Reopening: Yosemite Reportedly Opening Thursday, Reservations Required
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (CBS SF) – After being closed for nearly three months due to the coronavirus pandemic, Yosemite National Park is set to reopen to the general public.
According to the Fresno Bee, the park will reopen Thursday, but reservations will be required for day-use visitors, and the number of visitors would be reduced by about half. The park's backcountry had reopened Friday, but only for visitors with existing wilderness or Half Dome permits.
Under the reopening plan, only about 3,600 vehicles per day would be allowed into the park, 1,700 for day-use, along with 1,900 for overnight visitors.
Reservations would be made through recreation.gov. Additional details are expected to be announced Monday afternoon, the newspaper reported.
During the closure, the park's animals appeared to be taking advantage of the extended time away from human visitors.
"The bears are just literally walking down the road to get to where they need to go," Ranger Katie Patrick said in April.
"For the most part, I think they're having a party," the ranger said in response to questions about what the animals have been doing since Yosemite closed on March 20.