Yosemite National Park officials are considering the use of a reservation system during peak periods to control congestion in the park/NPS file

Yosemite National Park officials are proposing to make permanent a timed entry system for peak periods of the year.

Under the Visitor Access Management Draft Plan and EA [Environmental Assessment] open for public comment through September 30, "visitors would need one parkwide reservation to enter all areas of Yosemite National Park at any time during peak hours. This reservation would be valid for a three-day period, allowing visitors to enter and leave the park at any time within their three-day reservation window." 

Peak hours would be 11 hours between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m., according to the document.

The draft plan says a reservation system is needed to address issues associated with persistently high summer visitation, specifically, the following:

• high-intensity crowding and congestion at parking lots and park entrances and along roadways that limit visitors’ ability to access and enjoy meaningful experiences

• traffic congestion that slows or prevents emergency vehicle access/egress and endangers pedestrians in roadways, affecting visitor and staff safety

• growing and concentrated visitor use that has an increasing impact on natural and cultural resources

• heavy strain on the park’s services and facilities and staff’s ability to access facilities and perform daily operations 

This year the park has been using a “Peak Hours Plus” vehicle reservation pilot system to enter Yosemite on weekends from April 13 to June 30; every day from July 1 to August 16; and on weekends from August 17 to October 27. 

The National Park Service's preferred option in the draft EA calls for two reservation windows: One for all-day, and one for afternoons.

"Visitors with all-day reservations can enter the park at any time during peak hours. Visitors with reservations made for afternoon arrivals could enter the park any time after noon and could access the park any time during “peak hours” on their second and third consecutive days," the document says.

"This is an opportunity to help shape Yosemite's future," said Yosemite Superintendent Cicely Muldoon. “We know that the best time for many visitors to come to the park is during the summer season when the weather is optimal for outdoor adventures. We want to make sure that everyone gets a chance to enjoy the park and stay safe, and not suffer through endless traffic jams and long waits.”

Yosemite is just the latest park to move toward a reservations system to manage congestion. Already Arches, Glacier, and Rocky Mountain national parks have timed entry systems in place, while Acadia National Park uses one to manage congestion atop Cadillac Mountain and Zion National Park uses a permit system to manage foot traffic up Angels Landing.

Read about other parks' reservation systems at this page.

Just last month Zion officials unveiled a series of options they might turn to in an effort to control congestion in Zion Canyon, and one of those would be a reservation system.

"Visitor capacity is an important part of this planning effort. Visitor capacity is identifying that maximum amount and timing of visitor use you can have in an area while you’re still achieving your desired conditions," Susan McPartland, the park's visitor use manager, said during a media briefing. "That could be desired conditions for public safety, resources, for visitor experience itself," she said during a media briefing. "So, we will identify some additional visitor capacities as part of this planning effort, and then things like reservation systems are really the tools that help us manage to that visitor capacity. ... We’re evaluating that as one of the strategies, looking at potential reservation systems and different types of reservation systems.”

Visitor capacities for specific areas in Yosemite identified in the plan/NPS

Yosemite officials, in an FAQ page accompanying the draft plan, said "[R]eservation systems can help allow the greatest number of people to safely visit and enjoy parks while ensuring what makes that place special remains protected for generations to come. ... In some parks, the level of demand is exceeding the capacity for which infrastructure was designed or is outpacing the National Park Service’s ability to sustainably support visitation. This trend is resulting in the need to explore new strategies to protect natural and cultural resources and provide opportunities for safe and meaningful visitor experiences."

In developing the draft EA, park staff put in place a day-use peak hours reservation system pilot this year to test a reservation system during a time without pandemic restrictions or major construction. 

Visitation to the park in California's High Sierra peaked in 2016, the year the Park Service marked its centennial, when 5 million visited Yosemite. Visitation then declined year after year, dipping to 2.2 million in 2020 during the height of the Covid pandemic, before steadily increasing to 3.9 million last year.

"Vehicular traffic can overburden the road system, resulting in long backups and wait times as visitors enter the park or search for parking at their desired destination," a section of the draft EA states. "The most severe roadway congestion occurs in Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point, Tuolumne Meadows, Mariposa Grove, and at popular trailheads and all entrance stations. Traffic congestion and gridlock are common, with the most acute conditions occurring during the summer, and on weekends from spring through fall. Long waits along roadways impact park visitors, staff, residents, and Tribal members seeking to engage in traditional activities. Staff report needing to budget an additional hour each way to access their work sites due to congestion, and park residents also experience significant disruptions to daily commutes and work activities during times of congestion."

At the National Parks Conservation Association, the proposal was praised.

“The National Parks Conservation Association applauds the Park Service for advancing this robust and forward-looking Visitor Access Management Plan,” said Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada program manager. “After decades of hours’ long traffic jams, crowded trails and facilities and untold damage to Yosemite’s beloved natural and cultural resources, this innovative and thoughtful plan is sorely needed. We truly appreciate the Park leadership’s strong collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders over the last few years to develop and refine Yosemite’s successful pilot managed access systems. Now it’s time for visitors, advocates, and community leaders to come together and help implement a permanent solution to manage harmful overcrowding across all of Yosemite."

You can find the draft EA, and comment on it, at this site.