No Dogs or Bicycles Allowed

Dogs and Bicycles are Banned from the Wooden Boardwalks in Yellowstone Park

I notice things related to both dogs and bicycles more than a lot of people that don't own dogs or ride bicycles. Recently, we passed through Yellowstone National Park. My loyal reader may know that it is the World's first National Park. It was created under US Grant and was largely protected under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt. My reader might also know that many hot springs are accessed via wooden boardwalks that pass over the hot and unstable ground. Dogs and bicycles are prohibited from these boardwalks.

I suspect that bicycles are prohibited in order to keep people from riding on the sometimes slick boardwalks. Bike racks are provided, such as the one shown below.

Bike Racks are Provided for Bicycles. Locks Not Provided.

It might not be quite so clear why dogs are also prohibited; particularly those on leashes. Well, dogs have been known to lunge at passing people and it'd be pretty gruesome if a passerby fell into a hot spring while trying to avoid that aggressive dog. My own theory is that dogs are banned in order to protect water dogs such as Labrador Retrievers such as my own. He's been know to leap off docks into unknown waters, and even sometimes when on a leash. I'd hate to see Fergus jump off a boardwalk into one of those clear but nearly boiling springs. Some prohibitions just make sense.

I'd Hate to Imagine a Dog after Extraction from an Inviting-Looking, but Nearly Boiling Spring