Yosemite: fees, reservations, events
- Yosemite’s 2026 travel guide says access requires a $35 vehicle pass (7 days) or a $20 individual fee. (ad-hoc-news.de) - Peak‑hour reservations are mandatory April through October via recreation.gov, and shuttles generally run dawn to dusk. (ad-hoc-news.de) - Yosemite held park‑wide Earth Day volunteer projects including ecological restoration and litter cleanup today. (mymotherlode.com)
Yosemite visitors in 2026 still have to pay to enter, but they no longer need a timed-entry reservation just to drive into the park. (nps.gov) The National Park Service lists the entrance fee at $35 per private vehicle for seven days, $20 per person on foot, bicycle, horse, or non-commercial bus, and $30 per motorcycle. Annual Yosemite passes cost $70, and national “America the Beautiful” passes also cover entrance fees. (nps.gov) Park officials said in 2026 they dropped the timed reservation system after reviewing 2025 traffic, parking, and visitor-use patterns. Recreation.gov still handles Yosemite camping, wilderness permits, Half Dome permits, and other book-ahead reservations. (nps.gov) (recreation.gov) That change resets a planning routine many visitors learned in recent years, when Yosemite repeatedly used reservation rules to manage crowding in peak seasons. The park’s current permits-and-reservations page says no entrance reservation is required in 2026, while lodging, campground, and wilderness bookings still apply where relevant. (nps.gov) The practical bottleneck has shifted from the gate to what happens after arrival: campsites, trail permits, and parking near popular valley destinations can still fill fast. Recreation.gov tells visitors to book peak-season campgrounds months in advance and check each facility’s booking window. (recreation.gov) On Wednesday, April 22, Yosemite also marked Earth Day with volunteer work tied to park operations, not just tourism. The park’s drop-in events page says projects this year include ecological restoration and litter cleanup, with a 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. litter clean-up in front of the Exploration Center in Yosemite Village on Earth Day itself. (nps.gov) Yosemite’s volunteer office says Earth Day projects are designed for all ages and usually run two to three hours. The park also published additional summer 2026 litter clean-up dates in June, July, and August. (nps.gov) For travelers, the 2026 message is simpler than the one circulating in some unofficial guides: bring the entrance fee or a valid pass, but check Yosemite’s official pages for campground, permit, and event details before you go. (nps.gov 1) (nps.gov 2)
