Yosemite drops reservation requirement

Yosemite National Park will not require vehicle reservations at any time in 2026, ending the timed-entry system it used in recent peak seasons. (nps.gov) The National Park Service announced the change on February 18, 2026, and said it followed a review of 2025 traffic patterns, parking availability and visitor use. Park officials said most weekdays stayed within operational capacity. (nps.gov) Yosemite will still charge its entrance fee in 2026, and the park is telling visitors to expect congestion from spring through fall, especially between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The agency is urging travelers to arrive before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m. and to consider weekdays. (nps.gov 1) (nps.gov 2) Instead of reservations, Yosemite said it will use real-time traffic monitoring, active parking management in Yosemite Valley, extra staffing at key intersections and road alerts when congestion builds. It also said it may temporarily divert traffic when parking areas fill. (nps.gov 1) (nps.gov 2) The shift is part of a wider 2026 policy reset across several high-visitation parks. The National Park Service said Yosemite, Arches and Glacier are expanding access this summer, while Rocky Mountain National Park is keeping timed entry from late May through mid-October. (nps.gov) Mount Rainier also said on February 25 that it will not use timed-entry reservations in any part of the park in 2026. The park said it will rely on parking management and advised visitors to come before 7 a.m. or after 4 p.m. (nps.gov) Glacier National Park dropped vehicle reservations for 2026 as well, but it kept targeted controls in busy areas. The park said Logan Pass will have a three-hour parking limit and a ticketed shuttle system. (nps.gov 1) (nps.gov 2) Arches National Park also ended advanced timed-entry reservations for 2026, saying visitors can enter during operating hours without booking ahead. The park warned that weekends and holidays can still bring entrance lines and limited parking at popular stops. (nps.gov) The rollback has drawn criticism from conservation advocates who supported reservations as a crowd-control tool. The National Parks Conservation Association said ending Yosemite’s system will lead to hours-long traffic jams, strain on staff and damage to park resources. (npca.org) Yosemite’s own message to visitors is less dramatic but not much looser: no advance reservation is required, but peak-season demand is still there. The park is telling people to plan early, avoid the middle of the day and look beyond Yosemite Valley. (nps.gov)