Yosemite Park Visits on Decline

Media coverage of murder trial, fee increase, weather and 9/11 blamed.

by Matt Leedy
Fresno Bee - September 15, 2002

Yosemite National Park is on pace for its lowest annual turnout since 1990 and its sixth straight year of decreased attendance, a trend park officials blame on the slumping economy and tourists leery of long-distance travel following last year's Sept. 11 attacks.

Nearby business owners who rely on Yosemite tourism say the decline could be caused by increased entrance fees, media coverage of the Cary Stayner triple-murder case and natural calamities.

During the first seven months of 2002, about 1.85 million people visited Yosemite, down nearly 41,000 from last year, according to statistics kept by park officials. Officials project about 3.45 million people will enter Yosemite this year, down from slightly more than 3.5 million in 2001.

Attendance began declining in 1997 when floods ravaged the park, wiping out nearly 400 campsites in Yosemite Valley and 220 rooms at the Yosemite Lodge. That's the same year entrance fees were raised from $5 to $20.

"When you look at the casual visitor from the Fresno area who might go up for a picnic, they would rather go someplace like Millerton Lake where they don't have to pay that kind of fee," said Dan Carter of Oakhurst, executive director of the Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau.

Business began to drop off in the mid-1990s at the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad in Fish Camp, a tourist attraction about four miles from Yosemite's south entrance. Fewer visitors are stopping by on their way to the park, owner Max Stauffer said.

"We rely heavily on the traffic to the park, so when it goes down, we go down," Stauffer said. "I think it's because of the gate fees, particularly for travelers in the San Joaquin Valley."

Park officials said there are fewer international visitors to Yosemite, but more Californians are making the drive. Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said the park's slump this year reflects a drop in long-distance travel seen throughout the country.

"I think the travel industry as a whole is soft right now," Gediman said. "And I think 9/11 is certainly factoring into it. However, more Californians are opting for Yosemite instead of foreign trips. More people are taking the traditional family road trips rather than getting on a plane."

Lynn Maccarone, who owns the Mariposa Hotel Inn and caters to many Yosemite tourists, said this year she noticed few European travelers, who typically fill about half her rooms.

"Because of this 9/11 thing, we're really slow. And this year, 99% of our guests have been Americans, and mostly Californians," Maccarone said.

Fewer visitors, and less money collected each year from entry fees, has not resulted in financial hardship at the park, Gediman said, thanks largely to donations from the Yosemite Fund, a nonprofit foundation of individuals, corporations and various organizations.

Martha VanAman of Oakhurst said tourism at Yosemite has been hurt by news reports of the 1997 floods, fires sparked by lightning every summer and the much-publicized murders near the park of Carole Sund, 42; her daughter Juli, 15; and Argentine family friend Silvina Pelosso, 16, in February 1999.

"I think that year after year, the park has had some serious problems. We've had fires, floods, rockslides and murders. It's like every year we get something," VanAman said. "The majority of publicity we get is negative."