Yosemite National Park Opens May 2026 Fee-Free Entry Days
Yosemite National Park is offering fee-free entry on select weekends in May 2026, giving visitors a way into yosemite national park without paying the standard $35 vehicle entrance fee. The dates apply only to specific weekends listed on the park’s official website, and they come as Yosemite Falls is at peak flow in spring 2026.
For travelers, that means the cost barrier disappears on those days while the park’s most visible spring features remain in season. Yosemite Falls stands 2,425 feet, or 739 meters, and Yosemite Valley — a 7-mile, or 11 km, glacial carve — holds El Capitan, Half Dome and the Merced River.
May 2026 entry window
As of May 3, 2026, the park had opened the fee-free period for select weekends in May 2026. Elena Rivera, the Travel & Culture Editor, wrote that the move lines up with spring conditions when waterfalls are running strongly and wildflowers are blooming.
The park’s website ties the free-entry offer to specific dates in May 2026, so visitors need to match their trip to those weekends if they want to avoid the vehicle fee. The standard entrance charge is $35, and the policy applies to entry by vehicle.
Yosemite Valley access options
YARTS shuttles from Merced or Fresno provide reservation-free access during these periods, with roundtrip fares listed at $2 to $44. That gives visitors a separate way to reach the park without a reservation tied to the entry window.
Guided 2-day tours from San Francisco also include lodging at Yosemite View Lodge. For travelers planning around the free-entry weekends, those trips add a packaged option beyond driving in on their own.
Yosemite’s long record
Yosemite National Park was established in 1890 as America’s third national park and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant in 1864, protecting Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.
The park now preserves 1,169 square miles, or 3,026 km², of Sierra Nevada wilderness. Ranger-led programs start May 6 and include valley floor tours from Yosemite Valley Lodge, giving visitors another reason to time a trip around the free-entry period.
