Visitors to Yosemite National Park reported heavy traffic, long waits, crowded conditions, and limited parking over Memorial Day weekend, the first summer since the park ended its timed reservation system, according to ABC7 Bay Area and People.
Yosemite has already recorded almost 100,000 more visitors this year compared with the same point last year, ABC7 reported. Video from the park showed long lines of vehicles waiting to enter, while visitors described waits of at least an hour and a half just to get inside.
Once inside, some visitors said the congestion continued.
“By I would say 7:30, the entire park, it was impossible to park there,” visitor John Leerskov told ABC7. “There’s nowhere to park for anybody.”
Leerskov described the scene as “a lot of shoulder-to-shoulder, a lot of chaos, a lot of angry people, a lot of oblivious people.”
Visitors also reported waits for parking, shuttle access, and popular sights. Some vehicles were parking illegally, pulling onto meadows, leaving pavement, and going off-road.
Another visitor, Julien Coulaud, described his Memorial Day visit as the “worst national park experience I ever had” in a post on X, according to People.
“Not because it’s ugly, actually it’s beautiful. But you can’t even enjoy it because you’re stuck in traffic all day,” Coulaud wrote, claiming he spent four hours in a vehicle to move about a mile while heading to the park.
Park alerts reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle said East Yosemite Valley was full by early afternoon and vehicles were being turned away, People reported.
Yosemite Ended Timed Reservations After Evaluation
Yosemite ended its timed reservation system in 2026 after an evaluation of the previous season, according to People.
At the time, Yosemite Superintendent Ray McPadden said the park was committed to visitor access, safety, and resource protection.
“While reservation systems are one valuable management tool, our data demonstrates that a season-wide reservation requirement is not the most effective approach for the coming season,” McPadden said.
The decision has drawn criticism from some who say the lack of limits is overwhelming the park’s roads, parking areas, and visitor infrastructure.
John Buckley, with the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center, told ABC7 that the previous system was “at least better than this.”
“Without any limits on the amount of vehicles, amount of people, it becomes overwhelmed,” Buckley said.
Buckley said the best accessibility comes when park conditions are managed so the number of vehicles is balanced with the amount of parking.
Park Says Holiday Weekends Bring High Visitation
A Yosemite spokesperson who spoke to Fox News Digital said the visitor reports were “not an accurate characterization of current park operations,” according to People.
“Yosemite, like many iconic national parks, experiences periods of high visitation, particularly around weather-dependent events and holiday weekends,” the official said.
Yosemite encourages visitors to arrive early and consider weekday trips for fewer crowds and more available parking, according to People. ABC7 also reported that the Yosemite Conservancy recommends arriving early, visiting during the week or taking the bus for the best chance of avoiding crowds.
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