Accessibility in U.S. National Parks

If you are a nature-lover, a guaranteed way to experience the great outdoors is by visiting a national park. The United States has some awe-inspiring parks, but the question is: Which parks are accessible, and how accessible are they?

First of all, in terms of specific accessibility requirements for national parks, in my research I couldn’t find much on the subject.  All of the parks are different; while Management Policies state commitment to providing accessible features for people with disabilities, they also say that “The National Park Service will provide persons with disabilities the highest feasible level of physical access to historic properties that is reasonable, consistent with the preservation of each property's significant historical features.”

By “highest feasible level,” the National Park Service means that while it would not be feasible to make a remote and difficult hiking trail accessible, it is safe to say that any area of a park that you can reach via a standard motor vehicle should be accessible (camping grounds, buildings, etc.)

That being said, an essential feature for park visitors with disabilities is the America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass – Access Pass. This pass is free and is a lifetime pass for U.S. citizens/permanent residents with disabilities:

“The pass admits the pass holder and passengers in a non-commercial vehicle at per vehicle fee areas and pass holder + 3 adults, not to exceed 4 adults, at per person fee areas (children under 16 are admitted free). ..The Access Pass provides a 50 percent discount on some Expanded Amenity Fees charged for facilities and services such as camping, swimming, boat launching, and specialized interpretive services” (National Park Service).

While all National Parks are mandated to have some level of accessibility, below is a list of five popular national parks and their accessibility features:

1) Rocky Mountain National Park – Colorado. This park has multiple options for accessible trails, including Sprague Lake, Coyote Valley Trail, Bear Lake, and Lilly Lake. These trails are anywhere from a half-mile to a mile long and provide some wonderful scenic views of wildflowers, spruce forests, and lakes. There is also a wheelchair accessible backcountry campsite near the Sprague Lake trail.

2) Yellowstone National Park – Wyoming. Yellowstone offers a variety of accessible features, including accessible lodging (i.e. Grant Village), accessible camping (i.e. Bridge Bay), accessible fishing (Madison River at the Mount Haynes Overlook), and backcountry camping (Ice Lake). The park newspaper, Yellowstone Today, details accessible ranger-led activities. The park also owns two wheelchairs that can be rented by visitors to explore the Upper Geyser Basin area of Old Faithful. For Lodging and Camping, call Xanterra Parks & Resorts at 307-344-7311. For Backcountry camping, call the NPS Backcountry Office at 307-344-2160.

3) Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore– Michigan. Pictured Rocks offers both accessible campsites and accessible trails. The trail to Log Slide is gravel, and the trails to Miners Castle and Munising Falls are paved. There is a half-mile accessible boardwalk at the Sand Point Marsh Trail, and the beach at Sand Point has accessible features (paved sidewalks, accessible picnic table, etc.) as well.

4) Everglades National Park – Florida. All three campgrounds at Everglades have accessible campsites, and Pearl Bay Chickee is an accessible backcountry camping site. The Flamingo Lodge has two accessible rooms, and multiple boat tours from this lodge are accessible. The Shark Valley tram tour is an accessible tram tour. There are also many accessible ranger-led activities as well as trails (wooden boardwalks or paved, i.e., Gumbo-Limbo Trail).  You can also call the park at 305-242-7700 for more information.

5) Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve – Kansas. The Bottomland trail at this national preserve is “fully wheelchair accessible with trailhead kiosk, five interpretive waysides, comfort station, picnic area, benches, and two varying length trails of ¾ or ½ mile” (National Park Service). Bus tours, which are accessible, are offered in the summer months (May to October) at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. The 1881 limestone ranch house is also partially accessible (the lower level of the house is not accessible).

For more information on the accommodations at these parks and other national parks, check out the U.S. National Park Service website!