Reservations are no longer needed to enter Yosemite National Park. Here's what to expect

Reservations are no longer needed for visitors to enter Yosemite National Park.

Ticketed entry passes via recreation.gov had been required to enter the popular park in California for most visitors since May 21 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. That system was first implemented in the summer of 2020.

It was phased out Friday. On Oct. 1, Yosemite also unveiled a new exhibit to honor the historic contributions of Chinese immigrants in the park, and pledged to tell more diverse stories. Wawona's Pioneer Yosemite History Center was renamed to the Yosemite History Center as part of that ongoing effort.

Yosemite spokesperson Scott Gediman said park officials reported busy but manageable conditions since the day-use reservation system ended a few days ago.

What do visitors need now to get into Yosemite?

Entering Yosemite is going back to the way it was prior to the implementation of the day-use reservation system.

For many, that means entrance fees will continue to be $35 per vehicle, valid for seven consecutive days. It temporarily changed to three days earlier this year. There are also entrance passes people can buy, including an $80 annual pass that provides unlimited entries for a year for all national parks and other federal fee areas.

Earlier this year, a $2 day-use reservation was also required to enter Yosemite, which could only be purchased online at recreation.gov, for visitors without an overnight reservation in the park, or a Half Dome, wilderness or rock climbing permit.

Everything now can be purchased at a park entrance station, although normal entrance fees can still be paid online if preferred. All park entrances (except Hetch Hetchy, currently open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) are open all hours, every day. If unstaffed upon arrival, visitors can pay on their way out.

The park is not accepting cash, only credit/debit card payments.

Prior to Oct. 1, visitation levels had increased to at least about 90% of normal, approximately 6,480 vehicles a day in Yosemite.

Masks still required in park due to COVID-19 pandemic

Masks are still required in Yosemite due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"Masks are required for everyone, regardless of location or vaccination status, in all NPS buildings, crowded outdoor spaces, and all forms of enclosed public transportation," Yosemite's website states.

Lisa Cesaro, regional marketing director for Yosemite Hospitality, run by Aramark, said the concessioner-operated facilities in Yosemite "are also asking all park visitors to wear masks inside public buildings such as hotel lobbies, gift shops etc."

Coronavirus, and the more contagious Delta variant, has been reported in Yosemite — also detected in park sewage — but Yosemite has not shared its number of COVID-19 cases, aside from being included in Mariposa County totals.

Yosemite previously said its day-use reservation system would be in place through Sept. 30, "or until local public health conditions improve." Yosemite confirmed in early September that the park still planned to do away with its reservation system on Oct. 1, although COVID-19 cases have risen dramatically in recent weeks in the nearby central San Joaquin Valley.

Yosemite visitors who think they were exposed to COVID-19 can call the Yosemite Medical Clinic in Yosemite Valley at 209-372-4637 to make an appointment. More information is available at nps.gov/coronavirus.

Closures include no shuttle buses running in Yosemite

Continued closures within Yosemite include the Bridalveil Fall area because of ongoing construction there, one of many new projects in the park.

Park lodges and hotels are open. Lodging and dining changes are listed at travelyosemite.com.

Yosemite campgrounds that don't require reservations (almost all outside Yosemite Valley) remain closed in 2021.

Yosemite shuttle buses and park tours have not been operating this year due to lack of staffing. Shared housing for seasonal employees is much lower than usual "in order to keep employees safe" due to the ongoing pandemic, park officials said.

Visitors still can't drive to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias without a disability placard. Most visitors previously accessed the grove by parking at a welcome plaza near the park's south entrance along Highway 41 and then riding on a park shuttle up to the grove. A trail from that welcome plaza to the grove is a minimum four-mile round trip with at least 500 feet of elevation gain.

Bus drivers in Yosemite were laid-off after the park closed to visitors in March 2020. Aramark tried to evict them a couple months later during a moratorium on evictions in California, then backtracked and softened its messaging. A letter followed from then-Sen. Kamala Harris to park officials asking that Yosemite workers be allowed to stay in the park.