New Yosemite warning signs

Yosemite National Park has posted new entrance signs warning against littering, cliff jumping and drones as more visitors arrive to unstaffed gates this spring. (nps.gov, sfgate.com, outdoors.com) The new signs appeared after repeated reports that entrance stations at Arch Rock and Big Oak Flat were left without rangers during regular daytime hours in March and early April 2026. At those booths, drivers have seen messages reading, “Station closed. Pay when exiting park.” (sfgate.com, outdoors.com) Yosemite’s own fee page says all park entrances except Hetch Hetchy are open 24 hours a day, and visitors can pay on the way out if a station is unstaffed when they arrive. What changed this spring was how often visitors and employees said those stations were unattended. (nps.gov, sfgate.com) Park rules on the signs are not new. Yosemite already prohibits drones, and the park’s safety guidance says BASE jumping is prohibited; the signs package those rules with littering and other unsafe behavior at the point where visitors enter. (nps.gov, nps.gov) The staffing issue has been building for months. SFGATE reported on April 1 that Yosemite employees said the park did not have enough workers to cover all gate shifts, and Protect Our National Parks cited an insider who said permanent staffing fell to 362 in 2026 from 387 in 2025 and 410 in 2024. (sfgate.com, protectnps.org) Reporting earlier this year tied those shortages to broader National Park Service cuts. Accounts citing a January 19 New York Times report said Yosemite had lost about 25% of its permanent staff through layoffs, buyouts and retirements, leaving fewer rangers visible in the park. (dronexl.co, thetravel.com) That loss shows up first at the gate. Rangers collect fees there, but they also answer basic questions, hand out maps and tell first-time visitors what is closed, where parking is full and which activities are banned. (sfgate.com, protectnps.org) Yosemite is not a small roadside park. The National Park Service says it covers nearly 1,200 square miles in the Sierra Nevada, and millions of people visit in a typical year, which makes entrance staffing and rule enforcement unusually visible when they slip. (nps.gov, nps.gov) The agency has not said Yosemite is closing, and its public guidance still tells visitors how to pay if they arrive at an empty booth. But the new warning signs turn an internal staffing problem into something every driver can see before they even reach the valley. (nps.gov, timesnownews.com, outdoors.com)