As an increasing number of people descend on Canada’s national parks each year, conservationists are warning that the love of majestic scenery – and the foot traffic that follows – is overwhelming delicate ecosystems and ruining the experience of visiting.

Now, groups like the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society are calling for measures to limit the number of people who can visit certain ecologically vulnerable locations, such as the country’s oldest national park.

“Banff is under tremendous pressure,” said Peter Zimmerman, the Society’s representative in western Canada. “It’s crowded, there’s congestion, and lineups and no parking … It’s detracting from both visitor experience and having an impact on the ecological health of the park.”

While Banff and the surrounding parks, Yoho and Jasper, have always been popular, conservationists fear that recent campaigns by Parks Canada to draw in visitors may have pushed them past their limit.

Last year, Banff, attracted 4.18 million visitors thanks to its stunning landscapes – and its proximity to a major airport and highway system linking it to Calgary.

Tourists canoeing at Lake Louise in Banff. Photograph: Feng Wei Photography/Getty Images

South of Banff, Waterton national park was briefly closed to the public in August 2017 after it was overwhelmed by the number of visitors – a first for the park.

The situation in the Canada’s parks is not unique: the US National Parks Service is also facing calls to begin limiting visitors to certain areas of parks, with Zion national park under most pressure.

“It’s not about limiting people in the entire park, but it is about looking at certain areas that are very sensitive,” said Zimmerman. Moraine Lake, the iconic vista that graces the cover of books and calendars, is one of the top contenders for a visitor cap.

With the increased foot traffic comes more wear on the trail systems, more frequent encounters with wildlife, more trampling of delicate ground and more garbage.

“It isn’t fun to feel like you’re stuffed into a subway when you’re visiting,” said Harvey Locke of the Yukon to Yellowstone Conservation Initiative, who has lived on and off in Banff for the last 40 years. “When people visit, I hope their soul was moved. We owe that to the visitors.”

Parks Canada officials remain wary of a vistor cap, however. “There’s no silver bullet. We’re not looking at quotas right now,” said Greg Danchuk of the Parks Canada’s Banff field unit.

‘It isn’t fun to feel like you’re stuffed into a subway when you’re visiting.’ Photograph: Jeff R Clow/Getty Images

Instead, officials are using a variety of strategies to reduce the intensity of visitors to the parks, including shuttles, transit and awareness campaigns to alert people when to avoid busy times in the park.

While campaigns have stressed the benefits of using public transit and free shuttle buses, they remain optional – and the vast majority of visitors still arrive by private vehicle.

Zimmerman described a late September trip from Banff to Lake Louise on a cold, rainy day. “There were maybe 8-10 people on the bus. We got up to the Lake Louise Parking lot and it was absolutely full.”

Locke points to the example of Lake O’Hara, which has used a quota system to restrict traffic since 1970. Over the years, the quotas have slowly increased — from 40 a day to 300, but demand has far outpaced the increase. Last year, 17,000 people raced to grab the 3,300 spots available, the moment they became available online.

For people who live nearby, the system has becoming increasingly frustrating, with nearly all the seats scooped up within the first few seconds of availability. Even Danchuk has come up empty-handed over the last three years.

Last year, Banff, attracted 4.18 million visitors. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

Zimmerman and Locke calls the Lake O’Hara reservation system a “good model” but admits there is frustration over a scarcity of spots.

Locke points out that other famous locations around the world – the Alhambra in Granada and the Forbidden City in Beijing – use quotas to limit overcrowding.

That hasn’t placated conservationists, who argue the continued high numbers will have long-term impacts that aren’t readily visible.

“I know that Parks Canada is preserving the areas so that my kids can go, and their kids can go,” said Zimmerman. “But if you think of the parks and ecosystem as an orchestra, the more people you jam into the theatre, at some point, you overwhelm the musicians and you won’t hear the music.”