YOSEMITE CHANGES ITS MIND … AGAIN

This story was originally published in the May 17, 2025 Issue.

Yosemite National Park abruptly announced the reinstatement of its summer reservation system on April 29, triggering confusion and frustration among local businesses and residents, who say the rollout was poorly communicated and inconsistently executed.

The reservation system requires visitors to secure entry permits for the park between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day through Labor Day and daily from June 15 through August 15. Just weeks earlier, park officials had told local leaders they lacked the staffing and funding to implement such a program.

Then, without formal notice, the park sent an email suggesting the system might return before fully confirming it to the public that same day.

In response to the confusion, Mono County Supervisor Paul McFarland hosted a public meeting on May 14 with park administrators at the Lee Vining Community Center. The agenda included clarifying details on the reservation system, the opening of Tioga Pass Road, and other summer infrastructure plans.

“I’m going to ask we focus on the reality of today,” McFarland said at the outset. “Let’s avoid talking or speculating about how we got here or where we’re going.”

NPS started working on a “Visitor Access Management Plan” in 2022 to effectively manage an increased number of park visitors. Compared to the park’s proposed reservation system, which required reservations daily from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m., the new system scales back the reservation-mandatory hours.

Yosemite’s Communications Director, Scott Carr, said the shorter window will improve “accessibility” to the park. But Rhonda Salisbury, CEO of Visit Yosemite, questioned the reduced availability of permits at the May 6 Mono County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Salisbury said her organization saw recreation.gov release just 1,000–1,500 reservations on May 6, far fewer than the 4,500–5,000 released in 2023.

“We are getting phone calls at our visitor center,” she said. “Angry, angry, angry visitors.”

Carr said the park will make additional reservations available seven days before desired dates. 

Adding to the turmoil, the park also announced that Yosemite’s High Sierra Camps—high-end backcountry lodging facilities expected to reopen this summer for the first time since 2018—had been abruptly canceled due to sanitation issues, including a lack of potable water and restroom facilities.

Guests received cancellation emails the morning of the community meeting, even for late August reservations.

When asked directly whether the camps would operate this summer, Nicole Tucker, the park’s Chief of Commercial Services, initially avoided giving a clear answer and said she’d provide a comprehensive update in the coming days.

“I’ve received some questions about High Sierra Camps,” she said, “and I’m evaluating those concerns.”

A hotelier in the audience interjected: “You didn’t answer the question. She asked if the information was true or false. Are they opening this year or not?”

Pressed for clarity, Tucker eventually responded: “At this point in time, no.”

“Thank you,” the hotelier replied, throwing her hands up. “We just need straight answers.”

The Sheet approached the hotelier after the meeting, though she declined to give her name or business on the record. She said the reservation system has severely impacted the local tourism economy.

Before COVID-19 and the reservation requirement, towns like Lee Vining and June Lake were fully booked all summer. Now, business is slower, and the hotelier said she has to constantly explain the reservation system.

She said many foreign visitors, who have saved for years to visit Yosemite, don’t know that they need reservations because the reservation website is a “disaster to understand,” especially for those who don’t speak English as their first language. 

Guests have screamed at her about the system, she said. 

Park officials offered no clear update on when Tioga Pass Road would open — or whether the park would host the popular “bike day” event, which allows cyclists early access to the road before it opens to vehicles.

Sara Robinson, Subdistrict Ranger of Tuolumne Meadows, confirmed that avalanche danger along the road is mostly mitigated, except for one active slide area near Olmsted Point that still needs to melt out. Yosemite’s Utilities Chief Mike Trumm said the plowing process had gone smoothly.

Josh Lundquist, a representative from Caltrans, said the primary obstacle now is removing three massive boulders from the road — one measuring approximately 20 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 8 feet tall. Additionally, falling rocks crushed a section of the road over the winter, and Caltrans will need to repair it before the route can reopen.

Mono County Supervisor John Peters pressed for more specificity, asking, “When will it not be too early to announce the opening date?”

Carr responded, “You’ll know as soon as I know.”

Supervisor McFarland again emphasized the importance of timely and transparent communication for the park’s gateway communities.

“Sometimes the surprise is great. Sometimes, it’s great to be able to plan. I think this one is great when it’s a surprise, but it’s even better for all of us when we can plan,” McFarland said.

In an attempt to form a liaison between the park and gateway communities, Mono Supervisors discussed forming a Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)-chartered advisory group specific to Yosemite on May 6.

This group would give local communities a formal, consistent voice in park decisions such as visitor management, funding issues, Tioga Pass access, and future leadership appointments.

The proposed FACA group would follow the model used in parks like Acadia and Zion. Congressman Tom McClintock and federal agencies have expressed openness to the idea.