This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Many outdoor enthusiasts have spent hours in front of a computer, racing to reserve a campsite, backpacking permit or national park entrance ticket. A recent study suggests that the way these reservation systems are designed can favor higher-income visitors.
In a paper published in Nature Communications, CU Boulder economist Jonathan Hughes found that people from higher-income neighborhoods in the United States are more likely to successfully secure the most competitive permits, including timed-entry reservations for Rocky Mountain National Park. The park ends its timed-entry permit system for the season on Oct. 18. "The parks are trying to come up with ways to manage finite resources," said Hughes, a professor in the Department of Economics and a fellow at the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI).
"But if you look at the founding document of the Yellowstone National Park, our first national park, it is to be 'set apart as a public park ... for the benefit and enjoyment of the people,' not just rich people." National parks in the United States have seen steady increases in visitors since around 2013, with the COVID-19 pandemic pushing visitation even higher in recent years. In 2024, more than 331 million people visited national parks. Crowds can put pressure on park infrastructure, affect the ecosystem and make emergency response more difficult.
In response, many parks have introduced online reservation systems for parking, popular trails and entering the park at certain times. For example, during peak hours from mid-May to mid-October, Rocky Mountain National Park requires visitors to obtain a permit for $2 in addition to the entrance pass to enter the park during a specific time window. The park releases some permits on the first day of each month for the rest of that month, while another batch of permits becomes available the evening before each entry date.
Hughes has navigated many of these reservation systems himself over the years. He recalls coming to campus early to take advantage of the faster Wi-Fi connection and using two computers to give himself the best chance of securing a permit. "It made me think about who has the ability to participate in such a process.
Not everyone can plan months ahead, is comfortable with technology or has access to a fast internet connection," he said. Hughes has previously studied the river permit system in the American West, which allows visitors to boat and fish through a combination of lotteries and an advance reservation system. He found that people who managed to secure a permit through advance reservation tend to have higher incomes than those who got the permit through the lottery.
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