The line to get into Arches National Park in Utah stretched all the way to the one-hour-wait marker on the entrance road.

Even though visitors had to have reservations for an assigned time to enter the park, there was still a long wait.

Exploring our national parks in the West is a lifetime adventure and we’re so lucky to have some a day-and-a-half drive from the Treasure Valley. But, because of popular demand and logistics, it can be difficult.

The National Park Service says that 400 national parks reported a total of 325.5 million recreation visits in 2023, an increase of 13 million or 4 percent over 2022.

Because of the increase, visitors are learning to make reservations from six months to a year out for park campgrounds and lodging, and for the RV parks and motels in nearby towns.

We didn’t do that, but my wife is an excellent trip planner and navigator on the road and we got the reservations we needed, even though it was touchy at times.

Camping at Grand Canyon National Park, we had to move each day because we could only get campsite reservations for one day at a time. They were already booked for the next day.

We got a first-come, first-served campsite at Great Basin National Park early in the morning, but by dinner time the campground was filled.

We had to be flexible in some cases and had to use the “waiting list” alert on the mobile app recreation.gov. It’s an excellent app and offers a way to get and keep track of reservations, and can let you know whenever openings are available at campgrounds. It’s great for planning and traveling to national parks and monuments.

Since parks are so popular, it’s ironic that the National Park Service has a shortfall of about $11.1 billion. The shortfall, which has accumulated over the years, has caused a backlog of unfunded operations, construction projects, land acquisitions and resource-protection projects.

Congress needs to fund national parks because they are a good investment resulting in 312 million visitors who spend $23.9 billion a year in nearby gateway communities, contributing $50.3 billion to the nation’s economy.

Tell Congress to support our national parks. In the meantime, plan ahead for visiting them and be creative if you have to do some detours.