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Yosemite Open to Public Again Starting Thursday

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Yosemite National Park is set to open to the public again beginning Thursday, June 11. (Photo: gali / Pexels)

Yosemite National Park is officially reopening to the public at 7 a.m. on Thursday, June 11, after almost three months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As a temporary measure to manage numbers inside the park, anyone wishing to visit just for the day must purchase a pass online first, or be turned away upon arrival.

Day use vehicle reservations will go on sale through recreation.gov beginning 7 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, June 9. The park anticipates that reservations will go quickly, and is advising would-be visitors to be logged in and ready to get a reservation promptly at 7 a.m. People with proof of overnight reservations at hotels or campgrounds inside the park will be able to enter without buying a ticket ahead of time.

Visitors seeking wilderness permits can apply for one online by lottery two weeks in advance. Only 40% of permits — which would normally be offered on a first-come, first-served basis — are available. (Access to the Yosemite Wilderness was reopened to people with existing wilderness or Half Dome permits last week, on Friday, June 5.)

Several areas of Yosemite National Park, including popular trails, will be subject to modified opening or closed entirely. You can find the full list here. For more on how Yosemite will look and feel different to visitors, read KQED Science's story here.

— Carly Severn (@teacupinthebay)

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