The Brief

After several months of uncertainty and delays, Yosemite National Park has announced it will begin accepting reservations for summer camping in several of the park’s most popular campgrounds starting Monday.

The campgrounds, which include the Upper Pines, Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow sites, will begin accepting camping reservations on Recreation.gov on Monday, March 24, for stays June 15–July 14, and on Monday, March 31, for stays July 15–Aug. 14. Reservations will be released at 7 a.m. PDT.

Several other Yosemite campgrounds, including Lower Pines and North Pines, will remain closed until further notice, with no advance reservations possible at the moment.

Camping reservations for Yosemite tend to sell out within minutes, so campers hoping to snag a spot are encouraged to act quickly when reservations are released.

Why were Yosemite reservations delayed this year?

On Feb. 14, President Donald Trump’s administration fired over a thousand National Park Service staff nationwide as part of a broader plan to cut federal spending.

The firings, including those at Yosemite, affected biologists, rangers, search and rescue personnel, custodians, locksmiths and wildlife specialists who had not completed their probationary periods, raising concerns about park maintenance and visitor safety. The NPS was also forced to temporarily freeze hiring for crucial seasonal workers.

A view of a welcome sign as hundreds of tourists and photographers flock in Yosemite National Park, California, United States on Feb. 19, 2025.

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Tayfun Coskun

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Anadolu via Getty Images

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That same day, Yosemite officials announced on social media that summer camping reservations for the park would be delayed. While the announcement did not attribute the delay directly to the layoffs, it noted, “We understand the impact this has on visitors who are planning camping trips to the park.” In addition, Yosemite’s 2025 separate day-use entry reservation system, intended to limit traffic in the park at peak times, was already delayed by the time layoffs hit. (Jump straight to more on the delay on day-use reservations.)

On March 20, the National Parks Conservation Association announced that NPS was authorized to reinstate all probationary park staff who were fired in February. In a statement, a Yosemite National Parks spokesperson said all reinstated employees would receive back pay and “individual notifications are underway, and while the process takes time, affected employees can expect to receive notification soon, if they have not already.”

Many national park workers, however, say they remain anxious about the longer-term future of their jobs, and Yosemite National Park did not comment on how the reinstatements might affect the park’s plan for limited campground reservations this summer.

Mark Rose, NPCA’s Sierra Nevada and Clean Air Program Manager, attributed Yosemite’s decision not to open reservations for all its campgrounds, in part, to the post-firing shortage of park staff, as well the park’s forced delay in hiring seasonal workers.

“Even with the new reservations finally going online for some campgrounds, Yosemite is still holding back over 250 sites from reservations,” Rose told KQED by email. Rose supports NPCA’s conservation efforts in Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, as well as in the surrounding Central Valley and Sierra Foothill communities.

Yosemite officials say the park may release further sites if operational capacity allows and will “provide at least seven days advance notice via the park’s website and social media if additional reservations are released.” The new reservations, once released, will not impact any reservations made beforehand.

NPS reported a record 331.9 million visits to its lands nationwide in 2024, with Yosemite accounting for over 4% of all visits to national parks that same year.

Tourists visiting Yosemite National Park on Aug. 3, 2022.

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Michael Ho Wai Lee

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SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

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What to expect at Yosemite when visiting this summer

Reservations will be released at Recreation.gov for Yosemite campgrounds, including the Upper Pines, Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow sites on:

• 7 a.m. PDT on March 24 for stays June 15–July 14.
• 7 a.m. PDT on March 31 for stays July 15–Aug. 14.

For the latest updates, be sure to check the official Yosemite National Park website or follow the park on social media.

Rose warned that visitors and campers should prepare for a potentially different Yosemite experience this summer as a result of the federal personnel cuts, which have reduced staffing across various departments.

One major impact could be increased traffic in Yosemite, Rose said. With reduced staffing and no reservation system to manage the number of vehicles entering the park, Rose said visitors should expect traffic jams, not just when traveling into the park but also around it.

“Popular destinations like Eastern Yosemite Valley may start turning vehicles around early in the morning on numerous days throughout the summer when parking lots fill up,” Rose said. “While these impacts have been seen in past years when day-use reservations were not in place, with less staff, we can expect overcrowding to be even more severe.”

A line of cars creeps slowly from Fish Camp toward the western Highway 41 entrance of Yosemite National Park as viewed on June 18, 2024, just outside Yosemite National Park.

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George Rose

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Getty Images

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Some of the other impacts visitors should anticipate:

• Limited campground services: Expect fewer rangers available for assistance and possible delays in maintenance.
• Longer lines: There may be longer lines at park entrances and visitor centers due to fewer staff managing traffic and services.
• Reduced ranger programs: Some programs, such as ranger-led talks and guided hikes, may be scaled back.

