And if some crazy environmentalists get their way, they'll limit Yosemite access to A) only buses, no cars B) reservations ahead of time C) invitation only D) dirty unwashed hippies much like themselves or E) all of the above.

DJLunchBox: they'll limit Yosemite access

That's probably a good thing. The Parks Department now realizes that building parking lots and roads all over some of the best natural landscapes in the country was probably not such a good idea.

Good!

That mothersticker was one of the worst traffic jams in the nation.

Hasn't been the same since the '97 flood.

well, the only way to fix it is two things : corporate sponsorships and cut all the trees down. then we can see the pretty rocks (brought to you by Office Max!)

they'll limit Yosemite access

Yeah, good. That's a little valley that's just about been ruined by its popularity.

There's thousands of acres of backcountry available though, if some of those fatasses would care to walk.

Same with any other land that's been "locked up" by the wacko environmentalists.

submitter: Attendance at Yosemite Park lagging, XBox and Playstation blamed.

Well if it is lagging then they should upgrade their internet connections.

I think they should remove all man-made structures from the park, take up the roads, and blow the entrance tunnels.

Keep it a park. Allow camping, but you have to hike in from the park boundary. No services inside the park. Pack out all trash.

Do the same for Tuolumne Meadows. Remove route 140 over Tioga pass. You'll never get rid of the rock scars, but that could be a silent memorial to how dumb certain individuals can be.

Keep the whole place as pristine and natural as possible.

/Tell the RV-ers and car campers to go to Burning Man instead.

I agree, fewer people in most national parks would be wonderful.

National parks (and even some national forests) are absolutely awful to visit because they're so crowded. If I can't walk a half mile without seeing another person, a trash can, or pavement it's not somewhere I really want to be.

This is the thanks we get for getting off your lawn?
/ungrateful old farts

Sidi - you will find that if you go about 600 yards away from a road in a national park, it will be quite peaceful.

Amen. Throw a damn pack on your back and hike in. We don't need more cars in Yosemite.

/conservationalist conservative
//weird, huh?

How is this a bad thing that Yosemite isn't as crowded? I mean, yeah, the USFS is getting less money to maintain it, but with less traffic means they actually have to maintain the park less... Less litter, less wildlife having to be controlled due to contact with humans, less wildfires, less wear on park trails.

Best way to see Yosemite

/green tortoise

studebaker hoch, god damn it that would be awesome. Me and my girlfriend would love that. I wish they would do get something to get rid of the idiots leaving trash, and the illegals dumping their trash.

I stopped going there because of the crowds. Back in the day (70's 80's) we'd load up on food and gear, get to the campsite lot, unload and carry stuff a quarter mile or so to the site and then never touch the car(s) until it was time to pack up and leave a week later. The last time we went it took a half day just to get from the entrance to the parking lot and the other sites looked like a trash dump when they left.

Best way to see Yosemite

/A5 portaledge

studebaker hoch

Hot damn that had to be a fine view... reminds me of this lonely watchtower over in shenandoah national park that took a 3 hour hike to get too... damn, almost terrifyingly windy, but you could see 5 bends of each the north and south forks of the Shenandoah river.

/never made it out to Yosemite... yet

I wasn't all that impressed with Yosemite when I went, I's like Lake Tahoe, complete with all the comforts of home and the over-abundance tourists "roughing it". I hear the best parts are the ones you have to pack to, now that would be nice.

Unavailable for comment

Let me add to the chorus of people saying this is GOOD for Yosemite, particularly if the decrease is coming from the RV-driving crowd and not the low-impact crowd. National Parks were created to preserve wilderness areas, not to make parking lots out of 'em.

I'm glad to hear it.

Nothing is more annoying than packing all your gear, driving four hours out to Yosemite, hiking for six hours, only to discover that the best campsite you can find before the sun goes down is 150 yards from a bunch of partying teens.

I like going out and not seeing another soul for three days at a time.

Meh, less people too annoy me when I'm there.

