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SAN FRANCISCO — The government shutdown threw a wrench in some Bay Area tourists’ plans this week, as several historic sites and federal museums were shuttered and night trips to Alcatraz Island were cancelled.
But most national parks in the region stayed at least partly open amid the shutdown, which began Saturday morning and could stretch into January as President Trump and Democratic leaders clash over his demand for border wall funding.
Until they come to an agreement, visitors will find themselves facing a sometimes confusing patchwork of policies about which parks are open, which are closed, and which are somewhere in between.
Day ferry trips to Alcatraz are still on, while night trips were called off. Most of the Presidio, which is operated by a separate parks conservancy, is open. Muir Woods is as well, with the conservancy and the private companies running the gift shop and cafeteria staying on the job.
“Everyone chipped in so that it could stay open,” said Tom Martell, a longtime tour guide at the iconic redwood forest in Marin County.
Fort Point, the 150-year-old military building tucked under the Golden Gate Bridge, is completely closed to visitors, as is the San Francisco Maritime Museum in Aquatic Park and Point Bonita Lighthouse and the Nike Missile Site in the Marin headlands. Several visitors centers at parks around the region are also shuttered, even as most other parks remain open for visitors.
All park facilities in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area other than Muir Woods will also be closed for Christmas Tuesday, as previously scheduled.
Around the state, other major national parks like Yosemite and Joshua Tree where also largely open to visitors, although some facilities and programs were cancelled and staffing was reduced.
Charlie Strickfaden, a spokesman for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, said parks workers would not be providing public information, cleaning restrooms, collecting trash or conducting maintenance, although some services would be provided by private concessionaires.
“We are working hard to comply with law and directives and still provide access to offer a limited experience to Bay Area visitors,” Strickfaden said.
Molly Blaisdell, spokeswoman for Alcatraz Cruises, confirmed that day tours were running as normal on Alcatraz. She and Strickfaden declined to explain why night tours were cancelled but day tours were not.
Some tourists who had reserved a night tour weeks or months in advance vented their annoyance on social media:
#GovernmentShutdown is real, Alcatraz tour cancelled tonight.. can’t believe a country can operate (or not) like this.
— LeftyJo 🌺🌺🌺 (@Jokeown) December 23, 2018
“#GovernmentShutdown is real,” one tweeted. “Alcatraz tour cancelled tonight. Can’t believe a country can operate (or not) like this.”
But daytrippers disembarking from the Alcatraz ferry Monday afternoon said the park seemed like normal. A bigger obstacle than the shutdown was the rain and heavy fog hanging over the bay, blotting out the island’s postcard-perfect views of the city.
John Mahar, who works in New York state government, said he had worried that the shutdown would ground his Alcatraz trip and was relieved he could still make the trip.
“It’s deplorable that he’s doing this over a border wall that we don’t need and can’t afford,” Mahar said of the president. “It’s definitely Trump’s fault — and I’m a Republican.”
Most said the experience at Alcatraz — for three decades the most infamous federal prison in America and a symbol of the government’s awesome power — wasn’t impacted by the shutdown.
“You can still feel the people inside the cells,” marveled Rodrigo Vazquez, who was visiting from Mexico City with his family. He said the island didn’t seem any different during the shutdown than it did on his previous visit.
Others said they were used to federal government incompetence by now.
“Is it really that unexpected?” sighed Gary Smith, who was visiting his son Brian with his wife, April, from Orlando. “It seems like almost every other year something happens like this.”
