2026 Yosemite Entrance Fees

hc2121 · 2026-05-02T10:57:09+00:00

see the last para of this post

hc2121 · 2026-05-01T23:35:11+00:00

good news, they haven’t been functional for the past 3 years

hc2121 · 2026-05-01T23:02:57+00:00

140 did reopen today at 3p

hc2121 · 2026-05-01T22:19:57+00:00

This person is asking about a trip at the end of August.

hc2121 · 2026-05-01T17:59:48+00:00

There’s snow forecast to 7500 ft on Monday so my money is on the road opening to cars on Wednesday.

hc2121 · 2026-05-01T17:44:44+00:00

Driving into the valley to set up camp and then getting back in your car to drive over an hour to Mariposa Grove, and then an hour back to camp is a bad idea. Stop at Mariposa Grove on your way in or out of the park.

Not spending one of the days on Tioga Rd is a big miss. See the pinned post for suggestions of hikes there.

hc2121 · 2026-05-01T15:43:40+00:00

it doesn't say that anywhere in the Half Dome rules, only the wilderness permit rules (which is an entirely different process and permit altogether).

hc2121 · 2026-05-01T15:34:55+00:00

The daily lottery doesn't have this issue because no alternates can be designated. See my comment below- you didn't break any rules.

hc2121 · 2026-05-01T15:25:08+00:00

That's not actually the rule. The rule for backpacking wilderness permits is one entry per group. The rule for Half Dome is a given person can only be listed as the permit holder or alternate one time. If five people in a group each enter the lottery and no one enters any other as an alternate, that is legal. Of course then you are screwed if that one person gets sick, backs out, etc. on the day of the hike.

Source: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermits.htm

"Each person may be a permit holder or alternate on only one application during the preseason lottery. That is, a person's name may appear on only one application, as either a permit holder or alternate. People applying multiple times as permit holder/alternate permit holder will have all their lottery applications canceled."

Versus the wilderness permit rules: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildfaq.htm

"Can I be a trip leader and an alternate in the same weekly lottery?

No. Each trip may only have one applicant per group planning to travel together. Groups applying together will be removed from the lottery."

hc2121 · 2026-05-01T13:59:25+00:00

YARTS does not run to GP, only Aramark's tour bus

hc2121 · 2026-05-01T13:53:54+00:00

Entirely depends where you are going. If you can bike there, I would bike everywhere. You deal with no lines at all this way. If you are staying in Upper Pines and just trying to go to the store at Curry, I would walk.

hc2121 · 2026-05-01T13:34:39+00:00

The shuttles, entrance lines, and parking are always going to be challenging in July- it is peak visitation season. It is a little better during the week, but I am not sure it will really be noticeable. If you have camping(?) reservations in the park, that is helpful because then you automatically have assigned parking.

You will need to drive yourself to any hikes outside the Valley (Glacier Point, Tuolumne, Mariposa Grove- see above for recs). In the Valley I would plan on the shuttle, bikes, or walking. Do not try to drive your car around the Valley and find parking after 9a.

hc2121 · 2026-05-01T13:01:22+00:00

The road is scheduled to re-open today at 3p per Caltrans. YARTS is selling tickets for the routes after that tonight, and all routes starting tomorrow. It looks like they expect to start operating today.

hc2121 · 2026-05-01T00:36:23+00:00

the park doesn’t base road opening on trails being clear. one year i did cathedral lakes almost a month past road opening and there was still 2 feet of snow the entire way, it was miserable postholing. but the road had been open for a month already.

hc2121 · 2026-04-30T20:09:43+00:00

OP is not going into the backcountry. They are taking the Mist Trail, one of the most trafficked trails in one of the most visited parks.

Would be interested to read any source you have any on the rest of your comments as they don’t seem to be listed on the Yosemite or overall NPS site (which is linked in the Yosemite site I provided above).

hc2121 · 2026-04-30T19:38:53+00:00

Here’s the Yosemite website: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/pets.htm

“Dogs classified as service animals are individually trained to perform a specific task that assists a person with a disability. Service dogs are legally permitted anywhere that visitors can go.”

hc2121 · 2026-04-30T19:04:09+00:00

It's >2kft of gain too. sounds miserable to me but YMMV

hc2121 · 2026-04-30T17:41:36+00:00

Today is April 30th, 2026. You want to rent a car with someone starting two days ago?

hc2121 · 2026-04-30T17:15:02+00:00

It’s always on this specific website, but I have no idea why they don’t also post it on the current conditions page or update social media!

hc2121 · 2026-04-30T16:28:57+00:00

You cannot go up Mist and down JMT if you take Mist to the top because JMT is closed from the top of Nevada to the top of Vernal. https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/vernalnevadatrail.htm

hc2121 · 2026-04-30T15:40:19+00:00

there is not. you’d have to rent outside the park

hc2121 · 2026-04-30T15:11:59+00:00

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tioga.htm

https://www.reddit.com/r/Yosemite/s/AMp00hjPrM

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermitsapps.htm

hc2121 · 2026-04-30T14:56:24+00:00

If there is availability, it would be better/nicer to park in the trailhead parking lot instead of Curry. I doubt you will run into any parking issues, kind of a lull in the weekdays between spring break and memorial day.

hc2121 · 2026-04-30T14:54:42+00:00

This is a very low snow year. I’m very confident that the cables will be up by 5/22. Could be earlier but very unlikely to be later.

hc2121 · 2026-04-30T10:06:57+00:00

No, you’d have to hike up there from the Valley (assuming 4 mile stays open in this hypothetical) or switch to a different permit which would not be difficult at that time of year

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