A special type of tourism is very popular in the United States – recreation in the national parks. Each year they collectively receive about 500 million visitors. The first park was opened in the Yellowstone Crater area in 1872. Today, the National Park System includes 394 state-run wilderness areas.
When planning a “hike” to the park, you can use the services of travel companies or go on your own. The fee for a visit varies between $15 and $25 per vehicle, and such permission to enter is valid for seven days. If you go on foot, bicycle or skis, the fee is lower, but it is charged per person. For those who are going to visit several parks, it is more profitable to buy a “single” annual ticket for $80.
When you enter the park, you will be offered a detailed map with descriptions of local attractions, various routes, places to stay overnight, as well as cafes, restaurants, gas stations, and stores.
Tourists have the opportunity to choose three degrees of “comfort” travel. The first involves staying in hotels within the park or in towns near its borders. Some park hotels for almost a century are taking their guests in their walls, while maintaining the exotic setting. Places in selected hotels are recommended to book in advance.
The second type of accommodation is camping. The park service will offer to choose a free parking space for a certain time. Standard accommodation of this type involves space for parking and a place for a tent. It is equipped with a picnic table, a cast-iron roaster, and often a metal storage box for food. The campground has several public restrooms with all the amenities, including toilet paper, running water, and electrical outlets. No overnight stays of any kind – whether in a tent, car, or in the RVs (motor homes) popular in the United States – are allowed outside.
A third type of lodging is appropriate for those who want to “blend in with nature”. The park service offers free parking along hiking trails that you must walk to get there by leaving your car in the parking lot. You must register and undergo a mandatory safety briefing. You’re advised to put the tent not closer than a hundred meters from the place where you’re going to cook, hang the food supplies for the night on the rope, and bury the food products at least 30 centimeters far from the place where you’re going to spend the night. The rangers will definitely visit you in the parking lot. In the case of violations there is inevitable fine, which is advisory in nature, but the information is recorded in the database and pops up when you visit the NPS parks.