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Posted on 02/20/2026 11:48:08 AM PST by Twotone
Planning a last-minute trip to Yosemite or Arches national parks just got easier—at least on paper.
The Department of the Interior announced this week that it is canceling the seasonal timed-entry reservation systems at Yosemite National Park in California and Arches National Park in Utah, two of the country’s most visited national parks, effective immediately. The agency also confirmed significant changes to the vehicle reservation system at Glacier National Park in Montana for the 2026 season.
“Our priority is keeping [the national parks] open and accessible,” Kevin Lilly, the acting assistant secretary for fish, wildlife, and parks at the National Park Service, stated in a news release.
“We’re expanding access where conditions allow and using targeted tools only where necessary to protect visitor safety, maintain emergency access, and preserve these extraordinary places for future generations,” Lilly added.
The move, however, represents a drastic departure from several years of pilot programs that were designed to manage surging visitation to marquee parks. It has already drawn criticism from conservation leaders, who have voiced concerns over the crowding and congestion the loosened rules will allow.
This “misguided action will put park visitors back into traffic jams, limit access due to closed, overcrowded parking lots and trails, and make the park experience worse,” Cassidy Jones, senior visitation program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), shared in a statement to Afar.
Jones noted that canceling the reservation programs reverses the progress that has been made in developing “successful, improved visitor experiences at these beloved parks over the last several years.”
For travelers, it means fewer hoops to jump through before arrival—but potentially more visitor bottlenecks at the national parks. Here’s what you need to know. Dropped reservation requirements at Yosemite and Arches national parks
Arches National Park has historically closed its gates when parking lots become full—something for parkgoers to keep an eye on without a reservation system to help manage crowds.
In recent years, both Yosemite and Arches national parks (which see roughly 4.1 and 1.8 million visitors annually, respectively) required advance reservations during high-demand months to help ease traffic congestion and reduce overcrowding at trailheads and parking lots. Those systems often sold out quickly for coveted summer weekends and holidays, forcing visitors to either plan months ahead or pivot.
With the programs now canceled, visitors can enter on a first-come, first-served basis, provided they pay the entrance fee or hold a valid park pass.
According to the Interior Department’s news release, when the parks get too busy, they “will rely on real-time traffic management measures, including temporary traffic diversions when parking areas reach capacity and deployment of additional seasonal staff to manage high-use areas.”
The National Park Service has lost roughly 25 percent of its permanent employees since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term. Those reductions have left many parks operating with leaner teams, including a reduction in seasonal staffing—typically hired to bolster parks during the busy summer months.
Against that backdrop, and amid the recent staffing cutbacks, it’s unclear how the parks will manage the potentially higher visitation numbers without reservation systems in place.
It’s worth noting that Arches has historically closed its gates when parking lots become full—sometimes before mid-morning. Without timed entry, those closures could become more common during the busiest stretches of the year.
Conservation groups argue that the reservation systems had begun to smooth peak-day chaos.
“All of this creates the perfect storm heading into one of the busiest times for the park, with massive overcrowding and iconic park resources at risk,” stated Mark Rose, senior program manager for Sierra Nevada and clean air at NPCA.
He added that “eliminating Yosemite’s seasonal reservation system will undoubtedly lead to hours-long traffic jams.”
Reservation systems weren’t introduced just to prevent long lines at the ticket booth and parking lots that fill by mid-morning, but also to help parks that were operating beyond what their infrastructure was built to handle.
Repeatedly exceeding capacity over time puts a strain on the environment: Overflow parking wears down roadside vegetation, hikers passing other hikers widens trails, and heavily trafficked corridors increase stress on wildlife, among other consequences.
For travelers headed to either park, strategy matters more than ever: Arrive early (before 8 a.m., if possible), visit midweek when you can, and have a backup plan if parking areas fill up.
Glacier National Park changes
Glacier isn’t scrapping reservations altogether—but it is reshaping them.
The park is replacing its vehicle reservation system with new congestion controls, particularly at Logan Pass—one of the most visited destinations along the famous Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Under the new system, beginning July 1, visitors can expect a three-hour parking limit at the top of Logan Pass, according to a Glacier National Park press release outlining the changes. In place of vehicle reservations, Glacier will pilot a ticketed shuttle system to the pass, including early-morning express routes designed for hikers setting out on longer backcountry routes.
“With the new trial measures, we aim to improve the public’s ability to visit Logan Pass for short durations and allow the shuttle system to perform more reliably for a more specific purpose,” said Glacier National Park Superintendent Dave Roemer in the release. “This initiative reflects our continued learning and listening as we refine park transportation and access to better serve the public and safeguard the integrity of the park’s resources.”
