2010 Park Statistics

Yosemite National Park, in 2010, received 4,047,880 visitors--the highest level of visitation in the park since 1996. (Yosemite first hit the 1 million mark in 1954; 2 million in 1967; 3 million in 1987; and 4 million in 1994.)

Administration

• • Superintendent: Don Neubacher

  • 2011 Operating Budget: $29 million

  • 2010 NPS Employees at Yosemite: 1,123 summer and 743 winter

  • 2010 DNC Parks & Resorts Employees at Yosemite: 1,800 summer and 1,100 winter

Size

• • Land Mass: 747,956 acres (or 1,169 square miles) that’s about the size of Rhode Island

  • Designated Wilderness: 704,624 acres (or 1,101 square miles) that’s more than 94% of the park

Wilderness Use (number represents permits issued plus an estimate of users without permits)

• • Hikers: 53,139 in 2010; 52,610 in 2009; 45,907 in 2008; 43,401 in 2007; 40,804 in 2006 and 40,728 in 2005

  • Permits: 18,632 in 2010; 18,777 in 2009; 15,156 in 2008; 15,125 in 2007; 14,141 in 2006; and 14,222 in 2005

  • Overnight stays: 142,864 in 2010; 142,623 in 2009; 124,817 in 2008; 112,049 in 2007; 82,484 in 2006; and 81,870 in 2005

Infrastructure

• • Paved roads: 214 miles

  • Graded roads: 68 miles

  • Paved walks and bicycle paths: 20 miles

  • Trails: 800 miles (more about Pacific Crest Trail and John Muir Trail)

Lodging (all overseen by DNC Parks & Resorts)

• • The Ahwahnee: 123 units

  • Yosemite Lodge: 245 units

  • Curry Village: 498 units

  • Housekeeping Camp: 264 units

  • Wawona Hotel: 104 units

  • Tuolumne Lodge: 69 units

  • White Wolf: 28 units

  • High Sierra Camps: 55 units

Campgrounds (1,504 total sites, with a maximum of 9,372 campers)

• • Yosemite Valley Family Sites: 464 sites accommodating 2,784 people

  • Tioga/Big Oak Flat/Hetch Hetchy: 871 sites for 5,226 people

  • Glacier Point/Wawona: 203 sites for 1,218 people

  • Group campsites: 16 group campsites (for 463 people); and 9 horse campsites (54 people)

  • Leave No Trace: NPS helps campers take only pictures and leave only footprints through a 9.5-minute video. Learn more about LNT at Yosemite or at www.LNT.org.

Yosemite structures (1,133 total)

• • NPS buildings: 747

  • Concession buildings: 386

Bridges

• • Vehicle bridges: 30

  • Trail bridges: 97

  • Road tunnels: 4

Visitor Use

• • Park visitors: 4,047,880 in 2010; 3.88 million in 2009; 3.6 million in 2008; 3.6 million in 2007; 3.4 million in 2006; and 3.4 million in 2005 (Visitation to the park peaked in 1996 with 4,190,557 visitors.)

  • Search and rescue operations: 245 in 2010--including 62 helicopter rescues, 242 in 2009; 248 in 2008; 238 in 2007; 219 in 2006; and 216 in 2005

  • Motor vehicle accidents: 670 in 2010; 557 in 2009; 576 in 2008; 420 in 2007; 441 in 2006; and 405 in 2005

  • Citations by park rangers (infractions like $250 for disturbing wildlife and $150 for taking pets into wilderness): 2,469 in 2010; 2,886 in 2009; 2,935 in 2008; 3,101 in 2007; 3,337 in 2006; and 4,140 in 2005

  • Warnings by park rangers: 11,223 in 2010; 20,529 in 2009; 18,700 in 2008; 14,636 in 2007; 14,086 in 2006; and 14,868 in 2005

Visitor Study

Yosemite National Park conducted a winter survey from February 2-10, 2008. There was a 60% response rate. The entire survey and results can be viewed at the Yosemite National Park Visitor Study: Winter 2008 [638 kb PDF].

• • 91% of visitors were U.S. residents; 89% of those were from California.

  • 9% of visitors were international visitors. With 9% each from Germany, Korea, Taiwan, United Kindgom.

  • 20% of respondents had visited Yosemite National Park at least twice in the past 12 months.

  • 26% of respondents were visiting Yosemite National Park for the first time.

  • 29% of respondents identified themselves as Asian, Hispanic, American Indian and/or African American.

  • 84% of respondents listed "sightseeing or taking a scenic drive" as their primary activity, 73% taking photographs/painting/drawing and 35% listed "hiking".

Yosemite National Park had a comprehensive survey conducted from July 8-17, 2005. In it, 1,326 visitor groups were systematically selected from all five park entrance stations. There was a 65% response rate. The entire survey and results can be viewed at the Yosemite National Park Visitor Study: Summer 2005 [616 kb PDF].

• • 82% of visitors were U.S. residents; 69% of those were from California, and 4% were from Texas.

  • 18% of visitors were international visitors. Of those, 23% were from England, 11% from France, 9% from Holland and 7% from Japan.

  • 19% of respondents had visited Yosemite National Park at least twice in the past 12 months.

  • 48% of respondents were visiting Yosemite National Park for the first time.

  • 20% of the respondents identified themselves as Asian, Hispanic, American Indian and/or African American.

  • 60% of respondents listed “sightseeing or taking a scenic drive” as their primary activity and 20% listed “hiking.”

  • 74% of respondents arrived to the park in a private vehicle, and 2% arrived by bicycle

Learn more about visitor use and park's management strategies.

More Park Statistics

• • View the park's natural resource statistics at a glance.

Economic Impacts

The report Impacts of Visitor Spending on the Local Economy: Yosemite National Park, 2009 is now available. The purpose of this study is to estimate the local economic impacts of visitors to Yosemite National Park in 2009.