Keeping the Woods Open
Local businesses step in to keep Muir Woods National Monument open during the shutdown.
When politics close the gates, sometimes the community steps up to reopen them.
At Muir Woods National Monument, just north of San Francisco, a coalition of tour operators and hospitality companies has raised nearly $84,000 to keep the park open for visitors during the ongoing government shutdown.
What began as a one-week reopening, funded by several Bay Area tour companies, has now stretched into a 20-day campaign. Thanks to continued support from Must See Tours, ACE Parking, and ExplorUS, Muir Woods will remain open through November 11 — a lifeline for both park lovers and the local economy.
“We’ve seen firsthand how much Muir Woods means to locals, visitors, and small businesses,” said Fayçal Bouabdallah, founder and CEO of Must See LLC. “Every day we keep Muir Woods open is a shared win.”
Under the agreement with the National Park Service, donated funds are covering the essentials — staffing, operations, and visitor services. Rangers remain on site, the visitor center and gift shop are open, and the café is serving guests as usual. While the park’s $15 entrance fee is waived, parking still requires advance reservations, ranging from $9.50 to $45, depending on vehicle size.
The park costs $3,794 per day to operate, and visitors can now contribute to a GoFundMe campaign that’s raised more than $2,000 toward extending operations even further.
“More than anything, we want the American public to know that many parks remain open for business,” said Justin Unger, Senior Vice President of Strategy for ExplorUS. “We encourage everyone to support their parks, visit responsibly, and speak out on behalf of our shared public lands.”
These donations come at a critical time. The shutdown — now stretching past a month — has strained the outdoor recreation industry and left many smaller parks understaffed. Meanwhile, incidents at other national parks have highlighted the risks of limited enforcement. In Yosemite, illegal drone activity and BASE jumping have spiked. In Joshua Tree, a wildfire broke out near an unstaffed campground.
While some conservation advocates have urged the Department of the Interior to close all parks until the government reopens, others argue that keeping them open — responsibly and collaboratively — offers a better path forward.
At HiveWire Outdoors, we see this as a reminder that stewardship is not only a government duty but a community one. Protecting access to our parks while safeguarding the land itself requires balance, cooperation, and respect.
When citizens and companies come together to keep the woods open, it proves that America’s public lands belong to all of us — and that their care depends on all of us, too.
Cover photo: Joe Wood, Flickr