Waterfalls may be flowing freely at Yosemite National Park after record-breaking precipitation, but lines out of the park have often been at a standstill this season — the first summer without a reservation system since before the pandemic.
Employees, visitors and residents are reporting cars parked illegally in traffic lanes, on grass and between rocks, with lines stretching on for multiple hours.
Visitors who arrive later than 8 a.m. on weekends and some weekdays should be ready for a trickier park experience. Those who arrive later won't find parking and can expect to turn around if they attempt to enter eastern Yosemite Valley, according to the Yosemite National Park Facebook page, which has been providing parking capacity updates.
