Yosemite's largest campground could be closed until 2025
New infrastructure, including upgraded bathrooms and roads, are on the to-do list.
Three campgrounds in California's Yosemite National Park will be closed for several months for renovations, according to a statement on the park's website.
The Bridalveil Creek and Crane Flat Campgrounds are going to be shuttered until 2023. During that time, crews will rehabilitate the water system at Bridalveil, replacing the original plumbing which was built in the 1950s.
Crane Flat will get some new roads, picnic tables, and lockers, and some of its campsites will be removed from "ecologically sensitive areas."
But it's Tuolumne Meadows Campground, the park's largest campsite, that will be undergoing the most extensive renovation. Officials say the park could be closed "until 2024 or 2025" while crews embark on a "major project" to rehabilitate the grounds.
GIF created by Cheryl Santa Maria. Image credits: Bear: Milsez/Pixabay, Tent: Billion Photos, Pine: Sarah2/Canva Pro Moon: Sketchify.
During that time, no camping of any sort will be permitted on the site.
Upon reopening, visitors will see improved roads, and parking lots, upgraded bathrooms, new picnic tables, lockers, and fire rings at each site, and improved accessibility for campers with disabilities.
Seventeen campsites will be relocated, but officials say there will be no change in the number of total sites.
Tuolumne Meadows was built in the 1930s and has 304 drive-in campsites, seven group sites, four horse sites, and 21 backpacker sites. It typically sees about 141,000 visitors a year.
Spanning 3,027 square kilometres and located in California's Sierra Mountains, Yosemite is known for its glaciers, waterfalls, and giant, ancient sequoia trees. Hundreds of species call the park home, including mammals, reptiles, insects, birds, and fish.
It became a protected park in 1864.
