Reservation System Monitoring

Project overview: Contribute critical monitoring and evaluation data based on lessons learned during pilot reservation systems in 2020–2024 to improve park operations and visitor experiences in 2025. 

How your support helps: Crowding and traffic congestion have long been detriments to both the visitor experience and resource protection at Yosemite National Park. The park is also highly susceptible to operational challenges due to natural events that may cause temporary road or area closures. In early 2023, a record-setting snowfall required high-elevation areas to remain closed well into July. With no reservation system in place at the time, vehicles continued to arrive at the park and were concentrated in Yosemite Valley because there was nowhere else to go. This experience underscored the need for operational shifts to protect the park’s sensitive resources when unanticipated situations arise. 

The first reservation system was initiated in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The data collected during this period was critical for improving the system in 2021, 2022, and 2024. In 2024, the Pathways to Parks program offered paid internship opportunities for students to support multiple areas of park operations while collecting critical data for evaluating Yosemite’s reservation system. 

Now, as the park adopts a new, permanent reservation system in 2025, critical research and evaluation are necessary for continued monitoring and improvement of the system. This will enable the park to adapt the reservation system over time to improve visitor experience: less crowding, reduced entry wait times, improved traffic flow and parking, and more preparation to enjoy and experience the park. 

This year: In 2025, park managers will work closely with the Yosemite Field Station to provide paid internship opportunities for two students from the University of California, Merced. The part-time interns will work exclusively on reservation-system and resource-impact monitoring in 2025, contributing critical monitoring and evaluation data to support the park’s new reservation system.  

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