No need to call ahead to Yosemite - for now

Day-use reservations that cost $2 per vehicle and were available only online to limit the number of vehicles entering Yosemite National Park during the recent COVID-19 pandemic surge, are no longer required — for the time-being.

The day-use reservation system was lifted as of Monday, communications staff in Yosemite National Park said. The park has been open 24 hours a day since late January. Visitors are still required to pay $30 per motorcycle or $35 per noncommercial vehicle with 15 or fewer passenger seats for sevenday passes, or present a valid $70 annual pass.

“The park consulted with the Yosemite Gateway Area Coordination Team, public health professionals at the county and with our own NPS Office of Public Health as we put this temporary system in place and did the same as we lifted it,” Jamie Richards, spokeswoman for the National Park Service, said.

Richards said the park works in conjunction with the team, which includes public health officials from Tuolumne, Madera, Mariposa, and Mono counties.

Park operation scenarios for the spring and summer seasons are being developed, Richards said.

Dr. Eric Sergienko, the interim health officer for Tuolumne County and the health officer for Mariposa County, is on the team and said Monday that the park made the decision to lift the day-use reservation system in mid-february.

Sergienko said the decision was based on input from the team that included decreasing coronavirus cases and increased availability of intensive care units in the San Joaquin Valley region.

“The governor made the decision to lift the regional stay home orders in late January, the last weekend in January,” he said. “We gave the park the heads up, and we consulted about the day-use reservation system. The decision was made to go ahead.”

The team connects for virtual meetings every Wednesday and have other ongoing meetings, Sergienko said.

Segienko emphasized the lifting of day-use reservations was a park decision, with data provided by the team, and it is possible that if another pandemic surge occurs, dayuse reservations could be imposed again.

“Probably the next consideration is how do we want to plan for the summer and increased visitation,” he said. “What are the plans of the park? Do they include day-use reservations and try to

keep the park population to manageable levels? We don't want to have increased mobility combined with possible increased transmissions.”

Sergienko said he and others with the team are focused on how to balance an economic driver like tourism with the public health priorities of limiting disease transmission.

“We want visitors,” he said. “Not so many visitors that we can't manage them. We're looking at it day-to-day and week-to-week in our counties and our region.”

According to the NPS, day-use reservations limited the number of vehicles entering Yosemite National Park. They did not limit the number of people.

While reservations are no longer required to drive into Yosemite, park staff continue to urge visitors to follow federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance to prevent spread of infectious diseases by maintaining safe distances from others; wearing a cloth face covering when social distancing cannot be maintained; washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; avoiding touching eyes, nose, and mouth; and staying home if someone feels sick.

Based on local, state, and federal public health guidelines, the number of vehicles entering Yosemite was reduced from normal visitation levels for public safety from June 11 through Oct. 31 and from Feb. 8 through Feb. 28.

“This helped reduce overcrowding at the park's most popular destinations,” NPS communications staff said Monday. “The park aimed to increase public access while providing visitors with a reasonable opportunity to comply with health guidelines. The day-use reservation system was a temporary system that was created to address public health concerns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

For information about what's available in Yosemite National Park during the ongoing pandemic, visit www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/covid19.htmonline.