Yosemite reservation rules are finally announced — here’s when you’ll need them to get into the park

After months of delays and confusion the Trump administration has eventually revealed that visitors will be required to have reservations to enter Yosemite National Park this summer although on fewer days than last year Late Tuesday Yosemite representatives posted new information on the park s website stating that in an effort to reduce crowds during several of the busiest times of the year visitors who plan to progress to the famed Sierra Nevada park between a m and p m on Memorial Day weekend or any day between June and August or over Labor Day weekend will need to make a reservation beforehand to get in Related Articles Get into all national parks for free on April The prettiest places in the U S that you ll need a lottery permit to visit Yosemite National Park summer reservations open after delay Crews clear major rockslide early reopening key path into Yosemite Yosemite Caltrans announces opening date for road closed by huge rockslide This system ensures all visitors whether they plan in advance or decide last minute can experience the park each day the notice stated It also spreads visitation across the day so that visitors have a better experience Reservations for all dates will be issued on Recreation gov at a m PDT on May Additional reservations will be available seven days before the arrival date for example a reservation for an arrival date of August can be made on August at a m Pacific time on Recreation gov The non-refundable reservation fee is which does not include the -per-car park entrance fee There are exceptions Visitors who arrive before a m or after p m do not need a reservation to get into the park Nor do visitors who have overnight reservations at hotels inside the park such as the Ahwahnee or Yosemite Valley Lodge or at campsites inside the park Also people who enter the park on a Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System YARTS bus or on a tour bus do not need reservations to enter for the day Last year in an attempt to cut down on traffic gridlock and overcrowding during busy summer weekends Yosemite officers required that visitors obtain an entrance reservation for their vehicles between April and October A similar system was in place from to during the COVID pandemic Environmentalists generally praised the system Certain businesses opposed it Yosemite dropped reservations in The park announced waits of hours or longer to get in on busy summer weekends with traffic jams and full parking lots Last year Yosemite representatives drew up plans to continue the reservation system this year but the Biden administration did not finalize them before President Biden left office on Jan After President Trump took office the Department of Interior the National Park Utility and Yosemite functionaries did not say for more than three months whether reservations would be required As a conclusion travelers from around the world and across the nation have been calling hotels in Mariposa Groveland and other gateway communities saying they aren t sure they want to book a vacation if they don t know whether they will be able to get into the park Bookings are down and business is suffering hotel owners review Tuesday night with the start of the peak summer tourist season less than a month away business leaders noted the last-minute nature of the decision has created new problems We re surprised by the late announcement revealed Jonathan Farrington executive director of the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau Our concern is that thousands of daily arrivals to Yosemite will be delayed at the entrance stations as people arrive unaware of the required truck reservation Farrington noted that plenty of visitors who make hotel reservations can t be notified of the park s new entrance rules by the hotels because large numbers of reservations are made internationally through passage companies or completed at online tour portals like Expedia With those reservations the hotel motel or vacation rental owners are not provided the email addresses or contact details for the guests he stated Last year roughly cars a day on busy days arrived at the park without a day use reservation and had to wait for hours to get in Farrington reported With this late notice the numbers could be doubled he commented This is going to be a hard summer for visitors Yosemite staff and the surrounding communities Environmental groups stated the Trump administration should have only continued the reservation system from last year If the administration truly cared about the visitor experience at Yosemite this summer it would have allowed park leaders to move forward months ago with its preferred reservation system which was refined over the past several years and led by evidence deep population engagement and commonsense announced Mark Rose Sierra Nevada campaign manager with the National Parks Conservation Association in Sacramento Part of the delay this year came after Rep Tom McClintock R-Modesto a longtime opponent of national park reservations whose district includes Yosemite appealed Trump bureaucrats to block it The National Park Operation was about to go ahead and re-impose that reservation system McClintock revealed on March in a speech at the Tuolumne County Business Council luncheon I raised hell with the White House and they are now backing off at least for the moment I ve also communicated them though that the worst thing is also delay People have got to know whether or not they are going to need to make reservations so we need to make this decision now Several other big national parks are using a day-use reservation system this summer including Rocky Mountain in Colorado Arches in Utah and Glacier in Montana National parks authorities approved those plans before Trump took office Rose noted noted that million people visited Yosemite last year up slightly from million in when there wasn t a day-use reservation system Smart planning doesn t mean fewer people he disclosed Just a better experience for all Tourists walk out to Glacier Point with a background view of Half Dome at Yosemite National Park FREDERIC J BROWN AFP via Getty Images