Yosemite's Entry Permit Requirement

[maverick]

Yosemite NP:

Inquiring minds want to know about... entrance reservations!

Reservations will not be required to visit Yosemite National Park during the summer of 2023. Reservations were required in the summers of 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic and in summer 2022 when numerous key visitor attractions were closed for critical infrastructure repairs.

Yosemite has been grappling with congestion—even gridlock—for decades. We want to build from the lessons learned from the last three summers of managed access. Look for an announcement in December, when we'll start seeking your help to design an approach that provides a great visitor experience while protecting Yosemite's natural and cultural resources.

Personally I like the park controlling access into the Valley during peak times, possible shuttle service for day visitors during peak season (similar to Zion and Grand Canyon) might work, but definitely do not want Hwy 120 to require a permit when just driving through the park to the east side.

[c9h13no3]

I mean, I'd love for the reservations to serve me, and only be required for Yosemite Valley June-Sept (it's too hot then anyways). But that will never happen.

I understand the permits, the Valley is over-crowded. I hate permits and reservations, but I'm a privileged "local" that can go on the shoulder season when they're not required. So begrudgingly I think they're probably a good thing.

[balzaccom]

I agree. It's a bit of a pain, but since I have a cabin above Sonora, I can pop in just about any time of year.

It's a huge issue for some of the regional tourist businesses. When someone flies in from Europe and wants to see San Francisco, Napa, and Yosemite, those permits are brutal. Imagine running a hotel full of guests in Sonora, Mariposa, or Groveland, and only 20% of them can get permits...

But I also remember the days when there was an endless traffic jam in the Valley for hours.

[gary c.]

I see it as you either open it up or maintain the permit system to enter. I you have any kind of reservation you are covered. If you are there for the day the drive through just encourages hoards of people taking every possible pullout and parking space along the 120 while they jump out for their few minutes of fun before moving on.

[Wandering Daisy]

Communities on both sides of Tioga Pass are highly dependent on Yosemite visitors. The solution to over-crowding is not easy; it is a balancing act. I am always surprised that tourists even want to go into Yosemite Valley during summer - it is hot and the air is horrible. Much of the air pollution could be solved with not allowing campfires in the summer- those who think campfires are essential can go early or late season. However, I would hate to see Yosemite Valley become day-use only.

Tioga Road could be separated from Yosemite Valley, since those wanting to go into Yosemite Valley can go in from Mariposa or Wawona. You could have no permits required to simply go over Tioga Pass, but a permit required to drop down into Yosemite. I am just pointing out that there needs to be some "out-of-the-box" thinking to solve the problem as well as give and take from all stake holders. And users in cars may need different permit requirements than those on foot, bus or bike. In the end none of us are going to get exactly what we want.

[c9h13no3]

Tioga Road could be separated from Yosemite Valley, since those wanting to go into Yosemite Valley can go in from Mariposa or Wawona. You could have no permits required to simply go over Tioga Pass, but a permit required to drop down into Yosemite.

This does make enforcement more expensive for the park. I believe they enjoyed the previous permit system (entry between 6AM-4PM required a permit) because it made enforcement easy. Just check people's papers at the entrance, and they just had to extend the hours the entrances were manned a bit earlier in the morning.

Checking permits on parked cars requires new staff to do a new thing. Staff are expensive. I'm curious what their new crowding solution will be they propose in December. But either way, my habits will still be the same: avoid the valley between Memorial Day & Labor Day due to crowds, heat, and air pollution.

If you are there for the day the drive through just encourages hoards of people taking every possible pullout and parking space along the 120 while they jump out for their few minutes of fun before moving on.

I also agree with this. The average person on 120 is passing through, checking out the views from the road with a stops at Olmstead and the Tuolumne store. My unscientific guesstimation is that >50% of the parking at Olmstead, Tenaya, and Tuolumne are taken up by users who are there 1 hour or less. Allowing these users to continue without permits, while putting more burden on hikers & climbers seems unfair in Tuolumne which doesn't have Yosemite's level of crowding problems.

[Jim F]

I have visited Yosemite NP each month this year, including yesterday, and personally have never needed a a reservation. However, during the Summer an entry reservation was needed for my car if I brought it.

Unfortunately, Yosemite NP (a great national treasure) is embedded in a state with Third World public transportation.

Good luck.

Jim

[maverick]

Unfortunately, Yosemite NP (a great national treasure) is embedded in a state with Third World public transportation.

Totally agree with this statement. Yosemite visitation has continued to grow, but the public transportation to deal with this issue has been left behind.

In 2021 the visitation numbers were the following:

1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 14.16 million
2. Zion National Park: 5.03 million
3. Yellowstone National Park: 4.86 million
4. Grand Canyon National Park: 4.53 million
5. Rocky Mountain National Park: 4.43 million
6. Acadia National Park: 4.06 million
7. Grand Teton National Park: 3.88 million
8. Yosemite National Park: 3.28 million
9. Indiana Dunes National Park: 3.17 million
10. Glacier National Park: 3.08 million

[creekfeet]

The age old dilemma with the national parks is how to best preserve the resource while also allowing people to enjoy it. Regarding Yosemite, I see it as the sacrificial lamb of the Sierra; we killed Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy so that the rest of the Sierra may live. Natural resource protection has never been the priority at Yosemite, and I don't see that changing now. Abolish the permit system, and if people want to spend a hot July day among endless crowds in a Sierra Disneyland, so be it.

