The National Park Service is preparing for a possible federal shutdown on Oct. 1 if Congress doesn’t approve funding to keep the government running past Tuesday, Sept. 30, and that could mean Michigan's national parks and lakeshores would close.

Details haven't been posted on the Interior Department’s website , but contingency plans published in 2024 shed light on what travelers can expect.

In March 2024 the department said, “In general, National Park Service sites will be closed during the period of a lapse in appropriations.”

Parks are expected to begin notifying visitors on the first day of the lapse and wind down “routine visitor services” the same day if the shutdown begins on a weekday. Operations continue until the following Monday if the shutdown starts over a weekend, “t

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