Great news for visitors who want to explore Yosemite’s famous waterfalls and cliffs. You can now visit here without making a reservation. Recently, Yosemite National Park officials announced that reservations for this tourist destination are no longer needed. It will be open to the public without reservations next summer. The Park, located in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, is famous for its massive, ancient sequoia trees, the iconic Bridalveil Fall, and the El Capitan cliffs. It is one of the popular destinations for outdoor enthusiasts.
Previously, visitors to this popular national park had to make a reservation in advance to enter the park. During the Covid pandemic in 2020, the reservation system was implemented in order to limit the number of people in the park for social distancing purposes. The system was then retained by the park in 2021 and 2022 to deal with major infrastructure restorations at popular destinations. The rule was put in place to help reduce congestion in the popular park.
Officials will now test this new approach to see if it can find a new way to distribute crowds in the popular park. In December, they will make an announcement about how they plan to ease overcrowding in key areas. While the removal of the reservation system is accepted news for some, the National Park Service announced that it would begin soliciting public input in December to design a new process that protects the visitor experience as well as Yosemite’s natural and cultural resources.
The park’s main concessionaire is already making modifications in it to help reduce crowding. The new announcement also pleased some local business owners in the region and nearby residents who lost revenue because travelers could not freely visit the park when the reservation system was in place.