The only real solution as I see it, and something I fear greatly, is that someday the general public will realize that SEKI offers a vastly superior user experience in the busy season, and the crowds will be more evenly dispersed. SEKI generally receives less than half the visitors Yosemite gets despite boasting the world's biggest trees, the lower 48's largest mountain, the nation's deepest canyon, and one of the NPS's most complex cave systems, not to mention gobs of free to cheap camping on interspersed national forest land. But hey, waterfalls and the iconic Tunnel View photo that appears on the cover of 97% of all NPS publications hold a lot of sway.

[LMBSGV]

For now, they are dropping the reservation system. This is from SF Chronicle. It will be interesting what they come up with to replace it.

Yosemite drops booking system

By Kurtis Alexander
Photos by Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

A group of tourists takes pictures along the Merced River at Yosemite National Park in March.

Hikers and tourists crowd onto a packed shuttle bus moving through Yosemite Valley in 2019.

Love it or hate it, the policy requiring a reservation to enter busy Yosemite National Park is no more.

Park officials announced this week that the contentious crowd-control policy, in place during the first two years of the pandemic and continued this year because of construction, will not be in place next year. The reservation requirement covered the park’s peak summer season, when historically Yosemite has been one of the most visited sites in the National Park Service.

While the reservation system succeeded at limiting numbers in years when park staffing and services were down because of the coronavirus, it became a sore point for travelers unable to win admission and gateway communities dependent on the tourist traffic. Others liked the program because it eliminated much of Yosemite’s notorious congestion.

The repeal of the policy, however, does not necessarily mean reservations are gone for good.

Park officials say the suspension of the program provides the opportunity to see what attendance is like in the post-COVID world, take stock of the discontinued reservation system, survey the public and decide how to manage crowds going forward. Reservations had been discussed well before the coronavirus as a long-term means of addressing lines at entrance stations, packed parking lots and gridlocked roads, especially in Yosemite Valley.

“We want to build on what we’ve learned the last three summers on managed access,” said Yosemite spokesperson Scott Gediman. “Our goal in the end is to basically come up with a plan that sustains an outstanding visitor experience and protects the park resources.”

The National Park Service’s Denver Service Center, which is the planning arm of the park service and has helped other parks deal with overcrowding, is expected to lead the new planning effort at Yosemite. A handful of parks, including Glacier in Montana, Rocky Mountain in Colorado and Zion in Utah, have opted to implement long-term reservation requirements for at least portions of their properties during peak times.

Yosemite’s temporary reservation system began in 2020 with visitors required to book advance admission for day use during the summer season. Park officials capped the number of people entering the park at about half of what it had been in recent years. Annual attendance at Yosemite over the past decade was often above 4 million people, hitting a peak of 5.2 million in 2016.

Even traveling through the park on Highway 120, which goes across the Sierra Nevada, necessitated a reservation. Those who booked overnight stays at Yosemite, either in a hotel, a campground or the backcountry, did not need to secure advance admission.

In 2021, park officials began loosening the reservation policy, as both pandemic restrictions and personnel shortages at the park eased. This year’s policy capped admission at about 70% of historic traffic, and it required advance booking only between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m., meaning people could visit without a reservation either early or late in the day.

Gediman said the park would be able to accommodate more visitors in 2023 with staffing and services returning to nearly pre-COVID levels and a handful of construction projects no longer impeding traffic in the park. In fact, some of the past work will improve vehicle flow, such as the overhaul of popular Glacier Point Road.

The termination of the reservation policy and the prospective development of a new plan to address overcrowding is being welcomed by many in the region’s hospitality industry. Business at hotels, restaurants and gift shops in nearby communities such as Oakhurst and Mariposa slipped in recent years, in large part because of fewer people visiting Yosemite.

Modesto resident Ed Will-hide, who lives about a 1 1 /2-hour drive away, was like many Californians who decided it was easier just to stay out of the park than deal with the booking process.

“Instead, we head to the coast: Monterey, Pacific Grove,” he said. “No lines, no rejections, no reservations needed.”

With many anticipating that travel will remain down amid high gas prices, inflation and economic uncertainty, area businesses said continuing the cap on attendance would have posed another drag on local commerce.

“We’re pleased to hear that they’re going to pump the brakes,” said Jonathan Farrington, executive director of the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau. “Visitation won’t be at normal levels next year. We don’t think (a reservation policy) will be necessary.”

Others had praised the park service for implementing a reservation system and preventing overcrowding and even potential damage to the natural landscape. Organizations like the National Parks Conservation Association can be expected to advocate for the reinstatement of the quotas.

“We don’t want to see a return to the days of visitors being stuck in hours-long traffic lines before hiking overcrowded trails,” Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada program manager for the parks association, said in an email. “This sudden change to pause the reservation system for a summer sends mixed messages and will also create more uncertainty and confusion for visitors and nearby communities.”

Albany resident Georgia Hallinan agreed, saying her experience at Yosemite was far better under the reservation policy.

“We went (to the park) right before the system, and it was like Disneyland — no thanks,” she said. “We went after and enjoyed the quiet beauty.”