Yosemite Valley at it's worse is on those stupid free admission days. Gridlock City. Garbage everywhere. Mobs of guests crowding the "Ahwannee" of public latrines at the base of Yosemite Falls. No room on the trams and no parking spaces, gridlock even on the pedestrian foot paths so if you thought you were been smart by taking YARTS up, it's still a pita---even worse than a typical July or August week end. If it weren't a free admission day when the public demands enterance, the rangers would have likely closed the gates by 10:00AM.
Get out of the Valley of course, and all's well.
That said, the parks are ours and I agree that we shouldn't be charged for using our own property--in many National Parks like Golden Gate, Redwood, Olympic etc...we aren't.
I must end this because I'll waddle into politics, which isn't allowed.
Big changes coming in Yosemite? Read up on the History of Yosemite Valley and you'll see big changes have been coming (and going) with regularity for the past 150 years!
Some of my fondest memories are from the 1950's Yosemite Valley, a very different Yosemite Valley than today's and a Yosemite Valley which as been illegal for the past half century. But the domes and falls and meadows and cliffs and Merced remain constants.
My advice for anyone wanting to enjoy Yosemite Valley is go off season---Spring, Winter or Autumn. Yes it gets cold in the Winter, the mosquitoes are especially hungry in the Spring, and most of the concessions close for the season in Autumn but IMHO that's a small price to pay for all that grandeur.
Bookmarks