Yosemite Debuts Electronic Park Passes
Yosemite National Park, CA — Yosemite park passes are about to become yet another item that folks will be able to purchase in advance online.
Beginning tomorrow, Yosemite National Park will become one of over a dozen other National Park service sites that provide passes and permits through an online portal. While Yosemite National Park spokesperson Jamie Richards explains that purchasing a temporary or annual Yosemite pass in this manner will not expedite one’s entry into the park it does provide a way to obtain it in advance from home or while on the road.
Passes can then be downloaded or stored for current or future use and are simply scanned at park entrance stations. “For those individuals who would like to have a pass loaded to their phone it gives them the option to have an electronic pass…in your electronic wallet,” she states.
She points out, “Some people still prefer the traditional pass and some people are really looking forward to having an electronic pass, so we are working to meet the needs of both visitors.”
Other Notable News
Other national parks now providing electronic passes and permits are Acadia, Everglades, Grand Canyon, Theodore Roosevelt, Yellowstone, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. There are also a number of other public lands, including Castillo de San Marcos and Colorado national monuments; Whiskeytown National Recreation Area; Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area; Wayne National Forest; and the Bureau of Land Management’s Lake Havasu Field Office.
As we reported here, Yosemite’s Mariposa Grove of Sequoia Giants re-opened last Friday after a massive $40 million restoration effort — the largest in the park’s history — that took almost three years to complete. Richards says the grove is already proving to be a popular “new” draw although it is far too early to provide sufficient metrics.
“A number of visitors have come to enjoy or re-experience the grove and with the great weather it is a great time to get out and go hiking, backbacking in the high country and enjoy all the trails along Tioga Road,” Richards enthuses. Adding that a section of the Merced River is open for rafting and the Yosemite, Bridal Veil, Vernal and Nevada falls are all still flowing well, she offers with a grin, “You will get sprayed if you go on the Mist Trail.”
For those interested in obtaining online Yosemite passes, costs run the same as for traditional in-person purchased paper admissions. One-to-seven day passes are $35 per private vehicle; $30 per motorcycle and $20 per individual/bicycle. The $70 Yosemite Annual Pass, which can also be purchased online, is valid for one year from month of purchase. For more details, click here.
