RVers may benefit from proposed Yosemite plan

National Park Foundation photo

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA -- Is the nation's third most-visited national park being "loved to death"? If so, the National Park Service is trying to work out a plan to keep Yosemite National Park breathing. After two lawsuits against the agency to force it to come up with a management plan were successful, park officials are hoping their third attempt will be the charm.

At the center of the issue, traffic congestion in the Yosemite Valley. In a story carried by the Los Angeles Times, the Service is cast as trying to keep environmentalists happy, and balancing that against the public's demand for recreation. The Park Service is not attempting to suggest capping the number of visitors the valley receives--which can hit nearly 20,000 on a busy summer tourist day--but it is suggesting some changes.

Among those changes: Shutting down rentals of bicycles and rafts, eliminating an ice skating rink, and stopping commercial horseback rides. An analysis of the Park Service' "preferred alternative" plan by rvtravel.com staff shows the plan would have impact on RVers. Under that plan, the number of campsites available to park visitors would be significantly increased by 28-percent throughout the park, with a 37-percent increase in the Yosemite Valley alone. To manage crowds, the park would continue to use a reservation system for overnight guests.

For more detailed information on the proposed plans, visit the Park Service websites here and here.