Park officials encourage visitors to be patient and plan ahead, as the reduced workforce could impact everything from check-in times to restroom maintenance at campgrounds.

Jonathan Farrington, executive director of the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, remained optimistic about the upcoming visitor season despite recent staffing reductions at Yosemite National Park. He also pushed back against advocates and media speculation that essential services would be severely disrupted.

“There are actually more employees in Yosemite who don’t work for the government than do,” Farrington said, highlighting that hotels, restaurants, shuttle services and retail shops operate under private concessions unaffected by federal staffing changes.

Camas and western bistort bloom in Crane Flat, one of Yosemite National Park’s 3,000 meadows.

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Brian Whitehead

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NPS

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Day-use reservations still in limbo

Separately from campground reservations, Yosemite officials had intended to implement a permanent policy this year requiring all visitors without camping or lodging reservations to make a separate day-use reservation before driving into the park. The measure was designed to help manage high visitor volume, especially during peak season.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the day-use reservation system, which was first tried in 2020 and was scheduled to become permanent this year, was placed on hold amid uncertainty about its approval by the Trump administration. The park still has not announced further plans for day-use reservations, saying only that officials “[anticipate] sharing details about this year’s reservation system in the near future.”

Farrington said that since a permanent system has never existed, it’s hard to tell if implementing it now would help with overcrowding in the summer.

“If a reservation system was implemented tomorrow, the confusion that it would create at the entrance stations would be debilitating,” he said. “More than half of the reservations in hotels for people that are coming, especially internationally, to Yosemite this summer are already made.”

Rose noted that last year, over 700 vehicles — about 2,000 visitors — a day arrived unaware of the reservation requirement. “That created two-hour backups and a lot of disappointed visitors,” he said.

El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

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Craig Miller

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KQED

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Can’t get a Yosemite campground reservation? You still have alternatives

For those who miss out on a campground reservation due to this year’s reduced inventory and Yosemite’s overall popularity, there are still other options to stay inside or near the park:

Inside the park:

• Yosemite’s first-come, first-served campgrounds: for example Camp 4, a popular walk-in campground, may have limited availability.
• Lodging in Yosemite: The Ahwahnee, Yosemite Valley Lodge and Curry Village provide hotel and cabin options within the park, albeit at a premium.

Outside the park:

• Private campgrounds and RV parks: Spots like Yosemite Pines RV Resort, High Sierra RV Park and other private campgrounds near Groveland, Mariposa and El Portal offer alternatives.
• National Forest Land: Nearby areas in Stanislaus, Sierra and Inyo National Forests offer dispersed camping, which can be a good alternative for those comfortable with camping without basic amenities like toilets and potable water.

Farrington urged visitors to plan ahead and to arrive early or late to avoid peak congestion around popular scenic viewpoints between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. He said visitors could also consider biking through Yosemite Valley rather than driving.

“Sunrise is the best time to visit Tunnel View,” he advised. “And renting a bike is one of the best ways to explore the park at your own pace.”

Many of the bear-proofing designs you see in parks with bears were invented in Yosemite.

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Marissa Ortega Welch

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KQED

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Useful reminders for visiting Yosemite in 2025

Here’s a list of essential tips if you’re hoping to visit Yosemite this summer:

Book early and check for cancellations
If reservations are full, check Recreation.gov frequently for cancellations, as spots may open up unexpectedly.
Prepare for self-sufficiency 
With reduced staffing, expect to handle basic campsite upkeep and pack out all trash. Bring extra supplies, including toilet paper, trash bags and hand sanitizer.
Arrive early 
Due to staffing cuts, campgrounds and entrances may be more congested than usual. Arriving early in the day can help avoid long waits.
Follow fire safety rules
Summer wildfires are a growing concern and fire restrictions may be in place. Check for updates before lighting campfires.
Respect wildlife 
With fewer rangers patrolling the park, bear activity could increase. Always store food in bear-proof containers and never leave food unattended.
Plan for limited cell service
Yosemite’s remote areas have little to no phone reception. Download maps, bring a GPS and let someone know your itinerary before heading into the backcountry.

KQED’s Carly Severn contributed to this story.

The leader of a congressional panel warned Tuesday he would use “every tool” to get Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to testify after she skipped a hearing that put L.A.’s homeless services system in the hot seat.

It came as multiple audits, reviews and court rulings have found L.A. has failed to ensure proper tracking of large-scale spending on homeless services — particularly through the joint city-county L.A. Homeless Services Authority, known as LAHSA. Much of the money is federal dollars authorized by Congress.

