In 2025, Yosemite National Park requires visitors to make a reservation to enter or drive through the park during peak hours on certain days throughout the summer. A reservation is also required to see the incredible February Firefall event on weekend days.
- February Day-Use Reservations for Firefall: In 2025, day-use reservations are required at all times of day February 8-9, 15-17 and 22-23.
- May to September peak season reservations: May 24-26, June 15-August 15 and August 30-September 1.
Peak-Hours Reservations for 2025
Park visitors are required to have a reservation to enter or drive through Yosemite during peak hours and times during Summer 2025. These include Memorial Day Weekend, May 24-26, the busy summer season, June 15-August 15 and Labor Day Weekend, August 30-September 1. Reservations are required from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Each reservation is good for an entire car’s worth of visitors, so carpooling is a great idea. Just make sure the reservation-holder is present with a photo ID when entering the park. Reservations are good for a three-day consecutive window, starting on the reservation date.
The majority of reservations will become available for the 2025 season on May 6, 2025 at 8 a.m. PDT on Recreation.gov. Reservations are popular are expected to sell out immediately. Prepare by creating an account ahead of time, logging in early and making sure you have a reliable internet connection. Additional reservations become available seven days before your desired visit, also at 8 a.m. PDT on Recreation.gov.
February Weekend Reservations During Firefall
If you’re planning to visit Yosemite in February 2025, you make need a reservation. Because of the spectacular “firefall” phenomenon that occurs when the sunset hits Horsetail Fall each February, visitors flock to the park. If you’re planning to visit during the three weekends in February when this occurs, you’ll need a reservation, regardless of whether or not you plan to visit the waterfall.
February 8-9, 15-17 and 22-23, 2025, visitors must make a day-use reservation to visit Yosemite National Park. Half of available reservations will become available on recreation.gov at 8 a.m. PT on November 18, 2024. These reservations are expected to fill up immediately, so for your best chance of snagging one, make an account in advance and log on as soon as reservations open.
The remaining 50% of reservations will be available two days prior to your desired visit date at 8 a.m.
Reservations are not timed and allow unlimited entry for seven consecutive days. There is a non-refundable $2 reservation fee, in addition to your park entrance fee.
If you have camping or lodging reservations in the park or are on a park-authorized commercial tour, you don’t need an additional reservation to enter the park in February. If you have a reservation to ride the YARTS bus into the park, you don’t need an additional reservation either.
How to Visit Yosemite Without a Reservation
If you aren’t able to get a reservation to visit Yosemite during peak hours, don’t cancel your trip just yet. There’s a few ways to see this incredible park, even if you didn’t score the coveted reservation.
- Visit during off hours: Enter the park before 6 a.m. or after 2 p.m., and you won’t need a reservation, even if you stay into peak hours. Just don’t leave the park, or you won’t be able to get back in if peak hours have started.
- Make a camping or lodging reservations: If you have a reservation at one of Yosemite’s campgrounds, hotels or vacation rentals, you won’t need a reservation during your stay dates.
- Reserve a wilderness permit: Backpackers and Half Dome climbers with valid wilderness permits do not need entrance reservations for the length of their permit.
- Visit Hetch Hetchy: This area of the park sees less than 1% of total Yosemite visitation and does not require a reservation to visit in 2025. It’s stunning and well worth seeing.
- Ride the bus: Visitors who take the YARTS bus into Yosemite don’t need a reservation, even during peak hours. Once inside the park, transfer to the free Yosemite Valley Shuttle system, or get to other trailheads on the Hiker’s Bus.
How to Avoid Crowds in Yosemite
Yosemite saw 4.1 million visitors in 2024, with a reservation system in place. The park will remain a popular choice with visitors in 2025 for good reason. Its stunning waterfalls, imposing rock formations and delightful trails make it a bucket list worthy experience. But crowds can make your visit less than ideal. There’s a few strategies you can employ to ensure you’re escaping the majority of park visitors and having an amazing trip.
- Enter the park early or late: Get up early and head into the park while most folks are still waking up or eating breakfast. You’ll make it through the entry stations with no lines and have a great chance of seeing wildlife and perhaps even the sunrise in solitude. In 2025, peak-hours reservations are required 6 a.m. or later. Alternately, head into the park later in the day. Most folks start leaving the park in the afternoon and few are entering it. In the height of summer, the sun sets at nearly 8 p.m., giving you plenty of daylight to explore and the opportunity to see the sunset.
- Visit during shoulder season: June, July, August and September are Yosemite’s busiest months with dry trails, school out of session and pleasant weather. While still busy, May and October are great options to still take advantage of good weather, but miss some of the traffic. If you really want to escape the crowds, consider a winter visit. December-March saw less than 150,000 monthly visitors in 2024. Plus, there’s perks to visiting in every season.
- Avoid holidays and weekends: If you can’t visit outside of peak months, try to avoid the park on holidays and weekends–especially big holiday weekends like Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day. Weekdays see fewer crowds.
- Choose a less-visited area of the park: The beautiful Hetchy Hetchy area of the park is a hidden gem, seeing less than 1% of total park visitation. Similarly, areas out of Yosemite Valley like Tioga Pass see fewer visitors and are well worth the trek.
- Explore more than the roads: Get out of your car and onto a trail and you’ll immediately see fewer people. Hike a couple of miles and you’ll be amazed, even during the most crowded season, how few people you’ll encounter.
- Take the YARTS bus: Worried about lines at entrance stations and finding a parking spot? Take the YARTS bus into the park and then get around on the free Yosemite shuttle system. It’s a great option to avoid the headache of driving.
Why Does Yosemite Require Reservations?
Yosemite National Park implemented a reservation system for the first time in 2020 and again in summer 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The park brought the system back in summer 2022 when numerous key visitor attractions were closed for critical infrastructure repairs. In summer 2023, visitors weren’t required to make reservations to enter the park and summer visitation numbers spiked nearly 20% from the previous year. Summers 2024 and 2025 are expected to finalize the pilot system.
Yosemite has been grappling with congestion—even gridlock—for decades. Park staff wants to build from the lessons learned from the last few summers of managed and unmanaged access. “This summer’s pilot system is built from extensive public feedback, data from three years of pilot reservation systems here in Yosemite, and lessons learned from other national parks,” said Superintendent Cicely Muldoon in a December 13, 2023 press-release. “This pilot system will inform how we ensure an equitable and outstanding visitor experience while protecting Yosemite’s world class resources.”
For more information, visit www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/reservations.htm