There is a campsite lottery at Yosemite National Park! 😮

Yosemite National Park in California's Sierra Nevada is undoubtedly one of the most popular national parks in the USA. Especially in the summer months, there is a lot going on here and guests come in droves to admire giant sequoias and impressive mountains.

Accommodation within the park is scarce, one particular area is particularly popular: North Pines Campground. It is located in the middle of Yosemite Valley with a magnificent view of the granite mountain Half Dome, the symbol of the park.

You can secure bookings months in advance, but the process has often been criticised in the past. Therefore, this year, they're trialling a lottery system to give eager campers a chance to win early-booking access for summer reservations.

Details

The lottery started on 18 January and runs through to 6 February 2022 on Recreation.gov. Participation costs around $10 and around 640 participants will be selected at random. They will then be assigned a fixed time slot to book their stay at North Pines Campground between July 21 and September 14, 2022.

If there is still availability after the lottery has finished, the booking system will be activated for everyone on the 15th of each month. However, this is unlikely, as demand has exceeded supply for years, especially in the high season. Although the lottery does not guarantee that the winners will receive a booking for the exact period or campsite they want, the new system is intended to make the booking process clearer and less frustrating.

A number of projects are also planned for the park this year, such as the construction of a new visitor centre, and maintenance of the campsites and other facilities. This is one of the reasons why Yosemite National Park will probably be even more crowded than usual in the summer. Therefore, a system is already being considered to control access to the park. They're thinking about bookable time slots for access, as it is already the case with Rocky Mountain National Park, for example. Details are to be announced in the coming weeks.