Latest news with #campgrounds
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
All of Yosemite's campgrounds will be open this summer for the first time since 2019
For the first time since 2019, all 13 of Yosemite's campgrounds will be open to visitors this summer, the National Parks Service announced. The additional openings will mean an extra 500 more campsites available than in recent years. The park is one of America's most visited, with more than 4 million visitors in 2024. "We're very excited to have these campgrounds open to the public as we enter the busy summer season," said Ray McPadden, acting superintendent at Yosemite National Park in a news release. "Camping in this park is truly a magical experience, and we want to provide the opportunity for as many visitors as possible." Maintenance and staffing challenges kept several campgrounds closed each year beginning in 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Summer is peak season at Yosemite, and many of the park's campgrounds will be opening within the next few weeks. White Wolf Campground will open on June 20, and Tamarack Flat Campground on June 23, the parks service said. Yosemite Creek Campground is set to open July 1. Opening dates for Bridalveil Creek, Porcupine Flat and Tuolumne Meadows campgrounds has not yet been announced. Reservations for Yosemite are available at But you better act fast. Finding a camping spot at the famed park is notoriously competitive, and they often fill up minutes after reservations open. Reservations are now available for both White Wolf and Tamarack Flat campgrounds, and reservations will open for Yosemite Creek on Tuesday morning. As of Monday at 3:30 p.m., campgrounds showed no Friday-Saturday availability for weekend campers through at least the end of August, although White Wolf had some Sundays available. Visitors can still access the park using day passes when campgrounds are unavailable. Yosemite's reservation system was introduced in 2020 amid the pandemic and was halted earlier this year pending a review by the Trump administration. Contemporaneous cuts to the National Park Service led to the layoffs of 10% of the agency's staff, raising questions about when the reservation system might reopen. The system ultimately came back online in late March. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Independent
5 days ago
- The Independent
Park it right here: World famous national attraction opening all of its campgrounds for first time since 2019
The world-famous Yosemite National Park is slated to open all of its campgrounds for the first time in six years. Some of the northern California campgrounds, of which the landmark-filled park has 13, were previously closed in 2019 during a temporary government shutdown. Then, the Covid pandemic hit. "We're very excited to have these campgrounds open to the public as we enter the busy summer season," said Acting Yosemite National Park Superintendent Ray McPadden. "Camping in this park is truly a magical experience, and we want to provide the opportunity for as many visitors as possible." Additional openings, the agency said, will add some 500 campsites for the public's use. That includes the White Wolf Campground and the Tamarack Flat Campground, which are both opening within the next 10 days. Reservations for the pair began on Sunday morning, and Yosemite Creek Campground is set to open on July 1. Earlier in the year, park officials announced Yosemite would require reservations for entry. A plan to introduce a permanent day-use reservation system this spring has been put on hold, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. Reservations are required for all campgrounds from April till October. Still, the Trump administration-approved reservation system spans fewer hours and dates than any previous system, according to SFGate. Notably, national parks saw a record 331.9 million recreation visits last year, marking a surge of 6.36 million recreation visits since 2023. The previous record was set in 2016. 'Opening dates for Bridalveil Creek, Porcupine Flat, and Tuolumne Meadows Campgrounds will be announced soon,' the National Park Service said. 'All other park campgrounds are listed on the website and are currently available for booking.' But the decision also comes at a fraught moment for the agency and U.S. public lands in general, and ahead of what is expected to be another active wildfire season. In May, a nearby blaze forced evacuations and road closures in Moro County. Earlier in the year, the National Parks Service took even more blows following years of budget cuts and staff shortages, as the Trump administration fired thousands of employees. Since then, the administration has been fighting it out with the courts. Although, Government Executive reported earlier this month that agencies have made preparations to implement layoffs if the court order blocking them is lifted. In April, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum – who has been working to repeal Biden-era protections in Alaskan wilderness and reclaim abandoned coal mines this month – ordered that all parks remain open and accessible, despite operational impacts. The president's proposed 'Big Beautiful' spending bill further slashes funding for park staffing, the National Parks Conservation Association wrote, and promotes the expansion of oil and gas drilling and the sale of millions of acres of public lands. '[The Senate reconciliation bill] turns its back on America's most treasured places and the dedicated public servants who protect them,' Director of Clean Energy and Climate Policy Daniel Hart said in a statement. Outside Magazine reported. The reconciliation text states that national parks, national monuments, and designated wilderness areas would be exempt from auction. The Justice Department also said last week that the president has the authority to abolish national monuments protected by his predecessors.
Washington Post
07-06-2025
- Washington Post
Campgrounds closed along Pacific Crest Trail in search for man wanted in daughters' deaths
SEATTLE — Authorities have closed a wide swath of popular campgrounds and backpacking areas along the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington as they search for a former Army soldier wanted in the deaths of his three young daughters . Dozens of additional law enforcement officers from an array of agencies joined the investigation and search Friday for Travis Caleb Decker, 32, four days after the girls — 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker and 5-year-old Olivia Decker — were found dead at a remote campsite outside Leavenworth.
CTV News
28-05-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Another portion of the Whiteshell to reopen on Thursday
More Manitobans will be able to return to the Whiteshell as the province said suppression efforts are working on one of the fires in the area. Fire EA63, which is also burning in parts of northwestern Ontario, is considered out of control still, but the province said the fire is holding. With that, the province has decided to reopen more of the provincial park. Starting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, people can return to Brereton, Red Rock, White and Jessica lakes. As well, the subdivisions in Star and Hunt lakes, blocks four, nine and 10 in Caddy Lake and the west and south shore subdivisions in West Hawk Lake will be accessible. Some campgrounds are also going to start to reopen on May 30 at 4 p.m. These include Otter Falls, Dorothy Lake, Opapiskaw, Nutimik Lake, Betula Lake, Falcon Beach, Falcon Lakeshore, and Toniata. Then on June 5, Big Whiteshell, Brereton, Caddy, West Hawk and White lakes campgrounds can open. However, the province did say those openings may be delayed depending on how the fire evolves. There are still some areas that are staying closed due to the fire, including Crowduck Lake, Big Whiteshell Lake, blocks one, two and five through eight at Caddy Lake, Island Block, Green Bay Resort and the boat launch in block four, West Hawk Lake – McDougall's Landing, Big Island Landing, Indian Bay, Florence Lake, Nora Lake, and Ophir Siding. 'As the fire remains out of control, those returning to reopened areas are advised to be prepared to evacuate again with little notice,' the province said in its latest bulletin. 'Manitoba Parks recognizes many Whiteshell residents, business owners, cottagers and campers are frustrated about the closures, but fire EA63 is challenging suppression efforts as it continues to burn into the Mantario wilderness zone and has increased in size, with numerous hotspots and flareups being pushed by variable winds, hot temperatures and dry conditions.' The other fire in the area, EA61, burning in Nopiming Provincial Park, is still out of control, the province said, and work is currently being focused on the areas around Bird and Long lakes. Some campgrounds will be closed until at least June 12, while other spots in the park are going to be closed for the rest of the season.
CBC
19-05-2025
- CBC
N.L. campers celebrate the unofficial start of summer
The Victoria Day long weekend marks the unofficial start of summer across Newfoundland and Labrador. As the CBC's Troy Turner reports, the province's campgrounds are filling up with seasonal visitors.
