Probably doesn’t want his queer encounters disrupted by his fellow deviants getting lost.
You might be on to something there. The Iwo Jima Memorial and one of the Mount Vernon Parkway parking lots are notorious as spots where gays go to meet and conduct their activities, or commit indecent exposure, as they are frequently cited for. I had a thought that maybe the Park Service was closing those places because they did not have the manpower to patrol them during the shutdown. Then, I saw the overlooks and bus turnaround closed too.