Terry Richard/The Oregonian

Crater Lake National Park remains open, but winter visitors will now need to hike a long way in, after the National Park Service closed the road into the park due to issues brought about by the federal government shutdown.

On Thursday, park officials closed the southern entrance road at Oregon 62 due to a buildup human waste in the park – a disturbingly common problem at national park sites as they remain unstaffed during the shutdown, which started on December 22.

"Due to conditions caused by the impact of human waste buildup on the park's water system, the road to Crater Lake is now closed to vehicles at hwy 62 to protect public health and park resources. The road may not reopen until after the shutdown," officials said in an alert posted to the park website.



The closure effectively shuts down reasonable access to the national park, as the northern entrance road was closed earlier in the season.

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Terry Richard/The Oregonian

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National parks in the Pacific Northwest have remained open during the shutdown, but they haven't been staffed with rangers, and all facilities – including restrooms – have been closed. That's apparently led visitors to poop in the open without following proper "leave no trace" etiquette, creating a public health hazard.



Similar reports have come in over social media from other national park sites, including Yosemite and Joshua Tree, where human waste and vandalism has reportedly spiked since the shutdown began.

Eugene news station KVAL traveled to Crater Lake on Thursday, where a reporter spoke to tourists running into the road closure.



"We were a little disappointed, but we're outdoor people, so it's not a big problem for us," Vladimir Stozhkov, a visitor from Tennessee, told KVAL "It just means like an extra eight miles of hiking."

But considering Crater Lake is one of the snowiest places in America, that extra hike into the park might be a lot more than most visitors are willing to make.

--Jamie Hale |

jhale@oregonian.com

|

@HaleJamesB

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Terry Richard/The Oregonian

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Terry Richard/The Oregonian

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