For Minnesota’s state parks, the first week in July is the busiest of the year.

As many as 60,000 overnight campers and an additional 340,000 day users are projected to use the system’s 67 parks and seven recreation areas during that period.

There’s one big problem, however. Come July 1, if the state hasn’t reached a budget agreement, all of those places will be closed, requiring prospective campers to come up with other plans.

That’s not all that would close. All across the state, services that wouldn’t be considered critical in a continued budget impasse would simply go away or not be available.

The Minnesota Historical Society’s 26 historic sites and museums would be among them. So would state forest campgrounds. Driver’s licenses wouldn’t be renewed or even provided, not to mention fishing and hunting licenses or boat and all-terrain vehicle registrations.

Up to 200 state highway construction projects would shut down. Job-training centers would close.

State agencies would stop processing business permits or registering new enterprises. No tax refunds would be issued.

Ripped off? You couldn’t file a consumer complaint. You couldn’t buy a lottery ticket.

Few of those state functions, however, are as visible as state parks, an institution for many Minnesotans, particularly during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

“There is no small level of inconvenience for some folks, and we’re anxious and hopeful that is avoided,” State Parks Director Courtland Nelson said.

Not only would it be a disruption for people, it also would cost the state money.

With all those folks paying for camping reservations, vehicle permits, wood and concessions, the agency would expect to bring in more than $1 million that first week, and slightly less during subsequent weeks throughout the summer.

Even with expenses, the potentially lost net income in the upcoming week alone would be about $500,000, Nelson added.

“Not only will these places be closed, but we’ll be losing revenue for an already cash-strapped system,” said Brett Feldman, executive director of the Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota.

Campers also spend $23 to $26 apiece a day – or $12 million a week – in nearby communities, according to Nelson.

“Shutting down parks right now would be like closing the Mall of America the day after Thanksgiving,” Feldman added.

The issue, of course, is out of Nelson’s hands. Unless Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders cut a deal to resolve a looming two-year budget deficit in the next few days, it will happen.

DNR parks officials have been busy notifying people with reservations that parks could close at 4 p.m. Thursday.

With a late agreement still possible, the DNR is recommending campers keep their reservations. If there’s a shutdown, they would get refunds for all reserved nights that can’t be honored.

Anxious campers with reservations between Thursday and July 14 can cancel them beginning at 8 a.m. Monday and avoid standard cancellation fees. To do so, they should call 1-866-857-2757.

The prospect of closing state parks comes as overnight stays, permit sales, program attendance and total visitors there are increasing, according to the DNR.

The DNR faced a similar situation in 2005, just before a relatively brief and small government shutdown. Then, a bill averting a parks closing wasn’t signed until just before the 4 p.m. closing deadline.

If there’s a shutdown this year, facilities would be locked, campgrounds would be closed, roads would be gated where possible, water would be shut off, and no services would be available.

The fate of the Minnesota Zoo and the state’s two horse-racing tracks, meanwhile, are in limbo. Zoo officials have asked the court to let them stay open and pay for operations with admission fees.

Horse owners contended in a court filing that the ponies should be allowed to race at Canterbury Park and Running Aces because the tracks’ license fees pay the full costs of the state Racing Commission employees who oversee their operations.

All of the above state programs and services make up just a small fraction of the state budget. More than 85 percent of the money goes to four areas: K-12 education (40 percent), health and human services (32 percent), property tax relief (9 percent) and state colleges and universities (8 percent).

If state payments were interrupted, school districts would have to borrow money or dip into reserves to keep open. State officials would ask the courts to authorize payments to health care providers for critical medical services.

Cities and counties are asking the courts to order the state to “pass through” federal and state funds that have already been appropriated for them.

The University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities are raising tuition and cutting spending but have enough funding to operate for the next few months.