So, your original out of state or international vacation got cancelled and you decided to check off Yosemite of your bucket list. Opting in for an outdoor vacation right now is a great idea! But how to get in if you don’t have reservations?!
Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered!
Reservations Required
First, let’s review the current policy for Yosemite National Park, designed to allow for more space and safety during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The temporary day-use reservation system will be back starting on May 21st and will last at least through September 2021, based on local, state and federal public health guidelines intended to reduce the number of visitors in the Park at any given time.
Visitors with a camping or in-park lodging reservation, wilderness or Half Dome permit, or vacation rental inside the park do not require a day-use reservation for park entry.
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Otherwise, with a few exceptions, if you are driving a vehicle into the Park for the day while you stay at The Pines Resort, you must pay the entrance fee along with a $2 reservation fee in advance in order to secure your required ticketed reservation (go.nps.gov/reserve aka nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/reservations).
Start here for reservations: you’ll need to create an account at recreation.gov (recreation.gov) before you begin. Go to the Yosemite National Park Ticketed Entry page (recreation.gov/ticket/facility/300015), choose a start date for your visit and follow the prompts to complete your reservation (valid for seven consecutive days with unlimited entry — you must arrive on the first day).
Uh, oh! No reservations available for the day you want to visit Yosemite? No worries: here are a few tips and tricks so you can get your epic vacation plans underway, anyway.
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3 Ways to Get in to Yosemite without an advance reservation:
Go by Bus!
For a stress-free, low-cost, guaranteed way into Yosemite – take the bus! Yosemite Area Regional Transportation Service (YARTS) connects Fresno, Coarsegold, Oakhurst, Fish Camp, Wawona and Yosemite Valley – at reasonable prices that already include your entrance fee into the Park.
For instance, from Highway 41 in Oakhurst near Bass Lake, the regular YARTS fare all the way to Yosemite Valley is about $20 round-trip per adult. The cost varies depending on your location and discounts are available for seniors, military, children and persons with disabilities. For more information on YARTS, visit yarts.com/tickets-and-fares.
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Take a Tour!
Perhaps you prefer someone else take the wheel. If so, a handful of local businesses have commercial use authorizations (CUAs). That enables you to take advantage of their automatic-entry into the Park and also their wealth of experience. From jeeps and SUVs to custom-outfitted vans, there’s a driver waiting to help you into and around Yosemite. Private group tour guides are available through places like Discover Yosemite (DiscoverYosemite.com) and Crossroads (Yosemite1.com), and for a few more suggestions check out yosemitethisyear.com/tours-transportation.
For extra fun, you can try a tour with a special purpose, like photography. Whether you’re new to the camera game or have lots of time behind the lens, booking a professional guide will help secure the best memories you can imagination and – subject to availability – a guaranteed entrance into the Park on the day you want to go. Take a look at Photo Safari Yosemite for more info (photosafariyosemite.com).
Maybe you want to hike or even bike into the Park? On foot or bicycle, including E-bikes, you do not need a day-use reservation to enter the Park. For bike rentals in Oakhurst, go to yosemitebicycle.com/pages/rentals.
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Or, maybe you want to take a nice walk with a guide and practice the art of photography at the same time? Choose from a handful of artistic opportunities at the … Ansel Adams Gallery located at the Village Mall in Yosemite Valley and named after the famed landscape photographer and environmentalist whose black and white images captured the best of the West. Choose from a handful of classes incorporating Adams’ techniques, including Ansel Adams’ Legacy and Your Digital Camera, Demystifying Digital Exposure, Creative Smartphone Photography, and In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams (Yosemite Valley). Classes cost between $65 and $95 per person and include your guaranteed entrance into Yosemite. Learn more at shop.anseladams.com/collections/half-day-classes.
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Ride a Horse!
To get into the Park, you have choices between two feet, two wheels and four wheels – but what about four legs? Whoa, Nelly! If you want to experience Yosemite like folks did a hundred or more years ago, and want your reservation guaranteed in the process, go in on horseback. Located just outside the Park’s south gate, Yosemite Trails horseback riding lends itself naturally to social distancing and caters to groups of 10 people or less.
Late June through August, a four hour ride takes guests to Yosemite’s Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias just the same way John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt got there, which is from the back of a good horse. In this case, an American Quarter Horse on a trail ride led by a real Yosemite Cowboy. The cost is $190 per person and it’s definitely worth it, so giddy-up over to yosemitetrails.com/trail_rides.html.
Whether you’re on foot, in a car, on a tour, riding a bike or sitting pretty on a horse – there’s a multitude of safe and exciting ways to visit Yosemite. Whenever you’re ready, Yosemite is waiting for you.
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