A line of cars creep slowly from Fish Camp toward the western Highway 41 entrance of Yosemite National Park, Calif., on June 18, 2024. 

In 2026, busy national parks, including Arches, Glacier and Yosemite, will be doing away with reservation systems that for years have helped control crowds, the National Park Service announced on Wednesday. 

“Our national parks belong to the American people, and our priority is keeping them open and accessible,” said Kevin Lilly, the acting assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, in a news release. “We’re expanding access where conditions allow and using targeted tools only where necessary to protect visitor safety, maintain emergency access and preserve these extraordinary places for future generations.”

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Conservationists were outraged by the news, saying the Department of the Interior was avoiding the reality of overcrowded parks. 

“This is a terrible decision — they are willfully ignoring the consequences to the wildlife and the landscape,” said Beth Pratt, a conservation leader and author who has lived in the Sierra Nevada foothills just outside Yosemite National Park for over 25 years. “We know what happens when there are no limitations on visitation as we have sadly seen it in action. The reservation system was working. Why are we willing to put these cherished places at risk?”

“In our view, [timed-entry reservations] have really made a meaningful difference in people’s visitor experiences. It creates safer conditions, protects resources and typically helps with traffic issues,” Cassidy Jones, the senior visitation program........

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