Flood-Damaged Yosemite Valley Reopens

Awed tourists returned to Yosemite Valley on Friday as the natural wonderland reopened, 2 1/2 months after the flooding Merced River devastated the park, causing $178 million in damage.

It was the longest closure in the 100-plus years of Yosemite National Park.

“This is just wonderful. It’s fabulous,” said Donna Miller, one of the first tourists to make it into the valley since torrential New Year’s rains triggered floods across Northern California.

“We came here on Wednesday not knowing the valley would not be open,” she said. “We just had to come back.”

Yosemite Valley closed after the raging waters spilled over the banks of the normally placid Merced River, washing out roads, sewers, campgrounds and other facilities.

Some portions of the park were previously back in operation, like the Wawona area high above the valley floor, the popular Badger Pass Ski Area for cross-country skiing, and the Crane Flat area on the western edge of the park.

“It doesn’t look that much different today, it’s gorgeous out here,” Superintendent B.J. Griffin said at an afternoon visitors welcoming ceremony. “But take a closer look and you’ll see heavily damaged campgrounds, roads, buildings, housing, overnight guest rooms, many of which were demolished by the flood. We have to admit that we took a big hit.”

Griffin also said that the park will implement a day-use vehicle reservation system by mid-May. She said the system will not reduce the number of visitors but will “smooth them out over a period of time.”

Despite warm, sunny weather on Friday, much of Yosemite Valley remained empty, with only small group sites along the Merced River.

Crews have been working around the clock to restore services in the park, but they are far from finished.

Although Highway 41 through Fresno and Highway 120 through Oakdale are open, Highway 140 through Merced remains closed. The badly damaged road will be open only to convoys on buses on a limited basis.

Activities such as horseback riding on scenic trails and rafting on the Merced River probably will not be available for some time, said Keith Walklet, Yosemite Concession Services spokesman. The valley also has 346 fewer rooms and about 400 fewer campsites.

Less housing also means fewer concession employees. Only about 400 of 1,000 workers were asked to return to help prepare for the reopening.