Dec 30, 2018 – MARIN COUNTY
The ongoing partial government shutdown continues to affect services at Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County, with some additional facilities and areas closing because of health and safety concerns.
The National Park Service is advising visitors that restroom facilities are “very limited throughout the park, especially at some trailheads.” Sites where vault toilet facilities have been closed include the lighthouse parking lot and North District Operations Center.
All park visitor centers are closed during the lapse in federal funding, as well as the Palomarin parking lot and trailhead (no access beyond the Marin County-maintained paved road).
Drakes Beach also is closed starting approximately one-half mile southwest of the Ken Patrick Visitor Center and continuing south to the current permanent elephant seal closure. The Point Reyes Lighthouse Area has been closed since August because of construction work. The road to the North District Operations Center is closed to vehicle traffic but passable on foot.
While most parking lots remain open at various inland and beach locations, vault toilets or bathrooms have been closed at several because of unhealthy conditions. The four backcountry campgrounds remain open but do not have any potable water. “Some of the vault toilets at the campgrounds are also filling and may be closed as conditions dictate,” the park service said in a news release. “If you have a camping reservation, your site may not be available.”