Vehicle reservations no longer required for Yosemite National Park this year
Yosemite National Park will no longer require vehicle reservations this year.
The national park made the announcement Wednesday after analyzing traffic patterns, parking availability and visitor use during the 2025 season.
Efforts previously had been in place to help control visitor overcrowding and traffic congestion, especially as more people visited the national park in the years that followed the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the national park said its latest analysis indicated most weekdays maintained available parking, stable traffic flow and visitation levels within the park’s operational capacity.
“We are committed to visitor access, safety, and resource protection, and will continue active traffic management strategies to ensure a great visitor experience,” Yosemite Superintendent Ray McPadden said in a news release. “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.”
Reservations at Yosemite had been required on and off through the years since 2020, including in 2025.
Without a reservation system in place, Yosemite will broaden its use of operational strategies that include:
- Real-time traffic monitoring to identify and respond quickly to congestion hotspots.
- Active parking management in Yosemite Valley to maximize available capacity.
- Additional staffing at key intersections and decision points during peak periods.
- Improved visitor information through road condition alerts, congestion warnings and trip-planning tools.
- Expanded guidance encouraging weekday visitation, when parking and traffic conditions are more favorable.
- Promoting recreation outside Yosemite Valley, including Tuolumne Meadows, Wawona, Hetch Hetchy and other high-quality destinations across the park.
“Our goal is to help every visitor have a safe and enjoyable trip,” McPadden said. “Targeted management gives us the flexibility to address the busiest days while preserving open access on days the park is operating well within capacity.”
Arches National Park in southeast Utah and Glacier National Park in Montana also have lifted timed-entry and reservation requirements this year.
