The ongoing disruption of the National Park Service continues to have a ripple effect on access to some of the country's most revered beauty spots, with Arches National Park announcing this week that it has temporarily closed one of its most popular trails.
The Utah park posted a memo on Tuesday announcing that Fiery Furnace has temporarily closed to the public. Fiery Furnace is a natural maze of sandstone hoodoos, narrow canyons and rock arches that became so popular in the 1990s that a permit system was introduced to manage crowds, cut down on rescues and protect the sandstone. For the past 30 years, the only way to experience Fiery Furnace has been with a ranger or by securing an individual permit, approximately 100 of which are ordinarily issued each day between spring and fall.
However, Arches has announced that no ranger-led tours or self-guided permits will be issued until further notice, explaining that the federal hiring freeze at the beginning of the year has meant the park has been delayed in securing seasonal workers. Despite the administration's U-turn on its initial decision to rescind thousands of job offers to seasonal employees, the reversal came too late for parks like Arches to recover the employees they'd lost before the busy Spring Break period.
Most National Parks, Arches included, rely on seasonal employees to operate in busy season, and it takes time to go through the hiring process and for the individuals to secure accommodation, something that can be in tight supply in towns like Moab that feed parks like Arches.
Karen Henker, a spokesperson for Arches, tells Moab's Times-Independent the park plans to resume access once enough seasonal employees have been hired to support normal operations.
“Seasonal hiring is happening, and when those seasonals arrive, we do look forward to returning to normal spring operations."
The decision might mean you have to wait on a bucket list hike, but there are plenty of other geological wonders included in the best hikes at Arches National Park, and if it's hoodoos you seek, Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah has by far the greatest collection of any National Park and indeed the world, and is typically quieter than parks like Arches and Zion, where you'll also find a hoodoo or two.
You can also head outside of the Utah National Parks, which can be busy in the spring, and head to quieter spots like Goblin Valley State Park and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Advnture has reached out to Arches for comment on this story and will provide updates as we receive them.
