California senators blame Yosemite traffic chaos…
America’s crown jewel of national parks has misplaced its sparkle.
California democratic senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff fired off a scathing letter to the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service this week, warning that the choice to scrap Yosemite National Park‘s reservation system has created pure chaos.
The letter comes after the company eradicated timed-entry reservations for 2026, turning the majestic park into a chaotic zoo of gridlocked traffic, fumes and lawlessness — significantly during the busier summer time months.
The transfer adopted a directive from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in April 2025 ordering all national parks to “remain open and accessible.”
“In peak summer months, visitors are greeted not by the magnificent views of El Capitan, but with miles of gridlocked traffic, honking horns, and the oppressive smell of vehicle exhaust fumes,” reads the letter.
Yosemite attracts tens of millions of guests each yr. Getty Images
The lawmakers argue the issue has been compounded by staffing reductions across the National Park Service. Getty Images
The park is understood for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, and views of the Half Dome and El Capitan rock formations. Getty Images
The lawmakers argue that Yosemite’s reservation system, which was used during the summers of 2020 through 2022 and again in 2024, efficiently unfold out crowds. Getty Images
The lawmakers argue that Yosemite’s reservation system, which was used during the summers of 2020 through 2022 and again in 2024, efficiently unfold out crowds while still permitting more than 4.1 million people to go to in 2024, making it the park’s fifth-busiest yr on report.
But the National Park Service dropped this system earlier this yr “without providing any scientific justification or evidence of public stakeholder engagement,” Padilla and Schiff wrote.
March 2026 visitation surged 45% in contrast to the same month last yr, according to the senators. They also cited “bumper-to-bumper traffic around the valley floor, hiking trails backed up with people, and parking lots full in the early mornings causing visitors to illegally park off-road on vegetation and in meadows.”
“In peak summer months, visitors are greeted not by the magnificent views of El Capitan, but with miles of gridlocked traffic, honking horns, and the oppressive smell of vehicle exhaust fumes,” reads the letter. Getty Images
The lawmakers argue the issue has been compounded by staffing reductions across the National Park Service, claiming crucial park security staff have been pulled away from their precise jobs — like managing wildfire dangers — just to direct traffic and handle overcrowding.
They hit federal park management with a listing of hard-hitting questions, demanding the release of data and “comprehensive evaluations” park officers claimed to use when making the rule change. They also need a dedication to deliver back the reserving system if the remainder of the 2026 busy summer time season proves too disastrous.
“Many first-time visitors to Yosemite have to spend hours looking for a parking spot instead of enjoying the surrounding natural resources,” they wrote in the July 1 letter. “How is the Park’s leadership planning to mitigate this?”
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