YARTS opens summer reservations, offering transit into Yosemite National Park

Yosemite just made one part of summer planning easier. YARTS — the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System — opened summer 2026 reservations on May 5, so visitors can now book bus trips into the park before the busiest stretch begins. That matters more than usual this year because Yosemite is not using a timed-entry reservation system in 2026. You can drive in without a vehicle reservation, but the tradeoff is obvious — easier entry on paper can mean tougher parking once you arrive. (abc30.com) ### What is YARTS, exactly? YARTS is the regional bus network that links Yosemite with gateway communities and longer-distance connections outside the park. It runs routes from Merced and Mariposa on Highway 140, from Fresno and Madera County on Highway 41, from Tuolumne County on Highway 120, and seasonally from the Eastern Sierra side through Highway 395/120E. Basica(abc30.com)r schedule. (yarts.com) ### Why does this matter more in 2026? Because Yosemite changed the rules. The park decided in February that it would not use a timed reservation system at any point in 2026 after reviewing 2025 traffic, parking, and visitation patterns. Park managers said weekdays generally still had available parking and stable traffic flow, so they chose targeted traffic management instead of a season-wide entry gatekeeping system. (nps.gov) ### So if there’s no entry reservation, why book a bus? Because “no reservation required” does not mean “no hassle.” Yosemite is already warning visitors to plan early for weekends and holidays, check conditions, and expect heavier congestion in the busiest periods. YARTS is useful precisely because it swaps the hardest part of a summer Yosemite trip — driving, parking, and inching through Valley bottlenecks — for a fixed seat and schedule. (nps.gov) ### Does YARTS get you around the reservation issue? In a way, yes — but mostly because the issue changed. In past years, transit could help visitors work around vehicle-entry rules. In 2026, there is no general day-use reservation to work around. The value now is less about beating a permit system and more about beating parking stress, especially for day-trippers and people without a car. (nps.gov) ### What kind of trip is this best for? It is best for people who want Yosemite Valley access without committing to a full driving day. It also helps travelers connecting from other transportation modes, because YARTS says its schedules are built to connect with train, airline, and bus services. That makes the system more than a shuttle — it is part of a car-free route into the park. (y([nps.gov)tch? A few. YARTS solves the driving problem, not every Yosemite problem. You still need to plan around seasonal road openings, crowded weekends, and whatever services inside the park are limited by staffing. Yosemite Conservancy says the park will likely be understaffed this summer, which could affect campgrounds, visitor centers, bathrooms, and programming. (yosemite.org)# What should visitors actually do now? If you already know your travel dates, book the bus early — especially if you were counting on a casual summer drive into the park. Then build the rest of the trip around that choice: go on a weekday if you can, check road and congestion updates, and treat transit as the simplest way to remove one major variable from a very busy park visit. (abc30.com) ### Bottom line? Yosemite made summer 2026 more open by dropping timed entry. But open access can mean more cars competing for the same space. YARTS is suddenly not just the greener option — it is the cleaner planning move. (nps.gov)