Furloughed staff will return to 38 protected sites around the country. Critics are panning the move as a way to avoid bad optics during the political tussle.
Volunteers and a skeletal staff have maintained sites in some parks. In others, the amount of damage and trash triggered an unprecedented move from the National Park Service to return more workers.
Because of the partial government shutdown, some national parks are closing because employees aren't working and both trashcans and toilets are overflowing. Yellowstone has found a work-around.
There's no end in sight for the spending standoff that has forced the shutdown of about a quarter of the federal government. The longer the shutdown continues, the more services will be affected.
Some state governments and tourism boards have been using their own funds to keep the parks open. Elsewhere, open but unstaffed parks have become something of a free-for-all.
Park areas that are temporarily closing include Yosemite Valley, where visitors can see rock formations like Half Dome, and Mariposa Grove, an area containing more than 500 mature giant sequoia trees.
The chairman of the board, former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles, said in a letter that the Department of the Interior showed no interest in engaging with board members.