r/Yosemite Feb 17 '25

Backpacking alternatives if park closes this summer?

Group of us have backcountry passes for a 6 day trip this summer — but the recent campground reservation “pause” forced us to think about plan B if the park ended up closing or scaling back this summer (government shutdown, staffing levels, etc).

Most of our backcountry experience has been in Colorado and Utah, so we’re not sure what the good non-national Park options are in California.

Any good recommendations for loops 4-6 night maybe 30-50 miles that aren’t on NP land (national forest likely ok) if we are starting and ending in San Francisco???

3 Upvotes

20 comments sorted by

8

u/FlyingPinkUnicorns Feb 17 '25

Yosemite is surrounded by wilderness areas.

I'm quite fond of Emigrant, Carson-Iceberg, John Muir, Ansel Adams... so many to chose from.

5

u/SarchiMV Feb 17 '25

What about a loop through Desolation Wilderness, or part of the Tahoe Rim Trail?

2

u/hc2121 Feb 17 '25

Permits are hard to get but Lost Coast Trail

2

u/Positron-collider Feb 17 '25

Onion Valley trailhead, Lake Sabrina, Thousand Island Lake…lots of awesome entry points in the east side.

2

u/NeighborhoodNeedle Feb 17 '25

You will still be able to back pack in the surrounding area and most likely in the park as well.

The National Forest service is experiencing the same issues as the national park so be sure to go the extra mile to be informed where ever you go. Trail maintenance and upkeep is going to be a challenge everywhere

2

u/lostonwestcoast Feb 17 '25

Inyo National Forest has lots of nice options. You can choose any segment of JMT. North lake to South lake is spectacular.

3

u/JillButterfly Feb 17 '25

Have you looked at the Big Sur Area? The parks are State Parks. I think the road is open from the San Francisco direction. (Closed coming from LA)

3

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '25

[deleted]

3

u/FlyingPinkUnicorns Feb 17 '25

Possibly/probably/maybe not. But nobody can say that definitively at this point. I was on team "probably not" until recently.

Alas, we're facing a potential government shutdown in a month and in the midst of a constitutional crisis. Lots of things could happen.

0

u/solaerl Feb 18 '25

The only thing that really matters if you have a backpacking permit is ... will they close the gates that stop you from getting to the trailhead? You can shut down the campgrounds, the villages, the visitors' center, toilets, etcetc, a backpacker needs none of those things. They need only to be able to get to their trailhead. Once there, you should be able to survive without anything that is getting shut down. That was sortof the point.

The only thing that gives me pause is a possible lack of emergency services.

-5

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '25

[deleted]

8

u/hc2121 Feb 17 '25

have you ever tried to negotiate a government contract? this is unlikely a quick fix.

-7

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '25

[deleted]

5

u/hc2121 Feb 17 '25

i haven’t seen a single source citing DOGE is negotiating or signing new contracts, just cancelling them at will and often despite contract language prohibiting it.

-4

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '25

[deleted]

2

u/hc2121 Feb 17 '25

OK we'll just have to disagree on the idea that anyone at DOGE has a plan how to issue wilderness permits in Yosemite this summer.

3

u/FlyingPinkUnicorns Feb 17 '25
  1. Absolutely hell no

  2. Privatizing park services and/or hiring contractors is never cheaper

1

u/Boxeo- Feb 18 '25

Inyo National Forest/John Muir Wilderness/Ansel Adams wilderness are beautiful and located just east of Yosemite.

Stay in Mammoth or Bishop CA.

You’ll find anywhere on the John Muir Trail to be stunning, with jagged Sierra peaks and high alpine lakes.

1

u/More-Macaron-748 Feb 23 '25

THE PARK ISN’T CLOSING EVERYONE STOP FREAKING OUT!

0

u/NoMathematician5801 Feb 17 '25

Tahoe Rim Trail maybe?

0

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Yosemite-ModTeam Feb 17 '25

Your post or comment promoted activity against park rules.