In this July 22, 2021, file photo, visitors to Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park look out over Bar Harbor. Credit: Josh Kaufmann / BDN

       

Add COVID-19 masks to your camping gear when visiting Yellowstone, Yosemite and beyond.

The National Park Service is requiring masks for crowded outdoor spaces and buildings “regardless of vaccination status or community transmission levels.”

In a statement issued Monday, Shawn Benge, deputy director of the park service, said: “Visitors to national parks are coming from locations across the country, if not across the world. Because of this, and recognizing that the majority of the United States is currently in substantial or high transmission categories, we are implementing a service-wide mask requirement to ensure our staff and visitors’ safety.”

Vincent Del Giudice, Bloomberg News