Recreation.gov, the national park booking app, lets users feel lost in the...

The public finds the system "very confusing," said Linda Devlin, chief executive officer of the Allegheny National Forest Visitor Bureau, one of the co-signers of the US travel letter. “If you want to rent a cabin at Red Bridge in Allegheny National Forest, you have to go through several pages to first find Allegheny National Forest, then the right campground, then the cabins. It's not a user-friendly system.”

Versions of a reservation system have existed online for decades as parks have tried to prevent traffic and overcrowding. In 2018 the consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton took over the management of the online booking, raise hope for improvements including real-time updates and a more user-friendly interface. The new version of Recreation.gov was an improvement over the previous model, but was ill-prepared to handle the surge in pandemic-related users over the past two years. It didn't help ease the confusion caused by the parks' changing requirements as they tried to cope with pandemic restrictions and record-breaking crowds.

As a frequent traveler to national parks, Kelsey Falkowski believes a reservation system is important to avoid overcrowding. Mr. Falkowski, a high school social studies teacher from Vernon, NJ, has been traveling to national parks with his brother and sister for the past six years, and typically visits two or three parks per trip. He hasn't encountered any major issues using Recreation.gov.

"It really comes down to research," he said. “We start planning about a year in advance and my brother puts together a 50-page itinerary. We go on Facebook pages, Instagram accounts for the national parks just to make sure we don't miss anything."

“Feel Good When You Feel Uncomfortable”

In addition to a high-speed internet connection, accessing and booking on Recreation.gov requires a level of computer literacy that not all travelers have (speaking of technology, issues with Camping Snatching Bots and Third Party Sites have plagued recovery.gov for years).

Last December, months after her campground search, Ms. Prado was able to book a three-night campground in Glacier, a much shorter time than she planned to spend at the park. As for the rest, she decided she had to play it by ear.

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