From national parks to air travel, this is how a US government shutdown could impact travellers

Summer trips through the USA’s national parks are a rite of passage. But what if someone told you they’re at their best a couple of months later?

Visiting Acadia National Park, located on Mount Desert Island off the coast of Maine, has been at the top of my dream destination list for years. It's also one of the busiest national parks in the country, with nearly 4 million visitors last year.

Nearly a decade ago, I woke up in the middle of the night thinking that I should travel to the Grand Canyon solo — the first National Park on what would become a yearslong personal quest.

Skygazers in eight western U.S. states will be treated to a rare “ring of fire” eclipse on Saturday, Oct. 14. With the moon covering all but the outer edges of the sun, it will briefly look as though there’s a blazing ring of fire igniting the sky.

Imagine waking up to gorgeous lake views surrounded by misty mountains and trees lining the horizon as far as the eye can see. That’s the magic of Jasper National Park, the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, where I recently spent a cozy retreat to welcome the fall season. Coming from the scorching heat of Phoenix, Arizona, my lungs craved the crisp morning air, while the desert girl in me relished and autumnal mountain hues — and I soaked it all in from the private balcony of an alpine lodge on the shores of Pyramid Lake.

Major U.S. airlines are suspending flights to Israel following the attacks by Hamas this past weekend.

There's nothing quite like a long line at airport security to seriously dampen the excitement of a trip or a vacation. To get through airport security as quickly as possible, you can try your best to avoid peak travel time, pack efficiently, pre-bag your liquids, and make sure your electronic devices are easily accessible until the cows come home. But at the end of the day, the power is out of your hands.

Time is ticking for lawmakers in Congress to strike a budget deal and avoid a government shutdown, although chances of coming to an agreement in time are looking increasingly bleak. If a shutdown does happen on October 1 at 12:01 a.m., all non-essential government functions would cease, and the air travel system would be stretched to its limit, with air traffic controllers and TSA officers essentially working without pay.

Entrances to national parks will be blocked and thousands of park rangers will be furloughed if Congress doesn't reach a budget agreement this weekend, the Department of Interior said Friday.

Peak fall foliage is popping in Estes Park, the mountain town just outside of Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. Soon, the elk will be bugling as part of their annual mating ritual, a wildlife spectacle that draws tourists to the mountain town for “Elktober.” Down in southern Colorado, the “ring of fire eclipse” is projected to pass directly through Mesa Verde National Park on Oct. 14, drawing tourists eager to catch the rare celestial event among the Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings.

A U.S. government shutdown is looking more likely by the day as budget negotiations drag on in Congress. A shutdown would start Sunday, unless the government can reach a deal by the September 30 deadline. 

Most U.S. National Parks will shut down their operations if U.S. lawmakers don’t reach a deal to fund the federal government by Saturday night, the Department of Interior said Friday in a press release.