High Sierra Topix

Yosemite NP:

Beginning Friday, May 21, visitors to Yosemite National Park will need a day-use reservation to enter the park. The temporary day-use reservation system will allow the park to manage visitation levels to reduce risks associated with exposure to COVID-19.

Day-use reservations will be required for all users, including annual and lifetime pass holders. Each reservation is valid for 3 days.

Day-use reservations are included for all visitors staying overnight in the park. This includes reservations for The Ahwahnee, Yosemite Valley Lodge, Curry Village, Wawona Hotel, Housekeeping Camp, and NPS-managed campgrounds. Day-use reservations are also included for all visitors with wilderness and Half Dome permits and visitors entering the park via YARTS buses and on permitted commercial tours.

Reservations are available on www.recreation.gov beginning at 8 am on April 21, 2021. Each day-use reservation is valid for one vehicle and the occupants of that vehicle.

For more detailed information, please visit: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/covid19.htm

Post deleted by LMBSGV due to inaccuracy.

I read the entire regulations. What a mess! The following is what I think the order says. It actually is very confusing. It appears that backpacker's campground will not be open. Camp 4 is open but with reservation only. Day use permits have to be reserved in a "lottery system" once a week prior to the date. The Mist Trail can only be ascended, cannot descend. You can drive through between entrances, but with a time-stamped pass, no stopping allowed, and you must take the most direct route. Entrance station to Hetch Hetchy will only be open 8-5. It used to open at 7AM. Also, no shuttle services will be available. This means you will have to walk between trailheads if you end at a different one.

I am totally confused what the day-use permit means. Evidently it is for 3 consecutive dates. If you wanted to stay 4 days, you would have to get a separate permit. Thankfully your backpacking permit is valid for however long it is. But unless you get a reservation at Camp4 or one of the other campgrounds, you have to leave the day you get off your trip.

It all seems to be based on the California "Tier" system. I think Merced county is purple tier. If the announcement from Gov. Newsome holds (all open, no more tiers June 15) then I suspect everything will change again.

I am going to try once to get one of three proposed 6-day trips starting May 10 when the "walk-in" reservations come up. It will give me practice with the on-line reservation system, but I am not very optimistic.

Thanks to WD's post, I read the entire long explanation. For all of us going out from an East side trailhead, no reservation is needed:

Do I need a day-use reservation if I am just driving through the park?

You can drive through the park to reach a destination on the other side of the park without a reservation. The entrance station ranger will provide a time-stamped permit valid for the time needed to travel from entrance to entrance. You must drive the most direct route to exit the park; stopping is prohibited. Violating park regulations can result in a fine of up to $5,000 and/or six months in jail.

The park entrance fee still applies and provides access to visit Hetch Hetchy during open hours.

So I wonder how much time they will allow? At least one does not have to worry about snagging a reservation for Yosemite when hiking from a trailhead on the East side.

I also read the full announcement about COVID restrictions in Yosemite in 2021. This section on getting wilderness permits was interesting:

Beginning April 30, wilderness permits will not be available in the park. Normally, 40% of wilderness permits are available on a first-come, first-served basis at park wilderness centers. Instead, this portion of wilderness permit reservations will be available online using a two-week lottery. Starting April 15, you can apply 15 days in advance of your desired start date, with the lottery running 14 days in advance. The last day to apply for a permit is three days before a trip.

A reservation is not a valid wilderness permit. If you have a wilderness permit reservation, you must go to any wilderness center during open hours one day in advance or the same day to pick up your wilderness permit.

So, they can't handle walk-up permits (must be reserved in advance), but everyone with a reservation still has to interact in person with a ranger at a wilderness center to get your actual permit. Huh? If you have to show your reservation to the ranger (and presumably listen to the wilderness rules lecture) to get the real permit, then why can't they have walk-up permits? And if you must pickup the actual permit, why can't they re-allocate no-shows to other people in person?

Well, at least they let you make a reservation up to 3 days in advance of your trip if there are still unreserved permits left. Last year, you had to reserve at least 9 days in advance.

As for the backpacker campgrounds... The main announcement does not mention them, so Wandering Daisy assumes they are not open. Yet the wilderness permit web pages, which have been updated with the latest rules for getting a permit, still describe the backpacker's campgrounds as available. So I suspect they will be open.

-Phil

I had the same thoughts after reading the section on “Is backpacking allowed?” I suspect the reasoning behind their system is to prevent the lines that occur every morning at the wilderness centers. By requiring advanced reservations, crowds of people cannot line up every morning to find out whether there are available permits. This system may be safer, but it does nothing to alleviate the “no shows” and the permits that would be available. It’s an imperfect solution to a problem that hopefully will only last for this summer.

There was a good article in the newspaper this morning too. Backpacker's campgrounds are not on the "allowed" or "not allowed" lists. I would not assume they will be open based on the outdated "wilderness permit" web page. I think they are still undecided about this. Although Camp4 is open with reservations, I wonder if they are limiting the number of people to less than the 6 per site. I am not sure there are enough spaces in the backpackers campground if everyone with a wilderness permit were to use it the day before-day after. This could easily be solved by simply letting you choose if you wanted a day-before or a day-after campsite spot. Evidently the Tuolumne Meadows backpacker campground will be available for JMT and PCT thru-hikers.

It was also mentioned that you will not need a day permit to go to Hetch Hetchy, but it will be limited to parking spaces. This makes me wonder if the day hikers will clog the backpacker's parking lot so that even with a permit you could not park. I hope they enforce the parking in the backpacker's lot. Sounds like it could turn into a mess.

Big question is what happens after June 15 if California lifts its COVID restrictions and tier designations, since this seems to be a driving factor in all the new rules.

TM was open last year to backpackers for the night before (I used it for that) and for the night after your hike. I don't understand why they wouldn't allow hikers to use it like that again this year. They were also fine with us spreading out a bit and using the closed portions of the campground right below the official backpackers campground when I was there.

So here is my question, I'll probably have to call?
I have a reservation for multiple hikers from Glen Aulin starting on a Thursday. My wife and I plan on driving up on Wednesday to p/u the permit and to stay at the backpackers camp. Another car with friends is driving up to start on the hike day (Thursday) to begin with us. Are they going to need to get a Day Reservation since they not only not in our car but not even the same day?

gary c. wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 5:40 pm So here is my question, I'll probably have to call?
I have a reservation for multiple hikers from Glen Aulin starting on a Thursday. My wife and I plan on driving up on Wednesday to p/u the permit and to stay at the backpackers camp. Another car with friends is driving up to start on the hike day (Thursday) to begin with us. Are they going to need to get a Day Reservation since they not only not in our car but not even the same day?

From this page: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/covid19.htm

Groups with lodging or camping reservations, wilderness permits, and Half Dome permits may arrive in more than one vehicle. An occupant in each vehicle must provide a copy or photo of the driver license belonging to the person who made the reservation (as well as a copy of the reservation) to be permitted to enter.