Yosemite reservations to enter the national park are on sale. How to get one
Yosemite National Park entrance reservations went on sale starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 23.
They will be needed to enter the popular park in California from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting May 20 and continuing until Sept. 30, except for those with other Yosemite reservations, including for lodging and camping.
Visitors entering Yosemite outside the peak hours don’t have to have a reservation.
The peak hour reservations can be purchased online at recreation.gov.
Yosemite leaders announced last month that reservations would be returning starting this spring – but this time, only during peak visiting hours – in hopes of alleviating traffic congestion because of many Yosemite construction projects planned in 2022.
In 2020 and 2021, the reservation system was implemented to reduce visitation due to COVID-19.
The entrance reservations are $2 in addition to normal park entrance fees, normally $35. People without computer access can make a reservation by calling 877-444-6777.
How Yosemite reservations will work in 2022
Seventy percent of the reservations will be available for purchase starting Wednesday. The other 30% will go on sale seven days before an arrival date, available daily at 8 a.m.
“Reservations are taken almost immediately,” Yosemite officials warned. “Be sure to have a Recreation.gov account and be logged in and ready to get a reservation promptly at 8 am Pacific daylight time.”
Visitors with special passes, including annual and lifetime pass holders, still need a reservation to enter during peak hours. Each entrance reservation is valid for one vehicle and the occupants of that vehicle for three consecutive days, including the arrival date.
Visitors don’t have to arrive on the first day of their reservation, but, for example, anyone arriving for the first time on the third day of a reservation would only be granted access for that final day.
People who want to drive through Yosemite without stopping, such as those traveling along Tioga Road to the Eastern Sierra, can only do so without a reservation if they enter the park before 6 a.m. or after 4 p.m.
Visitors who don’t need an entrance reservation during peak hours – anyone with overnight reservations within Yosemite – include those with private lodging and vacation rentals in the Yosemite communities of Wawona, Yosemite West or Foresta, in addition to Yosemite hotels and campgrounds.
Hetch Hetchy – accessed via its own park entrance off Highway 120 – doesn’t require a peak hours reservation.
Reservations to enter the park during peak hours also won’t be needed for visitors with wilderness permits for backpack trips, hikers with Half Dome permits, and visitors entering the park via Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) buses or on permitted commercial tours.
This year’s reservation system is a pilot program and might return in subsequent years.
More information is available on Yosemite’s website, go.nps.gov/reserve.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 3:46 PM.
