National parks are one of America's greatest and environmentally worthwhile achievements. As many know, the first national park to be established likely
Adirondack Council Director Discusses Adirondack Issues wamc.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wamc.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Print
Temperatures are rising and you’re thinking about a summer road trip to somewhere with a lot of open space so you won’t be stuck in a stuffy airplane or a crowded hotel lobby, trying to hold your breath.
You are not alone.
Nearly 90% of Southern Californians will travel by car during the Memorial Day weekend 7 percentage points higher than before the pandemic, according to the Auto Club of Southern California travel forecast, which was released Tuesday. And three of the five most popular destinations are expected to be national parks.
Two crowded urban destinations, San Francisco and Anaheim, have dropped out of the top five list for the first time in recent memory, primarily because travelers believe that outdoor vacations let them worry less about mask mandates and COVID-19 protocols, Auto Club representatives said.
On April 27, the Centers for Disease Control released new COVID-19 safety guidelines including expanded outdoor options for small groups. Once fully vaccinated, adults can now gather outdoors unmasked, travel within the U.S. without quarantining or testing, and join limited numbers of other vaccinated people indoors without masks or distancing.
This is good news for the approaching summer as better weather will allow many to take advantage of recreational opportunities that were sorely missed last summer under necessarily tighter precautions.
Nearby outdoor recreation is abundant. Here in St. Cloud the city’s Parks and Recreation Department manages nearly 1,700 acres of parks, ranging from the massive Whitney Park complex and the showplace Munsinger and Clemens Gardens to modest neighborhood parks like Lions Park on the edge of Pantown. With almost 100 parks and two dozen trails, there is likely some city-owned green space within walking distance of most residents. Everything f