Latest news with #RayMcPadden
San Francisco Chronicle
30-06-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Yosemite just announced when Tuolumne Meadows Campground will reopen
For the first time in three years, campers will be able to return to Tuolumne Meadows Campground on August 1 as Yosemite National Park completes a $26 million renovation funded by the Great American Outdoors Act. The project marked the most extensive overhaul of the high-country campground since its construction in the 1930s. Closed since 2022, Tuolumne Meadows serves as a vital basecamp for hikers, backpackers and equestrians exploring Yosemite's eastern wilderness. According to the National Park Service, the site typically welcomes more than 140,000 overnight guests each year. 'Thanks to the Great American Outdoors Act, we've been able to revitalize this beloved campground in a way that honors its past, protects its environment, and prepares it for future generations of visitors,' Acting Superintendent Ray McPadden said in a statement. The renovation addressed more than $11 million in deferred maintenance and introduced numerous upgrades, including 29 new hike-in campsites, 10 accessible restrooms, modernized picnic facilities, upgraded water and sewer systems, and improved access to the campground's popular amphitheater. Additionally, 21 campsites were removed from the sensitive buffer zone along the Tuolumne River to restore riparian habitat. Porcupine Flat and Bridalveil Creek campgrounds will reopen July 15, with reservations for all three high-country sites available starting July 1 on The park initially planned to close at least one site — the Yosemite Valley backpackers campground, a favorite among Half Dome hikers — due to staffing shortages linked to federal workforce cuts under the Trump administration. Instead, the park will expand its camping inventory by roughly 500 sites with additional openings, including White Wolf, Tamarack Flat, and Yosemite Creek, all located along Tioga Road near Tuolumne Meadows.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- 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.
Los Angeles Times
16-06-2025
- Los Angeles Times
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.
The Independent
16-06-2025
- 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.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Yosemite National Park Makes Big Summer Announcement After Uncertainty, Budget Cuts
The summer season is bringing a reason to celebrate—finally—at Yosemite National Park. Following several years of challenges, beginning in 2020 with closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing through to record-low budget cuts that have caused massive staff shortages, California's most visited national park has some good news for visitors. For the first time in six years, all 13 of Yosemite's campgrounds will be open to the public this summer, adding approximately 500 additional campsites for overnight visitors.'We're very excited to have these campgrounds open to the public as we enter the busy summer season,' said Ray McPadden, Yosemite's Acting Superintendent, in a statement released on Wednesday. 'Camping in this park is truly a magical experience, and we want to provide the opportunity for as many visitors as possible.' In order to secure a spot, reservations must be made online via The opening schedule will work as follows: June 20: White Wolf Campground June 23: Tamarack Flat Campground July 1: Yosemite Creek Campground Opening dates for the Bridalveil Creek, Porcupine Flat, and Tuolumne Meadows Campgrounds 'will be announced soon,' according to the NPS. Park guests are advised to view the details of each campground, as drinking water is not available at several of them while others only offer portable toilets. In order to pack appropriately, and know what to expect, visit the Yosemite National Park website. News of the campground reopenings comes amidst months of uncertainty, both at Yosemite and within the National Park Service in general. Earlier this year, the government proposed more than $1 billion worth of cuts to the NPS' budget, and proposed transferring oversight for some of the nation's parks to the state level. As SFGATE's Madilynne Medina writes, 'The openings come in step with an order from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum that national parks 'remain open and accessible' despite a massive staffing shortage and the lowest proposed National Park Service budget in history.' As a result of these budget cuts, Yosemite was initially in a standstill as far as hiring summer staffers. Which meant that 'Yosemite employees including scientists, information technology workers, and even the leadership team had to take on campground bathroom cleaning shifts to make up for the custodial staff shortage moving into the park's busiest season,' wrote Medina. Yosemite National Park Makes Big Summer Announcement After Uncertainty, Budget Cuts first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 12, 2025
