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Original Post (Thread Starter)
Is ticketed entry at Yosemite here to stay? #57911 08/16/2020 6:00 PM
by StorminMatt
StorminMatt
Let’s face it. The whole idea of making visitation of Yosemite by reservation only as a means of crowd control is something that has been tossed around for DECADES. But the sheer unpopularity of this whole idea with the general public has kept this idea from becoming a reality. However, Covid has recently given this rather old idea some sense of legitimacy. Now that those forces within the NPS who favor entry by reservation have had the opportunity to establish an unpopular system that wouldn’t fly before, is it likely that the current ticketed entry into Yosemite is now here to stay?
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Re: Is ticketed entry at Yosemite here to stay? #57918 Aug 16th a 10:51 PM
by John Sims
John Sims
Originally Posted by StorminMatt
Let’s face it. The whole idea of making visitation of Yosemite by reservation only as a means of crowd control is something that has been tossed around for DECADES. But the sheer unpopularity of this whole idea with the general public has kept this idea from becoming a reality. However, Covid has recently given this rather old idea some sense of legitimacy. Now that those forces within the NPS who favor entry by reservation have had the opportunity to establish an unpopular system that wouldn’t fly before, is it likely that the current ticketed entry into Yosemite is now here to stay?

I, for one, am happy that these limitations have been imposed. I well remember when you could enter Yosemite Valley, without concern about needing 5 hours to simply "make the loop". In my opinion the crowded conditions of recent years spoiled the experience for everyone. I much prefer the less crowded experience, even if it does imply limited choices for dates, and requires more advanced planning. I can deal with that much better than the alternative. Also, there are many alternative destinations within the Sierra's that provide a very comparable experience. I will be exploring a few areas of Yosemite next week that I have not been to in the past. For me, it was not difficult to secure the necessary day pass, as I planned this over one month ago. Had I not been able to secure the permit, there are lots of other options nearby. Mammoth Lakes offers access to the many magnificent hikes: Lake Ediza, Garnet Lake, 1000 Island Lake, Minaret Lake, explore the Minaret Mines, Duck Lake, Deer Lakes, Mammoth Crest, Gaylor Peak, Mt. Dana (although within Yosemite Park, these last two destination are accessible by parking outside the park, and hiking in)....... and on, and on, and on.......

I'm with Bob on this issue.
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Re: Is ticketed entry at Yosemite here to stay? #57914 Aug 16th a 08:00 PM
by StorminMatt
StorminMatt
There are quite a few problems with quotas for Yosemite as a whole. First of all, they are inherently unfair. Remember that crowding at Yosemite is less a Yosemite problem than a Yosemite Valley problem. It is unfair to punish someone who wants to hike to, say, Parker Pass with a strict quota just because the Mist Trail resembles a New York City sidewalk.

Another problem with quotas is that they tend to favor unsafe behavior. For instance, it has been documented that, as a percentage of visitors, Half Dome quotas have made Half Dome MORE dangerous rather than less. The problem here is that quotas encourage people to hike when they probably shouldn’t. For instance, people are less inclined to turn around in bad weather if they know they can’t just come back next week. Similarly, someone might just go ahead and climb Half Dome with an overuse injury that would probably be 100% better with a couple of weeks more rest. The bottom line? Scarcity of opportunity causes people to not want to give up their chance to hike, regardless of the risks.

Finally, a quota for Yosemite would erode public support for Yosemite National Park, and national parks as a whole. Remember that a BIG part of people’s love for national parks is the idea that they are something that belongs to everyone in the country and can be visited at any time. When people KNOW that they can’t just visit their parks when they want, they don’t want their tax dollars going to support it. This is not such a problem for such things as Whitney and Half Dome (which relatively few people hike compared to the population at large). But if you start putting limits on visitorship of the park as a whole, people will cease to see Yosemite as something worth supporting.
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Re: Is ticketed entry at Yosemite here to stay? #57919 Aug 17th a 03:01 AM
by Steve C
Steve C
John, you mention Mammoth and Dana. Unfortunately for most west siders, since Yosemite is the shortest way to get to those places, having a quota on the road just to pass through makes visiting those other places so much more difficult that I can no longer to. I am strongly opposed to restricting pass-through traffic.
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Re: Is ticketed entry at Yosemite here to stay? #58003 Aug 29th a 04:41 PM
by Big Pine
Big Pine
I'm opposed to restricting mid-week traffic and strongly opposed to restricting pass-through traffic.

The restrictions on the more crowded weekend days should be simple and should not require a reservation. For example, license plates ending in even numbers would not be allowed in on Fridays and Sundays (except for pass-through traffic), while license plates ending in letters or odd numbers would not be allowed in on Saturdays and Mondays. Another option for those days would be having something similar to the Devils Postpile restrictions - cars are allowed in before 7 AM and after 7 PM, but not in between those times.
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