As crowds build in Yosemite, visitors worry that high season will be a disaster

From California Rock, 1,100 feet above Yosemite Valley, the crown jewel of America’s favorite national parks spreads out below you.

The jaw-dropping north face of 8,800-foot Half Dome towers to the east. The green ribbon of the Merced River meanders through the valley below, stunningly clear during the spring snowmelt. Even the cars in the parking lots look beautiful, their roofs and windshields glistening in the golden sunlight like so many jewels.

Then notice that those gems are everywhere – as far as the eye can see – because every parking lot in the village is full.

On the way down from that place, the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail, which was empty at 9 a.m., had become a human belt by 11 a.m. Hundreds of people climbed the cliffs in single file.

That’s what gives park enthusiasts heartburn this spring.

Even before the summer rush, which begins in earnest a few days before Memorial Day weekend, California’s most visited state park sees huge crowds. There have been more than 836,000 visits so far in 2026, according to National Park System data — about 100,000 more than this time last year.

The reason, according to park advocates, is the Trump administration’s decision to abandon the reservation system that was started in 2020 to limit crowds during the COVID-19 crisis. The system has been used on and off since then to help control the number of visitors and maintain a sense of natural tranquility.

On Saturday, there seemed to be an uneasy balance: The crowds were large but well managed, with some visitors worried about the coming months.

Upstairs in the valley, as hundreds of people crowded together to view Lower Yosemite Falls, Jeff Wilson of Folsom said he had a flashback to what happened in 2023, the last time the park allowed entry without permits.

“It was bumper-to-bumper traffic everywhere. Empty parking lots, cars circling all day, and people going out and going to random places,” Wilson said. “It was terrible.”

People walk to the bottom of Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park on Saturday.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

That was echoed everywhere on Saturday. Parking lots filled up quickly — the Curry Village lot was full by 8 a.m. — and cars were hidden in all the unmarked apartments whose owners thought they could get away.

When people found a place to leave their cars, they did not dare to move them. Most relied on the free shuttle around the village. The big white buses were crowded during the day, as were the bus stops, where people usually had to wait for several motorbikes to pass before one with a seat arrived.

However, the lines were reasonable to enter the park and pay the fee – $35 per car for US residents and $100 new President Trump per person charge for foreigners. That means a family of four from abroad will have to pay $435.

People who arrived early in the morning were rushed to the toll booths, while those who arrived after 9 am said they only had to wait 15 to 30 minutes. That was a dramatic improvement over recent weekends, when social media was flooded with complaints about the hour-and-a-half ordeal.

Traffic flowed slowly but smoothly on the main asphalt roads that circled the valley. There were occasional outbursts where angry drivers leaned heavily on their horns, filling the otherwise peaceful area with sudden bursts of urban chaos, but generally, things remained calm.

“We thought it would be very crowded,” said Laura Yuen, from the Bay Area. But it is actually manageable. We ride bikes, and people make room for us and are polite.

Getting there early and hiding the car was key for Yuen and his colleagues.

“A few of the sights were full – those were the real tourist attractions. But other than that, it was great,” she said. “This is a great time of year to come.”

Whether the good times will last when the high season starts is a question.

People ride the shuttle at Yosemite National Park on Saturday.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

Since Trump returned to office in 2025 and introduced Elon Musk’s Department of Public Works to the workforce, the National Park System has lost nearly a quarter of its workforce through layoffs and acquisitions, according to the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Assn.

And the Trump administration has proposed cutting about 3,000 more jobs — about another 25% — next year. Trump also proposed cutting nearly $800 million from the park system’s roughly $3 billion operating budget.

All this risks the delicate balance into chaos and gridlock, critics warn.

At 2 p.m., a flashing sign at the entrance to Curry Village advised that the parking lot was full and directed people to try their luck elsewhere.

Still, dozens of drivers sneak into the area, hoping to jump out if someone pulls out. It seemed like a particularly stressful way to spend an afternoon surrounded by some of the world’s most famous natural wonders.

Kunal Khandwala of San José was among those looking for a place until he stopped and pulled over, blocking a few cars but ready to leave if their owners returned and needed to leave.

His friends had gone out and joined the line at the Curry Village Pizza Deck, waiting to grab a bite to eat and find a quiet spot for a picnic – away from the village.

The situation was “testing,” Khandwala said, but it was unbearable if you rested and remained patient.

And anything was better than submitting to the shuttle, he joked.

People hike down the Merced River with Yosemite Falls in the background in Yosemite National Park on Saturday.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

“The guards are crazy,” he said, feeling sorry for the people who just had a day at the park and were hoping to hit all the good things on the bus. “There’s no way. You can’t see everything you want if you rely on the shuttle.”

Parks officials could not provide the number of visitors who arrived Saturday, or compare it to crowds on recent weekends.

But with Memorial Day coming up, this weekend feels like the calm before the storm.

That’s why Wilson, a frequent visitor to Folsom, said she’s “very patient. It’s hard — you have to plan ahead — but it makes it better for everybody.”

He had brought his bike with him, which seemed to be the best way to escape the crowds.

“This is my favorite place in the world, no matter how crowded it is,” he said before walking away. “As long as you can come in, come, have a good time, you’ll love it.”