Outside Women

Outdoor enthusiasts and environmentalists can now exhale as the National Park Service resumes hiring and the outdoor industry continues to grow. A spokesperson from the National Park Service Press Team told Outside Women that yes, the department is hiring seasonal staff and national park visitors can continue to expect to have a memorable experience. NPS said, “We are focused on ensuring that every visitor has the chance to explore and connect with the incredible, iconic spaces of our national parks.”

NPS was put on a temporary hiring freeze as the Department of Government Efficiency reviewed its spending as a division of the Department of the Interior. The hiring freeze has since been removed and the National Park Service resumed filling jobs for the 2025 season. NPS is keeping our national parks staffed while also implementing new strategies for optimization and innovation to make sure that monetary investment in our parks is going to the right places based on current and future needs.

National Public Radio reported that the number of National Park Service seasonal workers hired in 2025 is higher than average, increasing from a three-year average of 6,350 to 7,700 seasonal NPS employees.

Job cuts led to 2,000 probationary workers being laid off from the Forest Service, but Secretary Brooke Rollins and the Department of Agriculture assures Americans that emergency and critical jobs remain in place to keep our forests safe and accessible.

A USDA Spokesperson said in a statement, “Hiring freeze exemptions exist for critical health and safety positions and protecting the people and communities we serve — as well as the infrastructure, businesses, and resources they depend on to grow and thrive — remains a top priority for the USDA and the Forest Service.”

The statement continued, “We are incredibly proud of our firefighters, and we will ensure they have the training, tools, and resources they need to work alongside our state and local partners, as well as private landowners, to continue the work to protect lives and livelihoods.” 

The number of people visiting our national parks has continued to increase year-over-year, as more than 325 million people went to a U.S. national park in 2023. This led to a record-breaking year for economic impact related to national park outdoor recreation and tourism in 2023, stimulating the U.S. economy by $55.6 billion.

NPS isn’t the only outdoor recreation organization experiencing growth. In 2025, the outdoor industry continues to expand, employing 5 million jobs in the U.S. in a $1.2 trillion industry, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.

If you’re ready to get excited about visiting our national parks in 2025, follow NPS on Instagram for historic insights and repeatable facts about our national parks alongside stunning photos of natural landscapes that will make you want to visit our parks ASAP.

Plot your trails. You can plan your national park hikes using AllTrails and find permits on Recreation.gov.