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The park introduced the day-reservation practice last year as a pandemic safety measure. Though it undercuts travelers’ flexibility, Gediman said management found that the reservation system helps rangers track and limit crowds at the popular park.
The move follows a year of abrupt park openings and closures as officials struggle to cope with surging and waning COVD infection rates as well as nature’s variability.
The park closed March 20 until June 11 because of the pandemic, then again Sept. 17 to 24 because of smoky air from the nearby Creek fire in Sierra National Forest. It closed yet again Jan. 19 because of a wind storm that toppled hundreds of trees, including 15 in the park’s Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.
Yosemite National Park to require day-use reservations starting February 8
You ll soon have to make a reservation before you head up to the gorgeous Yosemite National Park.
KFSN
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) You ll soon have to make a reservation before you head up to the gorgeous Yosemite National Park.
The National Park Service said starting Monday, February 8, visitors will have to reserve a day-use pass to enter the park. This includes senior and annual pass holders.
Officials said the day-use reservation system would be in place until COVID-19 conditions in the community improve.
Yosemite National Park was temporarily closed after a strong storm blanketed the park in snow and left some damage. It will reopen to the public on February 1.
First came the wind gusts Yosemite National Park spokesman Scott Gediman estimated at 80 to 100 mph. Then came the crashing and crunching in the park’s Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. Then rain and snow.
Now, as the toll becomes clearer, Gediman said, the “Mono wind event” that began Jan. 18 has caused perhaps “the most damage” measured in the park’s recorded history, including hundreds of fallen trees and crushed structures.
“We found 15 giant sequoias that were completely toppled by the wind” in the Mariposa Grove in the southern part of the park, Gediman said. “There could be more.”
He said early estimates suggest that the cost of repairs “will be in the ballpark” of the park’s flood of January 1997, in which damage was estimated at “upward of $200 million.”
Yosemite National Park extends closure until Monday, February due to winter storm conditions abc30.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from abc30.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Yosemite to bring back day-use reservation system
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A snow-covered swinging bridge in Yosemite National Park.NPS Photo
Yosemite National Park will require visitors to purchase day-use reservations to enter the park starting on Feb. 8, according to a press from park spokeswoman Jamie Richards. Annual pass holders will also need day-use reservations, which are valid for seven days and must be validated on the first day of the reservation.
The park is currently closed due to damage from a severe winter storm, and officials announced today that the reopening would be pushed back to Monday, Feb. 1.
“Park staff continue to clear roads and trails, mitigate hazard trees, and work toward restoring safe conditions for employees and visitors due to last week s Mono wind event,” Richards wrote in a news release.