Last Sunday, Yosemite sent a text alert at 7:39 a.m. telling visitors that Valley parking lots were already full. Entrance stations had ninety-minute waits. Cars were parked on meadow edges and road shoulders because there was nowhere else to put them. Three tow trucks were running simultaneously to clear vehicles blocking shuttle routes.

This is the current state of Yosemite National Park without a reservation system, and it's why I started this newsletter.

I'm Cory Goehring. I've worked as a naturalist in Yosemite for close to two decades. I live in El Portal, just outside the Arch Rock entrance. The Talus Field is what I'd tell you if you were standing in my office asking how to plan your trip, written down and sent to your inbox. It comes out most weeks during the season. If I don't have anything worth saying, I won't send it.

What happened to Yosemite this spring

For five of the last six years, Yosemite required a timed-entry reservation during peak season. The system wasn't perfect. But the Valley worked. You could park your car. You could walk to a trailhead without a crowd. You could stand at the base of El Capitan and hear the river.

The park dropped reservations for 2026. The results have been immediate.

Yosemite has recorded more than 836,000 visits through late May, roughly 100,000 more than this point last year. March visitation jumped 45 percent over 2025. On peak days this spring, Valley parking lots have been filling before 8 a.m. On Memorial Day weekend, one visitor told ABC7 that by 7:30 it was "impossible to park" anywhere in the park.

June through August typically brings 600,000 or more visitors per month. There is no demand management tool in place.

I wrote a longer piece on why this happened and what it means. For this newsletter, here's what matters: if you're planning a trip to Yosemite this summer, the margin for error just got very thin.

What's working right now

• Arrive before 7 a.m. Not 9. Not 8. Seven. On weekends and holidays, earlier. The lots that matter, Curry Village, Yosemite Falls, Happy Isles, fill first and fill fast.

• Park once and stay parked. Use the free Valley shuttle, walk, or bike. Moving your car during peak hours is a losing game.

• Go where the crowds aren't. The Valley gets roughly 90 percent of visitors. Hetch Hetchy, Wawona, the Merced Grove, Crane Flat, and (once Tioga opens) the entire high country are dramatically less crowded. I write about these places constantly because they're where the real Yosemite still lives on a busy day.

• Visit midweek. Monday through Thursday, the park is a different place. If you have any flexibility, use it.

• Text YNPTRAFFIC to 333111. Real-time traffic alerts from the park. Not a replacement for a plan, but a useful backup.

What this newsletter is

Most weeks I'll write about one thing. A trail. A season. A piece of natural history. A practical problem you're going to run into on your visit and how to think about it. Sometimes I'll write about park policy, like the reservation situation. I care about this park, and when decisions affect your ability to enjoy it and the park's ability to protect itself, I'm going to say so.

The voice is the same as the website: no filler, no SEO copy, no listicles. Just what I know after twenty years in this park.

If you want to make sure these emails land, add [email protected] to your contacts.

If you have a question about Yosemite, reply to this email. I read every one. If it's something other readers would benefit from, I might turn it into a future issue.

Welcome to The Talus Field. Let's plan a good trip.

Cory