ST. GEORGE — A man cycling through all 51 national parks on a bike said raising awareness of how climate change could damage the parks forever is more challenging than his physical feat. 

Spencer McCullough, 28, has been on the road since April 2023 and will eventually travel 18,000 miles.

While visiting Utah’s national parks, he told St. George News he is illustrating that cycling can help limit fossil-fuel emissions. McCullough has worked as a transportation advocate in Denver, Colorado.

McCullough’s inspiration comes from this New York Times article, “What to Save? Climate Change Forces Brutal Choices at National Parks.” The article suggests national park superintendents have “moved from conservation to triage — to try to save what can be saved and sadly relinquish that which cannot, to the devastation of climate change.”

The article cites the prevailing research that wildfires in the southwest United States seem poised to obliterate up to 30% of forestlands as a warming climate favors the grass and shrublands that may replace them. 

“I was struck by how the author concedes that the native tree species of Acadia National Park in Maine are sure to go extinct or be severely diminished within the park in the next 80 years,” McCullough said. 

McCullough desires to see all the national parks in the lower 48 states before they change due to fires, invasive species and various climate-related issues.

“I thought it would be symbolic to see them on my bike,” McCullough said, adding that he encourages people to use buses and bikes to visit the national parks as often as possible.

In reference to the national park’s mission to preserve parks forever, he said he feels the agency could do more to promote cycling in favor of emissions-releasing vehicle traffic. 

“I’m doing this ride to try and work with the National Park Service to change the culture of our roads in America,” McCullough said. “The National Park Service reaches so many Americans yearly and has helped spread ideas like Leave No Trace and Be Bear Aware. They admit that their greatest source of carbon emissions is from people driving to the park, yet they don’t do anything to incentivize people to do anything but that.”

Zion National Park officials told St. George News they have been making strides with the shuttle bus system. In 2023, the park received five battery-electric buses to replace the current propane-powered vehicles. Delivery of more battery-electric buses will continue this year and also service the neighboring town of Springdale. The buses were funded by a $33 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

 Zachary Almaguer, director of communications for the Zion National Park Forever Project, noted the nonprofit group has been working with the park to tackle the issue of emissions. In an email to St. George News, Almaguer said trails like the “Floor of the Valley project” in the 2023 field guide are specifically geared toward increasing and incentivizing biking in the park.

“Biking is a great way to see parks like Zion, and we have seen a massive rise in bike and e-bike popularity over the past three years,” Almaguer said. “It provides new mobility options for riders of all ages and abilities. As the park’s nonprofit partner, we are proud that we are helping Zion lead the way in bike safety by enhancing the park’s ability to share bike and e-bike messaging and exploring new trail options to improve the biking experience in Zion. Everyone can be a part of these solutions by visiting zionpark.org.”

McCullough said he hopes other national parks will follow the lead of Zion National Park and Glacier National Park and be more bicycle-friendly. McCullough has traveled to various parks nationwide and feels that the focus is on recreational vehicles and cars as the only legitimate forms of transportation. 

“Somewhere along the line, the parks decided RVs are legitimate, cars are legitimate, but bikes are like for crazy hobbyist people. So we don’t really need to provide any stuff for them. They’ll just do whatever,” he said.

The cyclist commended Zion National Park for having buses. In addition to the new electric shuttle buses, Washington County is on track to have a bus route from St. George to the national park. In September of 2023, Zion National Park celebrated its 90 millionth bus rider. 

However, McCullough said the national park system needs to charge people based on their impact on a park. For example, he said if there are five people in a family and the campsite is $30, that’s $6 a person for the campsite. But a single cyclist still has to pay the same entrance fee of $30. 

He said he feels hikers and bikers should pay a reduced fee, incentivizing people not to drive vehicles in the parks.

Glacier National Park, for instance, has set aside an area of campground spots that will be for nonmotorized people only, he said. The spot is shared, so the park still receives the same fee. 

McCullough said his journey will be successful if he can inspire people to discuss and join the conversation around less emission transportation. He hopes to “get people excited about riding their bikes and reclaiming some of their space in the parks.” 

Additionally, McCullough wants more people to advocate for better cycling safety, access and infrastructure in national parks. His long-range goal is to organize people he has met along his trip to take their concerns to park superintendents and the U.S. Department of the Interior. 

Follow McCullough’s trek at this link.

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