With fresh snow covering the roads and no personnel available to plow them, Arches and Canyonlands national parks shut their gates Monday as the federal government’s partial shutdown ground into its second week.
Utah has been funding some personnel costs at Arches and two other busy national parks since the shutdown started Dec. 22, but that money is being used to staff visitor centers and clean toilets, not clear roads.
“It is unknown when the road will open,” the National Park Service posted on its Arches site. “Access to the park will not occur until conditions improve or the National Park Service receives funding to maintain the roads.