National parks are meant to be enjoyed, not destroyed. So unless you want to end
up on the local news, don't fall into the following tourist traps.
When you go to a national park, you should never, ever interact with the wildlife. The
most obvious reason is the animal could attack you, causing serious injury or
spreading disease. But seemingly harmless animals need to be left alone as well,
for their own safety. Even if you think an animal needs your help, leave it alone.
On May 9, 2016, a day when the high hit 50 degrees Fahrenheit,
two tourists saw a newborn bison in Yellowstone National park and decided,
for whatever reason, that it must be too cold. So they picked it up and put it in their car.
Far from saving the baby animal, their actions led directly to its death,
according to the Washington Post. After being handled by people,
the calf's mother rejected it. Park officials issued a statement which read, in part,
"Park rangers tried repeatedly to reunite the newborn bison calf with the herd. These
efforts failed. The bison calf was later euthanized because it was abandoned and
causing a dangerous situation by continually approaching people and cars along the roadway."
While it might seem obvious you shouldn't try to pet the wildlife in national parks,
it might seem like less of a big deal if you feed the animals. After all,
what's a few sunflower seeds or lettuce leaves?
Well, bad news. While it might seem like feeding is a good thing that will keep
animals in the parks alive, in reality, it leads to them being very dead. The National
Parks Service goes so far as to call feeding wildlife, quote, "a form of animal cruelty."
The Idaho Statesman reported in 2021 that a perfectly healthy young black bear had
to be put down once it became clear it had become "food-conditioned." In other words,
it got so much access to human food at campsites in Montana's
Glacier National Park that all the normal tricks to scare it away no longer worked.
"Big bear chase me!"
While that case might have involved campers being lax
with their food security rather than feeding the bear on purpose, in 2018,
9 News reported a fox in Grand Teton National Park was also euthanized because humans had
been feeding it so much that it would go right up to people looking for a treat.
It's not just traditionally dangerous animals either:
The National Park Service explains that a mule deer buck who was used to being fed
once gored and killed a child in Yosemite when the boy didn't give it his sandwich.
According to the United States Department of Justice, if you take home a piece of
the park and get caught, you'll be charged with violating federal law, which "prohibits removal,
defacing, or trafficking in archeological resources on public or Indian lands."
Depending on how valuable the thing you took was or the amount of damage caused, you could
be looking at one to two years in jail and a $10,000 to $20,000 fine. And if for some reason
you don't learn your lesson and do it again, those penalties jump to five years and $100,000.
And those aren't empty threats. In 2018, 60-year-old Gary Womack
of Kentucky got 15 months for thefts from various government-owned lands,
including Channel Islands National Park. To be fair, he definitely knew what he was doing
was wrong, since he got the artifacts by digging up Native American graves.
The thieves who looted Petersburg National Battlefield in 2016 at least
didn't disturb any marked graves there, but CNN reports they dug
many large holes in the battlefield and didn't even try to cover their tracks.
Ignoring signs in a national park is a great way to end up lost, trapped, or dead. In 2014,
four people in as many days injured themselves after they ignored the same signs at a popular
natural pool beneath a waterfall in Yosemite, according to National Parks Traveler.
"Remember that the best way to stay safe is to stay on the trail."
And as another reminder to never try to interact with the wildlife,
Yellowstone National Park is full of big, clear signs warning people not
to get anywhere near the animals, like, you know, the giant bison. The ones with horns.
This didn't stop an Australian tourist in 2015,
who was gored in 2015 when he got too close. Nor is he alone, as every year
people are injured when they ignore the signs and decide to try to be a buffalo whisperer.
If you haven't noticed, half of the United States is on fire for a good
four or five months of the year now, like clockwork. And that half also
happens to have some of the most famous and beautiful national parks in the country.
So while it's one of the highlights of going camping in a national park to start a cozy
campfire at the end of the day ... try not to burn down a state or two while you're at it?
Fortunately, the National Parks Service has you covered when it comes to how to correctly
have fun with fire on government land with helpful guides and videos. And, of course,
they have a very helpful and memorable IP in the form of Smokey Bear, who is
all about getting campers to accept personal responsibility for keeping the parks inferno-free.
"Only you can prevent wildfires."
Sadly, not everyone listens. SFGate reported that in August 2013, a hunter was in the Stanislaus
National Forest when he started a campfire to heat up some food – despite there being a burn
ban in place. The resulting blaze lasted 9 weeks, covered 400 square miles, and destroyed 11 homes.
While climate change has made the chance of major fires worse, it's always been a problem in the
parks. A report from way back in 1919 covered the many fires in Yosemite caused by campfires,
cigarettes, and cigars, noting that 14 people were fined for leaving their campfires unattended.
