Yosemite Permit Reservation System For 2022

[maverick]

Yosemite NP:

Starting with next year's backpacking season, Yosemite wilderness permit reservations will be available on Recreation.gov in partnership with Yosemite Conservancy. While the process of making reservations will change, many parts of the system will be the same or similar, including trailhead quotas, availability of walk-up permits, and reservation windows.
You can find all the details at https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildfaq2022.htm

[donutnational]

That's great now I get to pay Booz Allen to backpack in USFS wilderness as well as Yosemite. Will backpacking ever be free again?

[balzaccom]

When I got my permit in Yosemite this week, they encouraged me to share any comments on their website. I suggested that recreation.gov should have some kind of software to prevent people from making multiple reservations for the same date, which ties up those resources from anyone else. .

[rlown]

Given the variables of the forests being open lately and that people might have limited time frames to go, I see no reason that people can't book multiple reservations. Always good to have a backup plan and a permit or two in the bag. Once the ball is called, they can always cancel the unused permit.

[Wandering Daisy]

Multiple permits lock up too much and those backup permits "released" then are too short term to be used. When I applied for a permit this last trip, it took almost 2 days before my permit was approved. If you cancel your backup a day before, that is not enough time for someone else to be able to use it. One person having several for one time period is hogging permits- covering yourself at the expense of others.

A fairer system is to allow only one permit per time period and then if conditions to not allow use, EVERYONE has equal chance of getting a new permit. Better yet, lets go back to a mix of reserved permits (released at noon if not picked up) and in-person walk-ups. No reason they cannot still get their $10. Entrance stations already sell books, etc, so are equipped to handle money and are already staffed.

Given my experience this summer, I have spent more time and agony with the new reserve system than I ever did standing in line for a brief time with walk-in permits. I do not mind paying $10 for each trip, but I really do not like reserving. And it is really stupid to have to call to have them hold your permit past 10AM. Who can predict traffic and drive to the permit station before 10AM? Why not back that up to noon?

[ericmcornelius]

Always worth a read: https://www.outdoorproject.com/articles ... blic-lands

Start the countdown for non-refundable "convenience" fees on permit lotteries.

[rlown]

Multiple permits lock up too much and those backup permits "released" then are too short term to be used. When I applied for a permit this last trip, it took almost 2 days before my permit was approved. If you cancel your backup a day before, that is not enough time for someone else to be able to use it. One person having several for one time period is hogging permits- covering yourself at the expense of others.

But you are retired. Some don't have the luxury of casually walking up for a permit. Given the changing conditions in the forests, I really have no problem with getting a backup permit in case plan A goes bad due to conditions.

[Bishop_Bob]

I realize this is about Yosemite, but I wonder if Inyo et al. would release data from this past season indicating the % of reserved permits that were not picked up...and other similar types of info. Generally, it seems we ought to know how effective the online system is. Of course, it would be most valuable to compare these data to past seasons using the old system.

[Wandering Daisy]

If the data could be released, it would make a great masters thesis for someone majoring in outdoor recreation. I too am very curious about the extent of unused permits. Based on the backpackers I encountered this summer when out, I suspect there were a lot of unused permits issued.

rlown, has it occurred to you that some fanatical environmental group or persons could then buy permits simply to take them out of circulation in the mistaken idea that they are saving the wilderness from overuse?

The Yosemite permits this year were better priced than SEKI. The SEKI $15 per permit base fee, regardless of group size, hits the solo backpacker hard, especially for shorter trips.

I would be nice to have an annual permit fee. You would still have to apply for each permit but your annual costs would be capped. I do think it is quite unfair to locals who wish to simply do a lot of weekend overnighters throughout the year, year-round. If I had retired to Bishop with the idea doing a lot of shorter trips (because we old folks may not want to carry 10 days of food), I would be really mad about the current policy. Desolation used to have a reasonable annual permit, but they did away with it so I have not gone there for years.

[rlown]

Every option occurs to me. Given the current system and if you have limited time to visit, go the all the permits you can get as Plan A and Plan B.

If you can change the system, have at it! If you can't change it, use it to your best advantage.