National parks remove reservation systems despite crowds |
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 manager with the National Parks Conservation Association, told SFGATE last month.
Cars line up at the entrance to Yosemite National Park in California during heavy snow as a winter storm warning is issued, shown on Feb. 17, 2026.
Yosemite National Park won’t require any advance reservations this year, including during the Firefall period happening through late February, when crowds flock to the park to see a waterfall on El Capitan shimmering golden orange in the sunset light.
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According to the news release, the park “will rely on real-time traffic management measures, including temporary traffic diversions when parking areas reach capacity and deployment of additional seasonal staff to manage high-use areas.”
It’s unclear how the Park Service will have the staffing for these additional positions. The agency has lost about 4,000, or roughly a quarter, of its permanent employees since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s administration.
The lack of reservations already appears to be backfiring after a chaotic weekend in Yosemite, complete with traffic jams, delayed shuttles and overflowing parking lots. “The situation in Yosemite during the first reservation-less Firefall in many years is a complete mess,” frequent Yosemite visitor Jon Adams told SFGATE via email.
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Despite a timed-entry system, cars line up at the entrance to Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, on Oct. 3, 2023.
Arches National Park will be doing away with its timed-entry system, which began in 2022 to deal with record crowds. Visitation to the park soared by 74% between 2011 and 2021. At its height, the park recorded 1.8 million visitors annually. According to a park website, the crush of people caused “congestion at key park destinations, reduced visitor enjoyment, and increased resource damage.”
Peak congestion prior to a vehicle reservation system meant the park had to close its gates and turn away visitors, especially during its busy season between March and October. The timed-entry system, which lasted from 2022 through 2025, was “successful in reducing congestion, improving visitor experiences, and distributing visitation throughout the day,” according to the park.
The Department of the Interior is encouraging visitors to arrive early or late at night, explore lesser-traveled areas and be flexible.
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The west entrance of Glacier National Park in Montana.
Glacier National Park is also officially ending its vehicle reservation system, which SFGATE first reported in December after Superintendent Dave Roemer announced it at a gateway community meeting in Montana. Park staff implemented a reservation system in 2021 for cars traveling the park’s most crowded thoroughfare, the Going-to-the-Sun Road, entering from West Glacier. Before the reservation system, cars backed up onto a nearby highway. Glacier also experimented with vehicle reservations for the North Fork road in the past.
Under the new system, visitors can now expect a three-hour parking limit at the top of Logan Pass beginning in July, according to a separate press release with more specifics from Glacier National Park. In the absence of vehicle reservations, Glacier plans to pilot a ticketed shuttle system to the pass, including early morning express routes for hikers attempting longer adventures.
“With the new trial measures, we aim to improve the public’s ability to visit Logan Pass for short durations and allow the shuttle system to perform more reliably for a more specific purpose,” Superintendent Roemer said in the release. “This initiative reflects our continued learning and listening as we refine park transportation and access to better serve the public and safeguard the integrity of the park’s resources.”
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While not included in the National Park Service’s news release, Mount Rainier National Park in Washington already dropped its timed-entry program for the 2026 summer season, then backtracked. It remains unclear where things stand with that park’s system; the Department of the Interior did not immediately respond to questions.
Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain National Park will keep its timed-entry reservation system running from late-May through mid-October. In the past, visitors have been able to book a two-hour entry window for two options: one including the Bear Lake Road Corridor, and one without.
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