No matter how much your tummy grumbles while visiting a National Park,
don't grab yourself an al fresco snack supplied by the great outdoors itself. Eating the wrong
mushroom or berry is a great way to find yourself very dead, or at least very ill.
Smokey Bear Ranch, located in Glacier National Park, highlights eight common
poisonous berries found in the United States as a warning for its visitors,
including holly, mistletoe, and yew. Depending on which ones and how much someone eats,
side effects range from an upset stomach to incontinence to brain damage to death.
One berry not mentioned on the Smokey Bear Ranch list was the red baneberry, which National Parks
Traveler says is "widely distributed" around the country. They note that the berry's toxicity
depends on the time of year, and a child risks cardiac arrest eating even just two berries.
It's not just berries: all plants and mushrooms should be avoided unless you
are an expert. In 1985, the Associated Press reported on a man who died after
eating poisonous water hemlock while visiting Yellowstone National Park.
Everyone should try to reduce their use of single-use plastics, but when packing for
a trip to the great outdoors, you need to leave all the plastic at home. The
plastic situation in America’s national parks is out of control and worsening.
"Companies are choosing to make something that will be used just once."
Even in a politically divided country like the United States, a 2022 poll by the nonprofit
Oceana found that 82% of U.S. voters across all parties supported banning the sale of single-use
plastic items at National Parks. This change could have a big impact on the average of more than 2
pounds of garbage each visitor leaves behind in a national park each year. In 2013, half of the
solid waste disposed of in Yellowstone National Park was plastic water bottles, according to PIRG.
While getting away from it all sounds great in theory, being disconnected from your phone can
seem kind of impossible. That's why many visitors to national parks rely on their phones in more
ways than one when they are in the wilderness, all of which can lead to serious issues or even death.
First, there are people who think their phones can replace maps. According to Outside magazine,
in 2019, only 50% of Yellowstone National Park had cell service,
and even in many of the areas that did get it, the signal was not very strong. And
if something happens to you out there, that means you might not be able to summon help.
Also, don't rely on your phone to snap pictures for the 'gram so much that
you forget basic safety. The New York Post reported in 2016 that a man fell
to his death in Acadia National Park while taking a picture of the sunset,
while a teenager getting a selfie in Yosemite in 2018 also fell and died, according to ABC News.
Drones might not be as ubiquitous as smartphones,
but it's a technology that is fast becoming both more exciting and cheaper.
"What's he doing? Hey!”
As more and more people buy drones for their own use and start uploading dozens of YouTube videos
of aerial shots of their backyards, many of them are going to want to get some more impressive
views of nature. Where better to take your drone than the wide-open spaces of a national park?
According to the government, many other places. The anti-drone policy has been around for national
parks since way back in 2014. And if you ignore this rule? Not only can the rangers take your
drone, but you could be out $5,000 in fines and even find yourself in jail for six months.
This doesn't mean people haven't tried to get away with it anyway. Sierra magazine reports that
drone enthusiasts were caught by the National Park Service more than 2,000 times from 2015 to 2020.
Not all priceless art ends up in museums. Some of the oldest and most important artworks in all
of the U.S. can be found on random rocks in national parks. Native Americans often used
these rocks as their canvas to paint or etch images of animals, people, or geometric shapes.
Short of encasing all of them in plexiglass, it is just understood that if you are in a national
park and stumble on one of these incredible and ancient works of art, you should just
admire it and move on. Yet people treat these treasures like toilet stalls all the time.
In 2016, Reuters reported that tourists had
etched their names so deeply into rocks found in one of the most popular areas
at Utah's Arches National Park that there was probably no way to reverse the damage.
At the end of 2021, tourists with the same very creative idea scratched their names
and the date on rocks in Big Bend National Park. However, in this case, it wasn't just the rocks,
but the ancient petroglyphs on them that were "irreparably damaged." The
National Parks Service defines that kind of damage as, quote, "cultural violence."
When you camp in the great outdoors, you lack the comforts of home. Many national parks have no
restrooms, as the National Parks Service explains on their website all about pooping in their parks.
Peeing varies in difficulty depending on your equipment,
but pooping poses the same challenges for everyone. You can’t just poop anywhere. You
must pick a spot carefully for the environment and the health and safety of humans and wildlife.
Camping resource The Dyrt advises being 200 feet from water sources,
preferably on high ground to avoid contaminating streams with rainwater,
and in a sunny location to help the waste decompose faster. Dig a hole for your waste
and cover it with dirt and leaves. Never leave toilet paper, not even in the hole. And if you
use leaves instead of toilet paper? The National Park Service warns you to avoid poison ivy.