Project overview: Improve visitor access and operational efficiency by modernizing antiquated entry processes and leveraging cameras to capture visitor use patterns and inform management decisions.  

How your support helps: Yosemite National Park welcomes millions of visitors per year, but the park does not have a quick way to process visitors at entrance stations. This creates long lines and up to multiple hours of waiting to enter the park. Under the new 2025 reservation system, the processing burden on the entrance-gate staff will increase, further delaying park entry.  

This project moves toward a more efficient, improved visitor experience by taking advantage of available technology to automatically process and sort cars at entrance stations. Using license-plate reader technology, park managers hope to speed up entry times and automate reservation monitoring. This real-time data will help the park be more responsive and communicative, and get ahead of issues that arise. 

Yosemite will continue to attract millions of visitors each year, and with your support, we have the opportunity to make a positive impact on their visit and improve working conditions at our entrance stations. Having accurate, detailed information to support management decisions will ensure the new reservation system can be implemented to its full potential. 

This year: In 2025, the second year of this project will build on the success and lessons from the first year to increase capacity, capture vehicles at a higher accuracy rate, work through data-management challenges, install additional cameras, and build out data-visualization tools to inform management decisions. 

Project partner: Yosemite National Park