Popular Northern Virginia parks partially closed during government shutdown

ARLINGTON, Va. (DC News Now) — On an 80-degree day in October, you’d expect to see a full parking lot and picnic setups at Gravelly Point Park near Reagan National Airport, but not this time.

The park, along with several others in Northern Virginia, is partially closed during the federal government shutdown.

Access for cars via the George Washington Memorial Parkway is closed off with jersey walls and orange traffic barrels, though people walking, biking and running along the Mount Vernon Trail can still pass through.

The National Park Service (NPS) said gates and buildings are locked at many of their parks and spaces during the shutdown. NPS also told DC News Now they’re trying to keep things accessible, with some parks still partially open if you can get in on foot or on a bike.

“I think it’s less people here than usual. I would think if they were off work, they would come here,” cyclist Flo Levine said. “I didn’t realize it was closed, but I understand why.”

For William Friday of Unlimited Biking, he said the federal shutdown has pumped the brakes on his bike rental business at Gravelly and around the DMV.

“A lot of people like to ride this way, but I guess everybody went elsewhere,” Friday said. “It kinda shut us down a little bit. I’ll be glad when it’s over, glad when it’s open.”

Farther north, NPS confirms Theodore Roosevelt Island is closed due to the “lapse in appropriations,” with its only access point, a footbridge for pedestrians and cyclists, locked off.

On the Virginia side of Great Falls Park in McLean, DC News Now saw cars turned away at locked gates Tuesday, with things expected to stay that way as long as the government stays shut down. Cars improperly parked along the access road were also being ticketed.

NPS said visitor centers at most of its larger national parks are also closed down — but law enforcement, firefighting and emergency response operations are still active during the shutdown.