Memorial Day weekend: 4 workarounds for Yosemite’s expected traffic crush

Yosemite National Park is telling visitors and campers to expect “extensive delays” of up to two hours over Memorial Day weekend, particularly on roads in the popular areas of Yosemite Valley and Glacier Point.

Tourism to the park is up more than 20% this year, and that’s likely to make getting around and parking even more difficult, according to a Yosemite statement issued Monday.

All reserved campgrounds in the park are sold out. There are a limited number of spaces for first-come, first-served campers, and they fill early (here’s a list).

So what are the best workarounds?

1. Take public transit: Sounds crazy, right? But the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System provides bus service from areas as far away as Fresno, Merced, Sonora and Mammoth Lakes.

One-way fares on YARTS cost as little as $3 per person, depending on where you get on the bus. Once inside the park, you can take the free shuttle to all your favorite places — trail heads, lodgings and campsites. The shuttle uses designated lanes to zip through traffic too.

2. Arrive early or late: If you do drive in, avoid peak traffic times on Yosemite’s roads. Enter before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m., the park statement suggests.

3. Stay nearby: There are places to stay outside the park. You may have luck finding last-minute lodgings in communities such as Oakhurst and Mariposa near the park’s southwest entrance, and Groveland to the west.

4. Visit other parklands: I know you want a selfie with Half Dome, but maybe you can spend some time elsewhere, like the spectacularly tufa-towered Mono Lake and other places in the Eastern Sierra or Bass Lake near the town of Oakhurst.

Finally, don’t put the giant redwoods in the Mariposa Grove on your itinerary. It’s closed until next spring for restoration.

More Memorial Day travel news: Almost 34 million Americans are expected to take a road trip of more than 50 miles from home this weekend.

So wherever your holiday driving plans take you, plan ahead and get an early start.

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