Project overview: Develop and pilot monitoring protocols that facilitate protection of Yosemite National Park’s natural and cultural resources while providing equitable visitor access to world–class experiences and ensuring operational sustainability.

How your support helps: For many visitors, the Yosemite Village and Valley Visitor Center complex are their first stop when they arrive in the park. As the National Park Service prepares for a revitalization of the Village’s infrastructure, planners and designers first need to better understand how visitors are currently engaging with services and amenities in this busy part of the park. 

In 2023, project managers identified three key questions on which they surveyed visitors to inform the Yosemite Village revitalization: 

  • Visitor information: How are visitors to Yosemite Village getting the information they need to orient themselves to the park and plan their trips? What communication channels do they rely on and prefer — printed brochures, digital media, physical signage, or conversations with visitor center staff? 
  • Visitor services: What facilities and resources are most valuable to Yosemite Village visitors — and what might be missing? 
  • Visitor movement: With the opening of the new Welcome Center in 2023, how does visitor flow through the Yosemite Village shift? How can roads, pathways, and signage be redesigned to accommodate this change and help visitors to navigate this high-traffic area of the Valley? 

This year: In 2024, using the data from last year’s study, the team will develop and pilot monitoring protocols that facilitate protection of Yosemite National Park’s exemplary natural and cultural resources while providing equitable visitor access to world class experiences and ensuring operational sustainability.

Project partners: Yosemite National Park and the University of California, Merced

Ephriam Dickson

Interpretation and Education, Yosemite National Park

Project Notes

“Visitor data helps inform design decisions.”