Tuolumne County in California – home to Yosemite National Park and other tourist attractions – is still welcoming visitors despite the national government shutdown.
As well as the national park, the county has Gold Country – with gold rush towns such as Jamestown, Sonora and Columbia – and High Sierra, which offers attractions in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Major attractions, including Hetch Hetchy valley, Tuolumne Grove – which has sequoia trees – and Dodge Ridge Ski Resort (pictured) are still accessible.
Just 2.5 hours east of the San Francisco bay area, Dodge Ridge Ski Resort offers activities such as skiing and snowboarding.
Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau has issued tips for park visitors about taking litter away with them – as there are no collections of rubbish – and warns of limited toilet facilities.
The bureau is also highlighting volunteer initiatives such as the ‘Too Cool to Trash’ and ‘Loving Tuolumne County like a local’ campaigns.
The longest US government shutdown in the nation’s history is affecting the National Park Service because 16,000 people have been laid off.
Some national parks and monuments have closed, while others have reduced levels of staff, “only to witness vandalism, delayed emergency responses and an overflow of trash”.
The partial shutdown followed a dispute about President Donald Trump’s plans to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
Picture credit: Dodge Ridge Ski Resort.