Many families in our coverage area like to get outdoors, especially at Yosemite National Park, where visitors continue to show up and soak in the beauty amidst announced changes this year to the park's reservation system.
It's spectacular, natural views like El Capitan, Half Dome, phenomenal waterfalls, sprawling vibrant trees, and spectacular hikes which draw visitors from all over the world to Yosemite.
"It's the most beautiful place on Earth," Michael Tyler, an Oakland resident who's been to Yosemite a few times, said. "It's gorgeous."
Michael lives in Oakland and acted as the tour guide for his dad, Andrew, and brother, Brian, who visited from Pennsylvania. They took a father-son trip throughout California, spending a couple of days at Yosemite.
"Fantastic, it's unimaginable until you get to see it," Andrew Tyler said. "It really is and, frankly, I don't think all the pictures that I took, hundreds of them, are going to really do it justice."
Out of the nearly 400 recreation National Parks, Yosemite was the 13th-most visited last year, seeing almost 4.3 million visitors and almost 75% of them come during the busiest six months – May through October. It's this busy season in which the Tylers had concerns about the park no longer using a timed-reservation system.
"I can't imagine what it's going to be like in here in the summertime," Andrew Tyler said. "It's just going to be mobbed."
Michael had reservations about their not being any reservations, but it ended up working out for them, including being able to find parking without a hitch.
"It's early in the season," Michael Tyler said. "It was fine. I mean, in a couple of weeks, it's probably going to be a whole other story."
Yosemite made the changes following a "comprehensive evaluation" of traffic patterns, parking availability, and visitor use last year, finding a season-wide reservation system isn't the "most effective" for this year.
"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. "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."
If you're planning on making a trip to Yosemite this summer, the park encourages you to plan visits early, especially for weekends and holidays – and to check the park website for real-time conditions, seasonal updates, and trip-planning tools. They are utilizing real-time traffic monitoring to identify and respond quickly to congestion hotspots and are encouraging visitors to explore areas outside of Yosemite Valley, like Tuolumne Meadows, Wawona, and Hetch Hetchy.
"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."
Lauren Koncz is a traveling nurse based in Denver and took her mom, Penny, who was visiting from Michigan, to Yosemite after they went to the BTS concert. She's been to around 10 national parks and says not having a system in place may be "a little rough".
"It could be good, I've gone to a bunch of National Parks and I feel like the ones that don't have a reservation system, you're just driving around looking for a place to park forever," Koncz said.
Vivian Lizcano and her boyfriend, Alexis Garzon, visited from South Lake Tahoe and they appreciate the new policy.
"It was great because sometimes when you don't really plan your travel, we literally get to the gate and we didn't have any (service), our phone, it was not working," Lizcano said. "So, it was great because we can just pay there."
Yosemite encourages visitors to come during weekdays–and that's exactly what these families did, experiencing mountain-top moments together amidst what could be valley moments for some during the busy season, finding parking with no more reservations.
"Honestly, Yosemite is the icing on the cake," Andrew Tyler said. "The cake is spending my time with two of my boys, it really is. It's been that meaningful and that wonderful."
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