THIS TIME, WITHOUT RESERVATION

After years of starts, stops and seasonal tweaks, Yosemite National Park is once again changing course.

The park will no longer use a timed reservation system, it announced last Wednesday, abandoning a policy it previously described as necessary to address worsening congestion and safety concerns during peak visitation.

The reservation system was first introduced in 2020 as a pandemic-era measure, requiring visitors to secure online reservations during peak hours to limit crowding and slow the spread of COVID-19. 

The system remained in place through the summers of 2021 and 2022 before being paused in 2023.

In 2024, the park reinstated reservations under a pilot program. That version applied primarily to weekends during early and late peak season, allowed afternoon entries and increased the total number of permits available compared to prior years.

Then in 2025, the park initially announced it would forgo reservations due to budget constraints, only to reinstate a modified version in late April. Under that system, reservation-only access applied during reduced hours and was limited to weekends and holidays throughout the season.

Now, park leadership says it is stepping away from reservations again, but for a different stated reason.

“While reservation systems are one valuable management tool, our data demonstrates that a season-wide reservation requirement is not the most effective approach for the coming season,” Yosemite Superintendent Ray McPadden stated.

According to the park’s website, internal analysis found that most weekdays maintained available parking, stable traffic flow and visitation levels within operational capacity.

That conclusion marks a notable shift from the park’s own recent planning documents. In 2022, Yosemite launched a long-term Visitor Access Management Plan to address rising visitation. The research, completed in 2024, warned that increasing congestion posed safety risks and diminished visitor experience. 

During a final public comment period that fall, the park presented four management alternatives and identified a park-wide daily reservation system (operating between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m.) as its preferred approach.

A September 2024 planning document laid out the reasoning in blunt terms.

“As visitation has increased, park staff have observed longer lines for longer periods of the year, starting earlier in the spring and extending later into the fall, and for more hours of the day during the peak season,” the report stated.

The document warned that long entrance station lines present health and safety concerns. There are no restrooms or water facilities along approach roads; some roadways run through rockfall hazard zones, and congestion can complicate emergency access. Cellular service is limited in many areas.

“Starting a visit with a long, potentially unpleasant wait is an adverse impact on the overall visitor experience,” the report states,

Parking was another major concern listed in the analysis.

During weekends and peak times, lots routinely fill early, beginning in East Yosemite Valley and continuing west. Key destinations often reach capacity by mid-morning, leading to roadway congestion, frustration and illegal parking that can create safety hazards.

A 2023 visitor survey cited in the report found that 51% of visitor groups were negatively impacted by parking congestion or shortages. Twenty-five percent reported crowding on trails, while more than one-third cited traffic congestion and crowded scenic overlooks as detracting from their visit.

Advocacy organizations, including the National Park Conservation Association and the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, condemned the decision to abandon reservations. They argue that pilot programs demonstrated reservation systems can reduce congestion and that multiple seasons allow parks to adapt, refine operations and build visitor awareness.

“Eliminating Yosemite’s seasonal reservation system will undoubtedly lead to hours-long traffic jams, damage to park resources, strain on remaining park staff, and ruined experiences for visitors,” said Mark Rose, Senior Sierra Nevada Program Manager for the National Park Conservation Association.

Without a reservation system in place, Yosemite officials say they will expand operational strategies that “proved effective during the 2025 season,” including “active parking management in Yosemite Valley to maximize available capacity” and promoting recreation outside Yosemite Valley, such as in Tuolumne Meadows, Wawona, Hetch Hetchy and other destinations across the park.

That “active parking management” could refer to an unpopular measure already in use.

In recent years, park staff have implemented a traffic diversion, commonly referred to as a “shunt,” at the El Capitan Crossover and Southside Drive intersection in Yosemite Valley. During a shunt, staff temporarily restrict access to East Yosemite Valley, turning day-use vehicles around until parking spaces reopen.

In 2023, the shunt was deployed on many days, including nearly every Saturday in summer. On some days, it began as early as 8:20 a.m., meaning visitors arriving after that time were turned away from East Yosemite Valley for several hours, according to park data.

Mono County District Supervisor Paul McFarland said he does not “foresee any new infrastructure other than more traffic control and informational, digital message boards being deployed.”

He worries that efforts to push visitors out of Yosemite Valley could add pressure to less-visited areas of the park, such as Tuolumne Meadows.

“Every decision made is tied to another; when you move someone from one part of the park, you’re putting them somewhere else,” he said.