Recent trail closures, as well as new trail closure proposals, across the West have sparked hundreds of conversations and fights around the internet. From Reddit threads to Instagram and TikTok posts, to letters to the editor sent to local newspapers, these closures are a contentious issue.
And most of the discourse revolves around who gets to enjoy the unspoiled beauty of our parks system, with folks arguing that powersports and off-roaders are damaging to the environment, as well as anecdotes about how "They [off-roaders] aren't actually witnessing the beauty of nature." I wrote a story about this issue recently and about how the latter is a bullshit thought that undermines the future of our national and state parks system.
