Yosemite Is Dropping Its Reservation Requirement This Summer. Here’s What to Know Before You Visit.
Planning a Yosemite trip just got a lot simpler.
The National Park Service has announced that Yosemite will not require advance reservations in 2026, including during peak summer months. Visitors will be able to show up without pre-booking a timed entry permit for the first time in recent years.
The shift is part of a broader NPS move to expand access across high-visitation parks while still maintaining visitor safety and resource protection. Yosemite had required reservations during busy periods in recent years in an attempt to manage the massive crowds that descend on the valley during peak season.
The decision will likely be welcomed by the many visitors who found the reservation system confusing, frustrating, or simply exclusionary for spontaneous trips. At the same time, it raises real questions about congestion in the valley, particularly on summer weekends when the park routinely sees enormous crowds even with reservation controls in place.
For adventurers, this opens up more flexibility for last-minute camping and day trip plans to one of the state’s most iconic destinations. Waterfalls are already running strong this spring and conditions should remain excellent through early summer.
The usual advice still applies: go early in the morning, consider mid-week visits, and use the valley shuttle system to avoid the worst of the parking and traffic headaches. The reservation requirement may be gone, but the crowds aren’t.
