By CSERC Executive Director John Buckley
More than two weeks before the date I planned to visit Yosemite National Park, I carefully worked through the Recreation.gov website to purchase a day-use reservation ticket. Each reservation is valid for three days, which as it turned out was helpful for me. I ended up having CSERC work conflicts for the first two days of my reservation, so on the third day, my wife and I headed to Yosemite to see firsthand the level of visitor use and conditions.
We arrived fairly early in the morning. Prior to our arrival, I considered an ominous email I’d received from Recreation.gov a few days previously. It warned that visitors to Yosemite should expect a possible delay at the entrance gate of one hour on weekdays and as long as three hours on weekends. I’ve been stuck in long delays entering Yosemite in the past, so I was mentally prepared to wait. But by good fortune, on the day that we arrived at the Big Oak Flat entrance station, multiple entrance kiosks were operating, and our wait time was only about 10 minutes. When we pulled up to the kiosk window with the Park employee, she quickly took our printed-out reservation and my pass, matched it with my driver’s license, and within a minute we were headed towards Yosemite Valley.
During the nearly one-hour drive toward the east end of Yosemite Valley, we found traffic to be moderately light. I was eager to see the progress made on the Bridalveil Fall restoration project since my last visit, but as we approached, signs noted that Bridalveil Fall was closed to the public while construction work continued. A new restroom, parking areas, new trails, and a new viewing platform are all planned to be completed over the coming months.
Bridalveil Fall itself was barely trickling, and it appeared that it could dry up completely within days. As the photo shows, Yosemite Falls was totally dried up at the time of our visit, with barely even a wet spot visible on the cliff wall, where in wetter conditions, the Falls provide spectacular beauty. The Merced River had areas where it appeared to be moderately full despite it being a drought year, but our careful scrutiny of shallow places along the river revealed that the actual flow downstream was very low.
East of the Valley cross-over, we stopped along Southside Drive at a paved pullout adjacent to a recently completed prescribed burn. That intentional burn project had effectively consumed lots of accumulated branches, fallen logs, and other woody fuels that had built up on the forest floor from so many conifers dying in Yosemite Valley during the recent 4-year drought. For public safety, over the past few years bark beetle-killed trees judged to be hazards were cut down by Park contract crews to reduce the risk of dead trees crashing onto Park roads. Visitors to Yosemite may be surprised or even concerned at times to see some large logs from the dead trees headed out of the Park on logging trucks. Removing excess fallen logs along Park roads is part of the Park’s strategic attempt to reduce the amount of flammable fuel along roads for public safety.
Some who view the prescribed burn area might be alarmed to see how many medium sized and large trees were killed by the burn project. That outcome was likely intentional. One goal of Park-planned prescribed fire projects is to significantly reduce dense forest patches in Yosemite Valley to return the Valley to the far more open and parklike natural conditions that existed there prior to fire suppression. Using managed fire to kill trees in unnaturally dense patches will help revert the Valley over time back toward its original, historic condition.
At the Southside Drive pullout where we’d parked, we found that by walking away from the heavily traveled road and following a lightly used trail along the river, we could experience the Merced River without another person anywhere nearby.
For more than 45 minutes we hiked upstream, stopping to do some careful balancing on giant fallen trees that stuck out into the river. We walked on through scattered forest patches of dead and surviving pines, cedars, and oaks that stood above a blanket of green ferns and young sprouting bushes. A great blue heron, squirrels, ducks, lizards, woodpeckers, and many kinds of migratory songbirds provided us with plentiful wildlife sightings.
We circled back to our car and drove on to a parking area near the Ahwahnee. Surprisingly, that usually clogged parking lot was half empty due to COVID restrictions and limited options for Ahwahnee visitors. Walking into the Ahwahnee, we were rewarded by being able to enjoy a “Women In Yosemite” history exhibit of photos and stories about women who played pivotal roles in Yosemite. From Park Service naturalists to the first woman Park ranger to many other famous women in Yosemite, the relatively small exhibit was definitely worth the time spent viewing it.
We left the Ahwahnee and hiked upstream along the Merced River to monitor not only the status of visitor use (which turned out to be fairly high down along the river on the hot September day), but to also view the Merced River restoration project area downstream from Sugar Pine Bridge that has taken place as a result of the Wild and Scenic River management plan.
Using heavy equipment, crews had carefully anchored fallen trees into streambanks along the river to create riparian shoreline habitat; and to provide new locations for sprouting willows, alders, and other riparian plant species. The restoration work seemed to be holding up well to the past year’s fluctuating river conditions.
We drove over and checked out Curry Village. In contrast to our first two stops, the entire Curry Village area was crowded, and the parking areas nearby were completely full. We drove to the wilderness trailhead parking area west of Happy Isles, and it, too, was a traffic jam with lots of drivers unsuccessfully parked in lanes, looking for non-existent parking spaces.
Visitors to Yosemite Valley this fall should be aware that the Park has placed new traffic barriers at many Valley intersections in an attempt to steer traffic through the Valley efficiently. In the past, the Park posted signage and clearly marked on the pavement “bus only” lanes, but now the new traffic barriers steer you directly into those lanes. A KEY REASON FOR THE CHANGE IS THAT THERE ARE NO SHUTTLE BUSES AT ALL OPERATING THIS SUMMER OR FALL IN YOSEMITE VALLEY DUE TO COVID AND THE NEED TO SOCIAL DISTANCE. In addition, earlier this year at public meetings, Park staff also explained that they faced COVID-caused problems for where to house seasonal staff such as shuttle bus drivers and others due to the need for social distancing in employee housing.
After driving all the limited, accessible roads in Yosemite Valley and getting out to monitor visitor use, it was clear that on that particular day, the level of crowding and congestion varied greatly from one area to another. West of Yosemite Lodge there were many open parking spots, but near Curry Village, there were none. For those walking out along the trails or the road leading toward Mirror Lake, the number of people to encounter was low. But visitor numbers at easily accessible Yosemite Falls appeared fairly high, despite it basically being dried up.
The bottom line for a visit to Yosemite Park (and to Yosemite Valley in particular) is to plan your visit based on your priorities. If you hate waiting in line to simply get in through the Park gate, then plan to arrive as early in the day as possible to miss potential traffic jams. If you enjoy the possibility of seeing reclusive wildlife or having a spot in the forest or along the river all to yourself or your group, then don’t park and hike at Swinging Bridge Curry Village, Camp Six, or the Yosemite Lodge. In particular, the popular destinations of Curry Village, Happy Isles, and Vernal Fall are where you can consistently expect high numbers of people. And of course, choosing to visit the Park on a weekday usually results in less congestion overall.
If you happen to be someone who doesn’t mind being amidst crowds of other people, then weekends or weekdays can all provide a chance to savor the Park – IF you can get your day-use reservation ticket. Plan early and take advantage of the slightly lower level of crowding that is often the norm after Labor Day and on into the fall season.
