If you are planning a visit to Alcatraz this weekend, you might want to double check before you go. Midnight tonight is the deadline for Congress and the White House to agree on another short-term spending measure or shut down the government. If that happens, federal services across the country would be impacted. For one thing, our national parks would shut down. Campers would be given a 48 hour notice to move out. Alcatraz would be closed and ferries to the island would stop running. Not all of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area will be closed. Crissy Fields would remain open, but all amenities such as restrooms and visitor centers would be shuttered. The same goes for Pt. Reyes National Seashore. Visitors to Yosemite and Muir Woods National Monument would find the front gates closed. A federal government shut down could hit California park fans particularly hard since some state parks have already reduced their hours due to California’s budget woes.
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