communities across the 

state’s rural Foothills region.

NPS megaprojects, with a cost of over $25M each, 

typically require additional funding sources, such 

as NSFLTP, and strategic partnerships to successfully 

complete. 

Photo Credit: NPS

Foothills Parkway