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By Mark Grossi
The Fresno Bee - April 19, 1998
The cost of driving through Yosemite National Park just went way down. Or
way up, depending on where you live.
People living in communities near Yosemite can use park roads without paying an entrance fee, starting May 1. But they have to travel to a destination beyond Yosemite, and they can't stop in the park.
Folks who live in Fresno, San Francisco or other cities will pay the full $20 entrance fee, even if they are just passing through on their way to Lee Vining or Las Vegas.
The cost for such a "pass through" last summer was $5 for everybody, no matter where they lived.
The National Park Service explained last year's $5 fee was an experiment that failed. Too many people wound up spending time in the park.
The new approach allows Yosemite-area communities to freely use the park road system, rather than driving longer routes to avoid the park, said park spokesman Scott Gediman.
"This program, like the one last year, is an attempt to respond to the needs of communities," he said. "It doesn't apply to people who live farther away because they have the option of other routes."
The tourism community may lose business if other routes are used, said one motel owner in Lee Vining, near the park's eastern boundary. Bill Banta, owner of a Best Western, said he relies on Tioga Pass Road, the high country route through the park, to bring him customers.
"If you're coming from San Francisco, you could go over Sonora Pass or Ebbetts Pass or [Interstate] 80," he said. "But if you come through Tioga Pass in Yosemite, we would see more business here."
Banta said the free passage is nice for the 22 communities the park selected. Lee Vining and Mammoth Lakes on the eastern Sierra slope are among the communities.
Communities on the western side of the mountains include Bass Lake, Oakhurst and Mariposa.
Residents in the 22 communities will have to show a driver's license at the Yosemite gate and tell the ranger they are just passing through. The zip codes on their licenses will be checked against a list kept at all park entrances.
If residents abuse their free entry-by staying in the park to recreate-they will be cited and lose their eligibility for the program.
The approach has been used successfully at two other national parks in the West, Rocky Mountains and Zion.
"It makes sense if you're going from Coarsegold to Groveland, for instance," Gediman said. "If you're a local resident passing through the park, you've got a valid concern about fees. We hope this program addresses your concern."
The idea works fine for Kenneth and Cindy Shigley, who live and run a business in Ahwahnee northwest of Oakhurst on Highway 49.
"I'm all for it," Cindy Shigley said. "I don't know how often we would use it. We go to Lee Vining to fish but that's only three months out of the year."
Steve Hayes, executive director of the Mariposa County Visitors Bureau, could not find much to fault in the program, either. He said his only concern is that lines at entrance stations might slow down while rangers check driver's licenses.
"Personally, I buy the $50 [one-year] Golden Eagle Pass so I can go into the park anytime I want," he said, "and I don't have to swear off having fun."
Beginning May 1, residents of these 22 communities will be exempt from an entrance fee at Yosemite National Park, provided they are traveling to a destination beyond Yosemite and do not stop in the park. Zip codes on driver's licenses will be checked against a list kept at all park entrances.
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COMMUNITY AND |
ZIP CODE |
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Awhahnee |
93601 |
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Bass Lake |
93604 |
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Big Oak Flat |
95305 |
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Bootjack |
95338 |
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Buck Meadows |
95321 |
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Catheys Valley |
95306 |
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Coarsegold |
93614 |
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Coulterville |
95311 |
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El Portal |
95318 |
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Fish Camp |
93623 |
|
Greely Hill |
95311 |
|
Groveland |
95321 |
|
June Lake |
93529 |
|
Lee Vining |
93541 |
|
Mt. Bullion |
95338 |
|
Mammoth Lakes |
93546 |
|
Mariposa |
95338 |
|
Midpines |
95345 |
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Moccasin |
95347 |
|
Mono Lake |
93541 |
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Nipinnawassee |
93601 |
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Oakhurst |
93644 |
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