Letters: Yosemite had a reservation system for good reasons, all of which are still valid
By Don Neubacher
Feb 27, 2026
Regarding “Exclusive: How Yosemite superintendent plans to manage crowds without reservation system” (Outdoors, SFChronicle.com, Feb. 21): New Yosemite Superintendent Ray McPadden justified the decision end the day-use reservation system, claiming that traffic congestion affects the park for only a few days each year. As a former Yosemite superintendent for six years, my experience paints a different picture.
McPadden claimed there is “zero evidence” that high visitation levels impact Yosemite’s natural and cultural resources and the visitor experience. He needs to read the park’s publicly reviewed draft for a Visitor Use Management Plan from August 2024, which documents why the reservation system is needed.
A reservation system would help resolve crowding and congestion at parking lots, entrances and roads, which limit visitor access and hinder emergency vehicles. The system would also mitigate concentrated visitor use that has an increasing impact on natural and cultural resources. The plan has pages of impact analysis.
Yosemite is one of nature’s gifts and deserves careful management. The reservation system welcomed crowds at record levels by spreading visitation out while still protecting its natural beauty.
It is a mistake for the superintendent to reverse the progress that’s been made to protect Yosemite’s glory.
Don Neubacher, former superintendent, Yosemite National Park; board member, Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks