Yosemite reports 225,817 March visitors — 45% jump, straining parking

Yosemite National Park is seeing a big spring boom — and the park’s systems are feeling it. Officials logged 225,817 recreational visits in March 2026, a roughly 45% climb from March 2025. That surge collided with the park’s decision to stop a broad timed-entry reservation system and with national fee-free dates this spring — and the result was packed lots and long waits. The park even warned visitors to avoid Yosemite Valley when parking filled on May 2. How many people showed up in March? Yosemite’s monthly public‑use report lists 225,817 recreation visits for March 2026 — up 44.98% from 155,758 in March 2025. That makes March one of the busiest in years for the park. Why did visitation spike so fast? Part of it is momentum — Yosemite drew a record‑high crowd last year and overall visitation has been trending up. The other part is policy — removing the timed‑entry requirement makes drop‑in day visits easier, and nationally announced fee‑free days give people an inexpensive reason to go. Those two things together turned spring Saturdays into high‑demand days. Did the park really drop the reservation system? Yes — Yosemite’s official guidance for 2026 says the park will not use the timed‑entry peak‑hours reservation system this season. The park says it made the change after reviewing 2025 traffic and parking patterns. What happened on May 2? On Saturday, May 2, Yosemite Valley parking reached capacity by about 10:59 a.m. and the park issued a Nixle alert telling drivers to avoid the valley. Hetch Hetchy parking filled later and traffic backed up at the south entrance. It was a spring Saturday — not the summer peak — which shows how much earlier congestion is arriving. Is this a one‑off weekend problem or a trend? It looks like a trend. The March spike and last year’s strong annual total signal sustained higher demand — not random blips. Parking caps in early May suggest peak pressure is creeping into shoulder seasons. What are park managers doing about it? Park managers say they’ll use real‑time traffic controls, temporary diversions, added staffing at decision points, and outreach to steer visitors to less crowded areas like Tuolumne Meadows and Hetch Hetchy. The catch is staffing — the park has been stretched thin, which makes on‑the‑fly management harder. How should visitors change their plans? Arrive very early — before breakfast on busy weekends — or go on weekdays. Use YARTS and other shuttles, book overnight stays inside the park if you can, and have a fallback plan if valley parking is full. If you value a quieter visit, pick sites outside Yosemite Valley. Bottom line Yosemite is more open to spur‑of‑the‑moment trips this year — which is great for access, but it means congestion and full parking earlier in the season. Plan ahead, or go earlier in the week.