Bass had declined to testify at Tuesday’s hearing, saying she was unavailable and that it would be a “politically motivated” attack. Her public schedule showed she planned to attend a groundbreaking of a shopping and community center in the Pacific Palisades two hours after the hearing was set to start.

Rep. Tim Burchett, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee's DOGE subcommittee, said she won't get off that easily.

Bass "seems intent on evading accountability, but she knows we will not let her off the hook," Burchett said at the hearing. He added that he and the Oversight Committee’s chair would "use every tool at our disposal to secure her appearance if she does not cooperate.”

House committees and subcommittees can issue subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify or provide documents.

Just before the hearing got underway, Bass called it "the latest attack on Los Angeles by the Trump Administration and his allies in Congress.”

"I don't run LAHSA," she said, adding that she was the first mayor to sit on its board and that street homelessness has dropped since she took office. The latest official count for the city showed a 8% year to year jump in street homelessness.

Bass stepped off LAHSA’s governing commission last week, after LAist reported she had missed most of its meetings since she appointed herself to it in 2023. The mayor cited “time and all” as her reason for stepping down. She continues to appoint — and has the power to remove — half the commission’s members, including its current chair.

What happened at the hearing

Much of the hour-and-a-half hearing focused on Republican members’ criticism that Democrat-led cities distribute drug paraphernalia and don’t require unhoused people with addictions to get treatment as a condition of living in publicly funded housing.

Some proposals raised Tuesday would change how money reaches Los Angeles.

Burchett said he will introduce the Recovery First Housing Act, to require federally funded housing to offer substance abuse treatment. He has also introduced a bill restricting federal housing dollars to only support U.S. citizens.

LA's fights on a national stage

Burchett noted LAHSA’s audit committee chair, Justin Szlasa — who was proactive in rooting out wasteful spending — was demoted by Stephanie Graves, a Bass appointee who has declined to give her reason for doing so. The move was first reported by LAist.

Burchett also made claims that don’t hold up. He said 50,000 people are homeless in the city with "another 75,000" in the surrounding county. The latest official count found a total of 73,000 unhoused people across L.A. County — a figure that includes the city.

Burchett also said, “ LAHSA recently doled out funds to an L.A.-area nonprofit whose CEO had just been indicted for fraud.” LAist recently investigated LAHSA’s awarding of funds to that nonprofit, Abundant Blessings, and found no indication that LAHSA awarded it any funds after the fraud indictment. However, the review did find that long before the indictment, LAHSA kept awarding millions in contracts to the group even after it was flagged internally as high-risk for failing to do its job.

Burchett, however, was correct in saying “a court-ordered independent assessment of LAHSA's finances found alarming financial control weaknesses that leave the door open to rampant fraud.”

On Tuesday, street safety advocates and families of victims of vehicle collisions demanded that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declare a state of emergency on traffic violence in the city.

Sandra Sanchez Loulakis’s son died last year after she said he was hit by a negligent driver.

“I’ve been struggling just to survive daily,” she said at the news conference organized by traffic safety nonprofit Streets are for Everyone. “This is what happens to a parent when they lose a child.”

The city has seen 8% more fatal traffic collisions this year than during the same period last year, according to LAPD data from the end of August.

Advocates said an emergency declaration would better coordinate resources to respond to traffic fatalities, which have exceeded the rate of homicides for the last three years.

“ This is not a matter of we don't know what to do,” Damian Kevitt, who leads Streets are for Everyone, said Tuesday. “This is a matter of we know exactly what to do. We’re just not making this a priority as a city.”

Kevitt said more than 1,250 people signed an open letter delivered to the mayor and L.A. City Council. One of the demands listed in the letter is for the city to restore transportation department staff.

Earlier this year, the city gave up $100 million in state grants to make streets safer because it did not have the personnel to complete the projects in compliance with state-mandated deadlines.

Draft executive directive on Vision Zero

It appears there had been momentum from the mayor’s office earlier this year to issue an executive directive recommitting the city to its Vision Zero goals of reducing traffic fatalities to zero.

According to emails from May shared with LAist, the mayor’s senior director of transportation told an activist that a draft executive directive was “under review” and expected to be released “within the next three weeks.”

The email was sent to Jonathan Hale, who organizes community members to paint crosswalks where there have been pedestrian-involved collisions.

The executive directive has yet to be released.

LAist submitted a public records request for drafts of the executive directive, but on Sept. 14, the mayor’s office responded saying it could not disclose any records.

“[The records] include drafts and/or deliberative process for which the public interest served in nondisclosure clearly outweighs the public interest served by the disclosure,” the office said.

The mayor’s office has not responded to requests for comment about the draft executive directive.

A new report commissioned by Olympics organizers estimates that the 2028 Games will generate at least $20 billion in economic output across Greater Los Angeles.

