Do reservation systems at Utah’s national parks favor wealthy visitors?

With millions visiting Utah’s national parks each year, snagging a coveted hiking permit or campground reservation has become a pressure cooker. Vehicles line up at the Arches National Park entry gate near Moab, Utah, March 19, 2026. Photo by David Condos/KUER “It’s like getting Taylor Swift tickets,” said Jonathan Hughes, an economics professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder. “You logged on, you hit refresh right away, and you still didn’t get one,” he said, describing a common experience for users when reservations are released at Recreation.gov. “That’s because there were thousands of other people doing exactly the same thing.” So, Hughes set out to quantify how the National Park Service’s increasingly competitive online reservation system influences who is able to enjoy America’s crown jewels. The results indicate it tends to favor higher-income users.

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