Every time tourists misbehaved in national parks this year — so far

• Tourists have been flocking to US national parks in droves in recent years.

• The growing interest comes as some Americans are moving away from cities to be close to nature.

• But as more visitors crowd into national parks, some behave badly and disrespect the environment.

Getting out in nature has never been so hot.

In 2023, the National Park Service (NPS) recorded over 325.5 million recreational visits to the 63 parks in the United States, 13 million more than the previous year.

The surge in national park tourism is partially a return to prepandemic levels of domestic travel — the number of visits in 2023 was about 2 million shy of 2019's. But the interest in the parks is also occurring as some people of varying ages and socioeconomic backgrounds are ditching cities for less densely populated areas, which have greater access to nature — and, often, lower taxes.

While getting closer to nature may be in vogue nowadays, not everyone who visits a national park will follow the rules, some of which are in place to keep people away from life-threatening dangers.

From close encounters with wild animals to mishandling historic artifacts, here are five incidents involving badly behaved tourists in national parks so far this year.

Two people who visited Canyonlands in March were accused of stealing artifacts from an old cowboy campsite.

On March 23, what appeared to be a man and a woman visiting Canyonlands National Park in Utah were spotted entering Cave Spring Cowboy Camp.

According to the NPS, the camp was used by cowboys from the 19th century to the late 20th century, when cattle ranching was still prohibited in national parks.

The historical site has various items and furniture once used by cowboys — some of which, the NPS said, were tampered with and stolen by the individuals in March.

"The individuals entered a signed-as-closed area, removed artifacts from a cabinet, and handled historic harnesses in a manner that had potential to damage them," the NPS said in a May 15 press release.

In the release and on Instagram, the NPS shared still images of the perpetrators and called on the public to help identify them.

The NPS did not immediately respond to BI's request for an update on the case and whether the individuals have been identified.

In the Everglades, a group of tourists — including at least one child — were filmed getting close to a feeding crocodile in April.

In April, the social-media account Tourons of National Parks re-shared a video taken by an Everglades National Park tourist named Alyssa. It shows a group of tourists standing a few feet away from an alligator crossing a path with what appears to be a turtle snapped between its teeth.

At least one child was among the tourists, the video shows.

In another video of the encounter shared on her personal Instagram account, the person who captured the incident said the people in the video were "extremely close."

"Just isn't worth getting attacked and the alligator having to suffer because you refuse to take 5 steps back," she added.

The NPS recommends keeping a safe distance from alligators in the Everglades, roughly between 15 and 20 feet, which is farther than what appeared to be the case here.

In April, a man was charged with drunkenly harassing a herd of bison in Yellowstone.

According to the NPS, park officials responded to a report in April that the 40-year-old man from Idaho drunkenly harassed a herd of bison in Yellowstone and received minor injuries in the process.

In the press release, the NPS said the individual kicked one of the bison in the leg. He was ultimately charged and arrested in connection to the incident, which included being under the influence "to a degree that may endanger oneself" and "disturbing wildlife."

The incident was the first involving bison in a national park this year. But the man can count himself lucky his injuries were minor.

In early June, the NPS reported an 83-year-old South Carolina woman was gored and lifted a foot off the ground by a bison in Yellowstone National Park, leaving her with serious injuries.

The NPS advises that visitors stay at least 25 years away from bison.

A herd of bison charged at another group of tourists in Yellowstone.

In a video captured by Yellowstone tourist Adella Gonzalez and shared by Storyful, a herd of bison is filmed meandering along calmly until a group of tourists walk by, seemingly prompting them to charge, USA Today reports.

In the video, taken in May, a person is heard saying, "I don't think that is very wise," just as the herd began to charge.

"We noticed tourists getting very close to the bison," Gonzalez told Storyful, and then the animals "began to get agitated and started running."

Besides putting your own life at risk, getting too close to bison can also endanger the animals themselves. In 2023, a bison calf had to be euthanized after a park visitor lifted it out of a river, causing it to be rejected by its herd.

In a statement shared on X, the NPS said it wouldn't have been able to quarantine the calf and that it did not make the decision lightly.

"We made the choice we did not because we are lazy, uncaring, or inexpert in our understanding of bison biology," the statement read. "We made the choice we did because national parks preserve natural processes."

In June, a man was sentenced to a week in jail after trespassing dangerously close to a thermal geyser in Yellowstone National Park.

On June 13, the NPS shared a press release that a 21-year-old man from Washington received a weeklong jail sentence for venturing dangerously close to a steam vent of Yellowstone National Park's Steamboat Geyser, the world's tallest active geyser.

The man, who was caught on camera in April, hopped over a fence separating the geyser's steam vent from an observation point and got within 15 to 20 feet of it. According to the NPS website, the Steamboat Geyser erupts unpredictably, shooting hydrothermal water and steam that can cause severe burns up to 300 feet high.

After a Yellowstone National Park law enforcement officer arrived at the scene, the man told them he had gotten as close as he did to take photos.

In addition to jail time, the man was barred from visiting Yellowstone for two years and ordered to pay a $1,500 fine.

The magistrate judge presiding over the case told the court that she hoped the sentence would prevent other visitors from figuratively — and literally — following in the man's footsteps.

"She expressed her concern that the defendant's actions were seen by the people around him, and they might have thought it was okay to do the same thing," the press release noted. "And if every visitor to YNP disobeyed the rules, the park would be destroyed, and no one would be able to enjoy it."

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