\Easily my favorite national park

I don't know...Whats the deal with the bears stealing picnic baskets? I know that the park ranger was an object of ridicule on Yogi Bear but you have to give him credit, he was on the job. What we need are more Jellystone Park Camp Grounds. That would keep most of your RV's out of our big time National Parks. Just an idea.

/El Kabong was the only cool Hanna/Barbara character
//the rest just sucked
///especially The Flintstones

kelldandy
I wasn't all that impressed with Yosemite when I went



Yeah Yosemite isn't impressive at all... if you're a retard.

"2007-01-28 07:30:56 PM DJLunchBox [TotalFark]

And if some crazy environmentalists get their way, they'll limit Yosemite access to A) only buses, no cars B) reservations ahead of time C) invitation only D) dirty unwashed hippies much like themselves or E) all of the above."


Oh my GOD! Nooooooooo... What about your 'Merican right to drive your crappy RV all over and park 50 feet from Half Dome so your lazy ass doesn't have to get winded, and you can throw out yer Die-rect TeeVee and watch you some American Idol while camping out in God's America? Huh? What kind of country is this coming to when National Parks are about conservation? Teddy Roosevelt weeps.....

That and their four-frames-per-second, minimally-animated, five-color art style was annoying, even to a seven-year-old.

What Half Dome needs is a revolving restaurant on top, an aerial tramway for access, and two massive Mickey-Mouse ears on the sides.

/not really.

Maybe the $5 -> $20 had something to do with it. I've never been there but I did not know it cost money. On the east coast it seems our parks ran by the NPS are free. All that cost money are the services like camp sites.

There is something to be said about hiking instead of driving. Last year I and my nephew-in-law hiked all of Cades Cove, TN. There is a motor trail and of course many cars. We saw much more that day than any car did. We also got 15m of exercise and had some good bonding time. More people should get out of the cars and walk the trails.

I was mightily impressed. (pops)

linxdev: On the east coast it seems our parks ran by the NPS are free.


Most of the Parks on the East Coast aren't quite as large.

Personally, I'd be all for cranking the entry fee up ... a lot. Thin things down a bit.

This is brilliant news.

I've been to Yosemite several times, all of them using the 'commercial' lodging (cottages on the Eastern side of the park) as a base, but always going out to the back country, away from the crowds.

I found it hilarious that people say that Yosemite is crowded. The Park is not crowded. The roads are. They (NPS) make it too easy to see the sites (El Cap, the falls, etc. It's too easy to drive into the park, drive slowly, and jam everything up.

I say keep it open, but restrict usage

Yosemite was $5 until 1997 when a flood whacked a lot of the park. They upped the door to $20, saying it would "cover the flood damage". Well, they went past that like it was nothing, but never reduced the fee, saying it was "increasing park revenue". Probably one of the most arrogant things they could have said.

It's $20 today.

So let me get this straight, they spend a decade complaining about crowds and the need to restrict access and how no one can enjoy it because there are too many people and now they complain that no one is visiting? Um which is it, do they want visitors or not?

kmmontandon: Personally, I'd be all for cranking the entry fee up ... a lot. Thin things down a bit.

Ditto. You know it is strange I've read this topic. I was thinking about GSM earlier today and thought that if I did have to pay $$$ to preserve the park then I would. Gwinnett county in GA has been adding to its green space and it has been welcomed. I would even pay to be a member of the park. Even if it cost as high as $100+ a year. This nation is eroding its green space and some kidd these days just don't understand the importance of what Teddy Rosevelt started.
We opened up a new 233 acre green space in Buford, GA. I immediately paid to be a member. Keeping these spaces open for future generations is very important. Keeping it green with trees is important as well.

GSM is not very big I believe it is a little bit more than a half a million acres. Only one main road US 441. Can be crowded but not bad. The hardest thing sometimes is finding parking at trail heads but at least people are using them. And when I've used them I found those people to be hospitable and friendly. I guess a bit different than those that blow through Cade's Cove (11m motor trail) in 30 minutes.

The problem is that with fewer "guests" there's less money to maintain the park. And with the govt. spending it's money on things like wars there's less federal money available.

