Muir Woods' to become first Nat'l Park to use a parking reservation system

MILL VALLEY, CA - AUGUST 20: Coastal Redwood trees stand at Muir Woods National Monument on August 20, 2013 in Mill Valley, California. A four-year study by the Save the Redwoods League called "the Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative" found that due to changing environmental conditions, California's coast redwoods and giant sequoias are experiencing an unprecedented growth surge and have produced more wood over the past century than any other time in their lives. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Muir Woods has a traffic problem, and the National Park Service announced a plan to solve it

Visitors to national parks have spiked in recent years, causing traffic jams, parking lot squabbles and harming natural resources. To try and deal with the problem, Muir Woods National Monument recently announced that it’s instating a parking reservation system.

Beginning in January, cars that do not have a reservation will be turned away at the gate. It’s the first national park in the country to use a reservation system. The U.S. National Park Service spent five years researching the problem and holding public meetings to try and find the best solution. It's a delicate balance between reducing congestion and preserving the tranquility of park experience while still making it accessible to the general public.

Visitors can still walk, bike and take shuttle to the park. Take Two spoke with National Park Service spokesman Andrew Muñoz for the Pacific Region Andrew Munoz who explained the new parking reservation system and what it could mean for parks here in So Cal.

TO HEAR THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW, CLICK THE BLUE PLAYER ABOVE