Conservation groups say access management remains critical in a place such as Glacier. “We know managing access to some of our most visited national park sites makes a positive difference, improving visitor experiences and protecting the views, wildlife and the very reasons people seek out our parks,” said Sarah Lundstrum, senior program manager for Glacier at the NPCA. She added that “vehicle congestion within Glacier can dominate the visitor experience and take away from the work rangers are meant to be doing,” noting that traffic, long lines, and blocked views can “ruin a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Glacier.”
Travelers planning a 2026 Glacier visit should monitor the park’s official website closely as details of the revised system are finalized.
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Grok executive summary:
The Trump administration’s Department of the Interior has ditched the annoying timed-entry reservation systems at Yosemite and Arches National Parks for 2026, scrapping what had become mandatory advance booking during peak seasons to control massive crowds. Glacier is shifting to targeted fixes like parking limits at Logan Pass and a shuttle pilot instead of full vehicle reservations. The move prioritizes keeping parks open and accessible to everyday Americans without bureaucratic hoops, relying on real-time traffic management and extra seasonal staff when things get packed—despite staffing cuts and warnings from environmental groups about returning traffic jams, overflowing lots, and resource strain. For spontaneous visitors, it’s now first-come, first-served (pay your entrance fee), so show up early, hit midweek, or have a Plan B if the lots fill fast.
imo the conservation groups were more about limiting access to prevent people from using them because of their nature over man attitude.
This lets more people enjoy the park and it still respects the park integrity, nothing inflames conservationist more than people enjoying nature.
Before reserved entry Yosemite was a zoo.
Traffic like the 101 in Palo Alto.
I am baffled.
The conservationist ideal is to ban entrance to all ordinary folks.
Only the enlighten ones would be allowed to do “research’ or similar activities!
I was heading over the Going to the Sun pass in late Sept. of ‘88 (?) with a friend - we were due at a place in Kalispell where he was buying an old car owned by a mutual friend.
We just got to the top — driving about 25 MPH — when a Park Ranger ‘lights ablazin’ skidded to a stop across the roadway.
“Road closed! There is a sniper just a mile down the road and he’s shooting at cars!”
Turns out it was a NY clown that decided to leave the East to live off the land.
Back then guns were a HUGE no-no in National parks.
He apparently got hungry, was a bad shot and couldn’t hit a deer then got mad and began shooting at Rangers. Long stint in Club Fed...
It took us seven hours to go around the southern part of the park — a major PITA — but a great story!
Overcapacity and congestion are real problems to be managed. At some point it becomes a pick your poison question. Never having been to either of these parks, I’ll not comment further, but it’s a legitimate question.
There are other parks, national forests and wilderness areas. Many are woefully underutilized. Many people would be well advised to check them out.
We got stuck up near the top of that road due to an accident some years ago. What a road that is! But your story is more exciting than mine. ;-)
Last time I visited Yosemite mid-80’s, came in from the south. Never went down to the valley.
From above, it was a solid line of stopped RVs and a touch of diesel smog.
You must be from southern california to refer to the freeway by "the 101." Any self-respecting northern californian would just say "Traffic like 101..." :)
Nobody goes to those places because it’s too crowded.
.... It has already drawn criticism from conservation leaders, ...
== == ==
OK, I stopped reading here. This is a good thing.
“This “misguided action will put park visitors back into traffic jams, limit access due to closed, overcrowded parking lots and trails, and make the park experience worse,”
Exactly right. The Glacier reservation system worked well and kept congestion in the park to a low level. This will be a disaster.
I was born and raised on the east side of the gate.
If you are not an American citizen (not Visa, not diplomat, not green card, not anything other than an American citizen your entrance fee should be triple that of an American citizen. That’s a bargain in my book. Why should American taxpayers pay for the protection and maintenance of a park in America, only for some American hating holier than thou Europeans (substitute any of a number of ungrateful or enemy countries or regions) to partake in our natural bounty and overcrowd areas that most Americans are never able to visit.
Biden and the left that propped him up did immense damage to the US, and our natural heritage, by opening the borders so they could import illegal votes. They are not, in any meaningful way environmentalists. They are a very sick and destructive lot, and eventually history will have to acknowledge this.
Lee Vining?
Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.
Americans aren't being prevented from visiting these parks because of tourists from outside; they simply have no interest in visiting.
The Asians and Euros visiting these parks are helping support the surrounding economies; drive them away by a financial penalty, and you just might watch the local economies wither.
I agree 100%.
I live about 80 road miles from Yosemite.
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