California senators blame Yosemite visitors chaos on revamped entry system

America’s crown jewel of nationwide parks has misplaced its sparkle.

California democratic senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff fired off a scathing letter to the Division of the Inside and the Nationwide Park Service this week, warning that the choice to scrap Yosemite Nationwide Park‘s reservation system has created pure chaos.

The letter comes after the company eradicated timed-entry reservations for 2026, turning the majestic park right into a chaotic zoo of gridlocked visitors, fumes and lawlessness — notably through the busier summer time months.

The transfer adopted a directive from Inside Secretary Doug Burgum in April 2025 ordering all nationwide parks to “stay open and accessible.”

“In peak summer time months, guests are greeted not by the magnificent views of El Capitan, however with miles of gridlocked visitors, honking horns, and the oppressive scent of car exhaust fumes,” reads the letter.

The lawmakers argue that Yosemite’s reservation system, which was used through the summers of 2020 by way of 2022 and once more in 2024, efficiently unfold out crowds whereas nonetheless permitting greater than 4.1 million folks to go to in 2024, making it the park’s fifth-busiest yr on report.

However the Nationwide Park Service dropped this system earlier this yr “with out offering any scientific justification or proof of public stakeholder engagement.” Padilla and Schiff say actuality has instructed a special story.

March visitation surged 45% in comparison with the month final yr, in accordance with the senators. Additionally they cited “bumper-to-bumper visitors across the valley ground, climbing trails backed up with folks, and parking tons full within the early mornings inflicting guests to illegally park off-road on vegetation and in meadows.”

The lawmakers argue the issue has been compounded by staffing reductions throughout the Nationwide Park Service, claiming essential park security workers have been pulled away from their precise jobs — like managing wildfire dangers — simply to direct visitors and handle overcrowding.

They hit federal park management with a listing of hard-hitting questions, demanding the discharge of information and “complete evaluations” park officers claimed to make use of when making the rule change. Additionally they desire a dedication to deliver again the reserving system if the remainder of the 2026 busy summer time season proves too disastrous.

“Many first-time guests to Yosemite must spend hours in search of a parking spot as a substitute of having fun with the encircling pure assets,” they wrote within the July 1 letter. “How is the Park’s management planning to mitigate this?”

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