Horsetail Fall Traffic Control
Well, it’s that time of year again when the sun lines up with a waterfall and turns the water orange. Seriously though, under the right conditions it is quite a sight. This is your reminder that the crowds are coming. Expect crowds during the afternoon/evening in and along Northside Drive between Camp 4 and El Capitan Meadow. Event management for Horsetail Fall viewing will be set up on February 10 and taken down February 27. “Peak viewing” is around February 22nd.
Yosemite Firefall, Horsetail Fall Traffic Control
Ferry Bend/Sentinel Creek and the area between the Valley Loop Trail and river, along Southside drive between Cathedral Beach and 4-Mile trailhead, will be closed from 12pm to 7pm during the event to prevent further riverbank deterioration. The left lane of Northside Drive will be the designated pedestrian lane and that lane closure will be in place for the entirety of the event. The speed limit will be decreased to 25MPH throughout the viewing area on Northside Drive. Parking restrictions are similar to last year where Northside Drive Parking will be limited to disabled parking 12pm-7pm and there will be no parking/stopping on Southside Drive 12pm-7pm between El Cap Crossover and 4 Mile Trailhead.
The map is available at https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/horsetailfall.htm
There will potentially be daily temporary closures of Southside Drive at Camp 4 between 5:30pm and 6:00pm, up to 30 minutes, to accommodate the mass exodus of pedestrians in the roadway. Please plan accordingly. Last year, there was considerable congestion, but we did not have to close down the road for more than 10 minutes on one day. The goal is to keep it open as much as possible, however, that will be crowd dependent.
As you may have heard, this year we will have a permit system in place and a reservation will be required to drive into Yosemite 24 hours per day on February 10–12, 17–19, and 24–26. Hopefully this will help alleviate the Presidents Day weekend crush we experienced last year.
If you are an NPS employee and would like to assist VRP and Interpretation with this event, after you have received supervisory approval, please email both Christopher_Cassling@nps.gov and Ian_Rippetoe@nps.gov with your available dates to coordinate scheduling, timekeeping, and further details. The hours requested will most likely be 3pm – 7pm. Duties will revolve around providing information, crowd management, and traffic direction. Only 1-2 people per day are needed to supplement staffing.