The analysis, prepared for LA28 by the nonprofit Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation’s Institute for Applied Economics, looked at the economic effects of L.A. hosting the Olympics and Paralympics. It includes organizing committee spending, capital investments, publicly funded transportation and security investments, and tourism. 

In total, the report projects that new economic activity across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties could total somewhere between $20.5 billion and $25.4 billion and add around 126,000 and 152,000 jobs to the economy.

A second less conservative methodology employed by the researchers estimates the overall economic output could be even higher, between $35.4 and $40.6 billion and up to 224,000 new jobs.

“ Together, they provide a responsible range, not an exaggerated promise,” Stephen Cheung, CEO of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, said at a news conference announcing the report on Tuesday. “ If we work together with intention, the Games can leave Los Angeles with more than unforgettable memories. They can leave us with stronger businesses, greater opportunities, and a more connected regional economy.”

Despite the 2028 Games being advertised as a "no-build" Olympics, the biggest chunk of spending laid out in the report is on capital projects, including the $2.6 billion L.A. Convention Center renovation, billions in LAX improvements, major transit projects like Metro ExpressLanes on the 105 Freeway, and venue renovations, such as upgrades to Rose Bowl Stadium.

The report also estimates that around $5.7 billion of LA28’s spending will be in the five county region. LA28 has a $7.1 billion budget and has pledged to keep 75% of its spending in the Greater L.A. area, and put 25% toward small businesses.

“ That economic impact is going to be felt far and wide and across Los Angeles, as well as the Southern California region,” LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover said Tuesday.

The report is the second economic analysis forecasting the effects of the 2028 Games to come out this month. A separate report submitted to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors in early September estimated that the Games would produce more than $13 billion in direct spending and a total economic output of $19.2 billion in Los Angeles County alone.

The same report also laid out the potential uneven distribution of economic benefits to the region, including limited benefits for Olympic venue sites that are not tourist destinations and parts of Los Angeles being excluded from the Games altogether.

HR&A Advisors, the consultant group that put the report together, identified Carson, Pomona, the City of Industry and Exposition Park as locations that are hosting Olympic events, but that could end up being “passthrough areas.”

“Although these areas may be active during the day, they may struggle to capture spending from visitors who pass through but do not spend money outside the venue,” the report states.

The county report also questioned what economic benefits will flow to parts of L.A. County that will be disconnected from Olympic and Paralympic activities, like Antelope Valley and Southeast Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, the analysis found that L.A.’s typical tourist destinations — including downtown L.A., Old Town Pasadena, downtown Long Beach and the Venice Boardwalk — can expect to be active areas for economic activity during summer 2028.

The Palisades and Eaton Fires last year destroyed thousands of homes in Los Angeles County. Thousands more were left standing, but choked with toxic fire residue.

On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills that will make California the first state in the nation to establish smoke damage testing and cleaning standards for insurance companies.

Assembly Bills 1642 and 1795 will require insurers to test for smoke damage, cover the cost of cleaning contaminants, and keep paying for a homeowner’s alternative living expenses until the home is found safe to reoccupy.

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control will have until the end of 2028 to develop testing and cleaning standards for lead and asbestos, and until the end of 2029 to set rules for heavy metals and other pollutants.

Reaction to the bill

According to the state Department of Insurance, property owners filed 13,000 smoke damage claims for standing homes after the January 2025 fires. While insurers have covered testing and cleaning in many cases, other homeowners are still unable to return home as they battle with insurance companies over addressing smoke damage.

In a news release Tuesday, the governor and an author of one of the bills praised the changes to state law.

“These new protections will make insurer obligations clearer and give homeowners more financial flexibility when they need it most,” Newsom said.

Assemblymember John Harabedian said: “Science, not an insurance company’s opinions, will determine whether a home is safe.”

Insurance industry groups had opposed shifting rules and regulation away from the state Department of Insurance and to the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

Altadena residents pushed for change

Testing efforts by a group known as Eaton Fire Residents United found that lead, asbestos and heavy metals were still present in homes even after they were cleaned by professional remediation companies. Jane Lawton Potelle is the group’s executive director.

“California is leading the nation in how to recover safely after an urban wildfire,” she said in a news release about the laws’ passage.

Public health officials said smoke from the L.A. County fires was particularly toxic because it emanated from urban areas. The structures that burned often had lead paint and asbestos insulation.

The fires also destroyed cars, appliances and other human-made materials. This created more pollutants than smoke from fires in rural areas, which mainly burn through vegetation.

LAist covered the push to change smoke damage policies in a recent episode of our podcast Imperfect Paradise, which breaks down what these changes could mean for insurers, homeowners and how California adapts to climate change.