The National Park Service announced that all 13 campgrounds in Yosemite will be open to visitors this summer since 2019.
The additional vacancies will mean more than 500 campsites available compared to in recent years. The park is one of the most visited parks in the United States, with more than 4 million visitors in 2024.
“We are happy to open these campsites to the public as we enter the busy summer season.” “Camping in this park is truly a magical experience and we want to provide opportunities for as many visitors as possible.”
Maintenance and staffing challenges make several campsites closed each year starting in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic.
Summer is the peak season for Yosemite, and many of the park’s campsites will be open in the coming weeks.
The White Wolf Campground will open on June 20 and the Tamarak Flat Campground will open on June 23, the Park Service said. Yosemite Creek Campground will be open on July 1.
Opening dates for Bridalveil Creek, Porcupine Flat and Tuolumne Meadows Campgrounds have not been announced yet.
Bookings for Yosemite are available on retreat.gov.
But you’d better take action quickly.
It is known that finding campsites in famous parks is competitive and they usually fill in a few minutes after booking. Bookings of White Wolf and Tamarak Flat Campgrounds are now available and will be open to Yosemite Creek on Tuesday morning..
As of 3:30 pm on Monday, campgrounds have not provided Friday-first availability for weekend campers at least at the end of August, although some are available on Sundays.
Visitors can still use the day access to the park when the campground is unavailable.
Yosemite’s retention system was introduced in the pandemic in 2020 and stopped scrutiny from the Trump administration earlier this year.
The National Park Service cuts simultaneously resulted in 10% of the agency’s staff layoffs, raising questions about when the booking system will reopen. The system eventually returns online in late March.
