Yosemite drops reservations

Yosemite National Park will not require advance vehicle reservations at any point 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, after reviewing 2025 traffic, parking and visitor-use data. Park officials said most weekdays last year still had available parking and traffic levels within operating capacity. (nps.gov) The reservation page now says no entrance reservations are required for Yosemite in 2026. Standard entrance fees, campground bookings and lodging reservations still operate separately. (nps.gov) Timed entry was created to spread out arrivals during the busiest parts of the year, especially when waterfalls, summer vacations and holiday weekends push Yosemite Valley toward gridlock. Dropping it means visitors can make same-day trips again without first securing a slot online. (nps.gov) (yosemite.org) The tradeoff is that easier access can also mean longer entrance lines and fuller parking lots on peak days. Yosemite Conservancy said 2026 visitors should expect traffic management and possible temporary parking closures even without a reservation rule. (yosemite.org) Yosemite is not alone. Arches National Park also dropped its timed-entry requirement for 2026 after using the system in recent years, and Glacier National Park said it will not require vehicle reservations in 2026 either. (nps.gov 1) (nps.gov 2) Glacier is replacing that park-wide reservation system with a narrower traffic plan at Logan Pass: a ticketed shuttle and a three-hour parking limit. That shows the Park Service is shifting from broad entry controls toward site-specific crowd management in some of its busiest parks. (nps.gov) For Yosemite visitors, the practical advice is simpler than it was a year ago: you no longer need a timed entry pass, but you still need a plan for lodging, campgrounds, trailhead demand and early arrival if you want parking in the valley. (nps.gov) (yosemite.org)