Yosemite adds 71 tent‑cabins

Yosemite National Park is adding 71 new tent-cabin sites as park officials push to expand overnight stays during the busiest travel months. (nps.gov) The park already tells visitors to reserve lodging and camping well in advance, especially from spring through fall and on holidays, and says millions of people visit between April and October. Yosemite’s lodging ranges from canvas tent cabins to hotel rooms at The Ahwahnee. (nps.gov) Pressure on beds and campsites has been building. Yosemite recorded 4,047,275 visits in 2025, with 624,559 in July alone and 607,000 in August, according to the park’s visitation page. (nps.gov) Park data also show how heavily visitors rely on overnight stays. In January 2026 alone, Yosemite logged 20,366 concession-lodging stays and 9,986 campers across Valley, Wawona, and Mather areas. (nps.gov) The new sites fit Yosemite’s long-running mix of lodging types inside the park. National Park Service pages describe existing options that already span simple tent cabins, campgrounds, traditional lodges, and the luxury Ahwahnee hotel. (nps.gov) Tent cabins are not new to Yosemite, but they are a familiar format with deep roots in the park. Curry Village has offered canvas tent-cabin accommodations since the site was founded in 1899, according to the National Park Service. (nps.gov) Camping capacity has also been a separate focus. On June 11, 2025, Yosemite said all 13 park campgrounds would open that summer for the first time since 2019, adding about 500 campsites for visitors. (nps.gov) Access rules have shifted at the same time. Yosemite announced in March 2026 that it would drop its timed entrance reservation system for 2026 after reviewing traffic, parking, and visitor-use patterns from the 2025 season. (nps.gov) That leaves the park trying to absorb heavy summer demand with more places to sleep rather than a gatekeeping system for day-entry traffic. The 71 tent-cabin sites add to that strategy as Yosemite heads into another peak season. (nps.gov)