Train excursions from Steamtown National Historic Site have been canceled for the rest of 2020, but you still can tour the grounds/NPS, Tim O'Malley

As the coronavirus pandemic ebbs and flows across the country, so does the status of access in the National Park System.

While some park units are opening campgrounds, less than a week after the acting director of the National Park Service said campgrounds should be open, the spread of Covid-19 has led to the closure of the popular Bluffs Restaurant on the Blue Ridge Parkway and prompted train excursions from Steamtown National Historic Site to be canceled for the rest of the year.

"In cooperation with our destination partners, Steamtown National Historic Site has suspended the remainder of its scheduled 2020 railroad passenger operations," park managers announced Thursday. "This includes the Scranton Limited short train rides, fall foliage excursions through the Poconos, and the popular Holiday Trains to Moscow over Thanksgiving weekend. Additionally, the Iron Horse Society, the park’s official Friends group, has cancelled its North Pole Limited runs planned for December."

Remaining open at the park near Scranton, Pennsylvania, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, are the park grounds, the historic 1902/1937 roundhouse, the steam locomotive cutaway exhibit, outdoor locomotive/rolling stock static exhibits, and America’s National Parks Store (Wednesday through Sunday).

Also on Thursday came word that the Bluffs Restaurant, which just reopened last Saturday after an extensive rehabilitation project, had closed due to the pandemic, with plans to reopen in spring 2021.

“We are so grateful for the support we’ve received from parkway visitors and the community, including those who came out for our opening day,” said Shana Whitehead of Muddy Creek Enterprises, the restaurant’s operator. “It was a difficult decision to postpone our full reopening until the spring, but we want to move forward in the safest possible way.”

Elsewhere in the National Park System:

• General Grant National Memorial, New York: The park has reopened the memorial's main plaza and the overlook paviolion.
• Governor's Island National Monument, New York: On Thursday the park staff reopened access to Castle Williams and surrounding grounds as well as Fort Jay and surrounding grounds.
• Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona: On September 5 the park plans to restart its shuttle service. The Hermit Road Route (Red Route) and Kaibab Rim Route (Orange Route) eastbound will operate from 5 a.m. until one hour after sunset each day. The Village Route, Kaibab Rim Route westbound, and the Tusayan Route will not operate when service resumes. Shuttle capacity will be 15 passengers, and face masks will be required.

Key areas and services that visitors will have access to: 

Hermit Road Route and all shuttle stops along Hermit Road. Visitors wishing to access the Hermit Road Route need to park in a designated parking space near the Hermit Road. This includes the Village Loop roadside parking and the Backcountry Information Center parking lot. 

Kaibab Rim Route (eastbound only), including South Kaibab Trailhead, Yaki Point, and Pipe Creek Vista.

Hikers' Express

Hikers' Express buses will run daily from the Backcountry Information Center to the South Kaibab Trailhead only at 6 a.m., 7 a.m., and 8 a.m. No other stops will be made along the route. 

Hikers can also park at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center and access the South Kaibab Trailhead via the Kaibab Rim Route (Orange Route).

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee/North Carolina: On September 3 the park plans to reopen the Abrams Creek, Balsam Mountain, Big Creek, Cataloochee, and Cosby campgrounds, the Big Creek, Cataloochee, Round Bottom, and Tow String horse camps, the Heintooga and Look Rock picnic areas, and the Little Greenbrier Road.
• Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia: Beginning Friday, the park will reopen the the visitor center (including the museum), America’s National Parks bookstore/gift shop, and park pass purchases in the visitor center. On Monday, the park plans to reopen the Mount Road and the Mountain Road parking lot.