Also, if you want to see some very impressive shots of Yosemite, check out Wildography's photo's of Yosemite Plenty to be impressed by there (pops)

Upping the entrance fees is kind of sinister.

Say we make it $2,000 to get into Yosemite. What happens then? It becomes an exclusive yacht club, with the Very Rich and their Very Rich Friends can avoid the riff-raff while getting totally sloshed on champagne and top-shelf toot.

It would cut down visitors, but I don't know that it would help things.

Screw those who don't want to go there. Their presence would most likely diminish the experience anyways.

$20 per vehicle is dirt cheap. How much does it cost to take your family to the zoo?
In the past the entry fees went to the US Treasury anyway, not to the NPS. Not sure if that is still the case.
The park is only jam packed a few weekends in the summer and they will only let in people with reservations.

BTW, there are no Grizzly bears in Yosemite (or anywhere in California).

\lived in Yosemte from '87 to '95

studebaker hoch, IMHO, the entrance fee should be at least $20.

Yosemite is not a monument on the side of the road (that's aside from the fact that it's a pain in the ass to get to). The park is there to set aside and protect the natural beauty. The fact that 90% of the visitors never get off the road shows that the majority of the park is not used by the majority of visitors (not that we want that).

Visiting should not be made easier for those who want to drive through and buy a sticker for their RV. If they want that sticker, they should have to get out of the RV and walk further than the nearest parking spot, or pay a lot more.

They are paying for the upkeep of the roads and public accomidations, not the sights or the trails. The more cars, the more people, thus, the more cops/garbagemen/hot dog vendors/fire rescue/medical personnell are needed. That extrapolates to more money.

$5 entrance barely covers the cost of the person working the booth.

In my mind, $20 for a day visit is a bargain.

studebaker hoch: It would cut down visitors, but I don't know that it would help things.


I was thinking about pricing out the casual visitor, while making it low enough that those who were dedicated would find the money. Much like attending a professional sporting event.

And it would help the parks, which to me is what matters.

Frankly, I almost wish all the National Parks & Wilderness Areas (there's one of each withing bicycle distance of where I live) would completely close down for a few years, just to lie fallow.

studebaker hoch Upping the entrance fees is kind of sinister.

Agreed. $5 -> $20 is a big jump. You're going to cut down on Sunday Drivers and end up with only people who are on a vacation or dedicated to the park.

I bet much of that traffic was just lookers who wanted to take a casual drive to see the scenery.

I read this article and to me it sates this:

"After park raised fee to $20 from $5 attendance drops."

This is the part that makes no sense

"Park officials not sure what to blame but think it maybe
because of video games"

Hello McFly!

when i was a boy scout some years ago in california we would plan at least 5 to 6 campouts each year in yosemite. i earned my hiking, camping, wilderness survival and cooking merit badges mostly from this place. if you havent climbed half dome you aint spit. i love this place.

The $20 per car fee is good for 7 days.

Visiting should not be made easier for those who want to drive through and buy a sticker for their RV. If they want that sticker, they should have to get out of the RV and walk further than the nearest parking spot, or pay a lot more.

Funny. I forced my nephew-in-law to walk 6 miles to the gift shop via the trail to get his

kmmontandon

I'm down, make it $200 like going to Burning Man. Keep the yahoos out. Cool!

/used to work for a park concession, we would charge entrance fees to, in the words of the Park Service, "discourage use". //Yes, they charge fees to keep people away.

In my mind, $20 for a day visit is a bargain.

I never said that $20 is too much. I too think that it is a bargain for the service you get. That service being that they keep the roads and trails in good shape and they do not sell that land off to developers.

It is just that to some people they would rather not spend that money for a ride through the park especially if they are casual visitors. This thread is about attendance being down and I think that $20 has more to do with it than video games or busy families. I'm busy too but I always find time to make it to our NPS park.

I was there for the summer of 1988. FUN.

/came back for a few more summers, but park-bummed it, no job, just climbed all over the place and rarely came down to camp IV.

I think people are losing interest in camping in general.

Just a sign of the times.

Kids today want a playstation 3, not a backpack.

/3 and out