State, National Parks Reopening Phones
It’s again possible to reserve tours at Hearst Castle, and, starting next month, the National Park Service’s toll-free reservation lines will be back in business.
Both services had been suspended since late last year after Destinet Service Corp. of San Diego, which handled the phones for the state and national park systems, declared bankruptcy.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. March 1, 1998 Clarification
Los Angeles Times Sunday March 1, 1998 Home Edition Travel Part L Page 6 Travel Desk 1 inches; 35 words Type of Material: Correction
National parks--The National Park Service’s toll-free reservation lines are scheduled to reopen March 15 (“News, Tips & Bargains,” Feb. 22). However, some parks, including Death Valley, do not accept campsite reservations until later in the year.
But in late January the state parks’ reservation line for campsites (telephone [800] 444-PARK), now handled by Park.Net, began operating again. The line for Hearst Castle tours (tel. [800] 444-4445) went back up this month. As of last week, tours of Ano Nuevo State Reserve were still on a first-come, first-served basis.
On March 15, through a contract with Biospherics Inc. of Beltsville, Md., the national parks’ lines will be reopened. The telephone numbers are the same as before: (800) 436-7275 for Yosemite campsites; (800) 967-2283 for Carlsbad Caverns, Mammoth Cave and Frederick Douglass Historic Site tours; and (800) 365-2267 for campsites at 21 other popular parks, including Channel Islands, Death Valley, Grand Canyon and Joshua Tree.
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