For the first time since 2019, all 13 campgrounds in Yosemite National Park will be open this summer, park officials announced Thursday.
The famed Sierra Nevada park — known for its huge granite walls, breathtaking views and picturesque waterfalls — has roughly 1,500 campsites.
Several of its popular campgrounds have been closed for upgrades to water systems and other renovations in recent years. The park also struggled earlier this year after President Trump put in place a hiring freeze on federal employees after taking office in January, which slowed the pace of hiring the roughly 500 seasonal employees who are brought in each summer to clean restrooms, work traffic control, and collect fees.
But now, things are going smoothly, park officials said.
“We’re very excited to have these campgrounds open to the public as we enter the busy summer season,” said Acting Yosemite National Park Superintendent Ray McPadden. “Camping in this park is truly a magical experience, and we want to provide the opportunity for as many visitors as possible.”
Reservations for camping can be made at recreation.gov
White Wolf Campground will open on June 20, and Tamarack Flat Campground will open June 23. Both are located on the Tioga Road, which opened May 26 after crews cleared winter snows.
At 7 a.m. this Sunday PDT, reservations will be released daily and become available two weeks in advance for both campgrounds.
Yosemite Creek Campground, also on Tioga Road, will open July 1. Reservations will be released daily, two weeks in advance, for sites 1–40 in Yosemite Creek, starting at 7 a.m. PDT June 17. All campgrounds in Yosemite Valley are currently open.
On Thursday, there were sunny skies at the park and plenty of visitors, said Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman.
“We’re feeling good. We’re opening everything,” he said. “People are on the river rafting. The waterfalls are spectacular. It’s absolutely beautiful.”
Opening dates later this summer will be announced soon for Bridalveil Creek, Porcupine Flat and Tuolumne Meadows campgrounds, where other renovations have been underway over the past three years, he said.
Environmental groups have criticized the Trump administration for firing hundreds of probationary employees at national parks across the nation, and for offering others early retirement buyouts as part of Elon Musk’s controversial DOGE cuts to government agencies.
The administration also sparked the ire of some tourism businesses in the communities around Yosemite after delaying for months an announcement of whether it would continue with a policy from the Biden administration of requiring visitors to obtain a reservation ahead of time to enter the park as a way to reduce crowding.
In late April, the administration announced that such a day-use reservation system would be in place this summer, beginning Memorial Day weekend, although on fewer days than last year.
Visitors who plan to travel to the park any day between June 15 and August 15, or over Labor Day weekend will need to make a reservation beforehand at recreation.gov to get in.
The non-refundable reservation fee is $2, which does not include the $35-per-car park entrance fee.
There are exceptions: Visitors who arrive before 6 a.m. or after 2 p.m. do not need a reservation to get into the park. Nor do visitors who have overnight reservations at hotels inside the park, such as the Ahwahnee or Yosemite Valley Lodge, or at campsites inside the park.
Also, people who enter the park on a Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) bus, or on a tour bus do not need reservations to enter for the day.
