Drivers visiting Yosemite National Park on Saturday ran into long delays at multiple entrances, and in some cases were directed to turn around as Memorial Day weekend crowds overwhelmed parking areas and roads into the park.
The worst backups appeared to be concentrated around Yosemite Valley, where park alerts said East Yosemite Valley was full by early afternoon and vehicles were being turned around near El Capitan. The area reopened around 2 p.m., according to the alerts.
At the Arch Rock entrance on Highway 140, also known as El Portal Road, visitors faced waits of more than an hour to get into the park. Social media users reported traffic backed up to El Portal, about 3 miles west of the entrance.
Parking filled quickly across the park. Curry Village was full by 8:10 a.m., according to park alerts. Lots at Hetch Hetchy and Mariposa Grove were full by late morning, though Mariposa Grove had reopened by early afternoon.
The congestion comes as Yosemite prepares for its first summer in several years without a peak-season vehicle reservation system. The National Park Service announced in February that Yosemite would not require timed-entry reservations in 2026, saying a review of 2025 traffic and parking data showed that a season-wide reservation requirement was not the most effective approach. Officials said the change was intended to expand public access while relying on targeted traffic controls during the busiest periods.
Yosemite has used some form of reservation system in recent years to manage crowds, beginning during the pandemic and returning in 2024 and 2025 after a reservation-free 2023 season that brought heavy congestion.
The park was already showing signs of crowding this spring. Yosemite recorded 45% more visits in March than a year ago, according to National Park Service visitation data, as tourists flocked to view the gushing waterfalls fed by the rapidly melting snow.
Yosemite also saw one of its busiest seasons in years in 2025, with about 2.9 million visits through August, up 7% from the same period in 2024.
The scarce parking has led many visitors to leave cars along curbs or road shoulders and other unauthorized areas. Many are receiving tickets, and some are even getting their cars towed.
Officials urged visitors to use the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System buses to get into the park and the Yosemite Valley Shuttle system to get around once inside.