Yosemite Attendance Last Year Still Down From Pre-Covid Times

NPS Image

Yosemite, CA — Attendance in Yosemite National Park in 2023 was the highest in four years, but below what was witnessed before the COVID pandemic.

The statistics from the National Park Service note that 4,057,237 people visited the park last year. In 2022, it was just over 3.8 million, in 2021 it was 3.4 million, and in 2020 it was 2.3 million.

Last year there were various traffic projects that took place over the summer months that spurred long lines, and lengthy delays, at times, for visitors. There were also some storm-related closures throughout the winter. In the three years prior, due to COVID, there were some closure periods and attendance caps.

Prior to the pandemic, there were 4.5 million park visitors in 2019, 4.1 million in 2018, 4.5 million in 2017, 5.2 million in 2016, and 4.3 million in 2015.

Yosemite is implementing a new circulation plan this spring and summer to limit attendance during peak times, as reported earlier, and it remains to be seen what type of impact it will have on overall numbers moving forward. The National Park Service reports that 75% of visitors to the park arrive between May and October.