Dogwood blooms, Sierra foothills. ©2016 Photography by Scott Highton
YOSEMITE — Following some amazing wildflower blooms this year, Yosemite is now seeing rising river levels, proliferating greenery, and impressive waterfall displays with the onset of warm spring weather.
See an immersive 360° VR view of Merced River’s spring runoff below the Pohono Bridge (from 2017) here.
This year, unfortunately, appears to be bringing the start of another drought in California. Sierra snowpack levels were measured to be only 60 percent of normal about two weeks ago. While Yosemite Valley’s waterfalls are now flowing and Merced River currents are again dangerously swift, such conditions are likely to wane by early summer without significant additional precipitation.
Spring is usually a great time to visit Yosemite. Yet crowds have increased here dramatically this year – due in part to pent up demand from everyone stuck near home during the past year (plus) of COVID-19 restrictions. The good news is that increasing vaccine levels are providing hope for a potentially safe return to our national parks again. The bad news is that our collective eagerness is resulting in renewed and unsafe overcrowding issues.
To address these concerns, Yosemite is re-implementing the day-use entry permit reservation system, starting on May 21. You can start registering for these permits online at the recreation.gov website on April 21. Note that actual permit availability will not show up on the site until April 21.
For complete details, see: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/reservations.htm
©2017 Photography by Scott Highton
#Yosemite #VirtualYosemite #PohonoBridge #MercedRiver
Dogwood blooms, Sierra foothills. ©2016 Photography by Scott Highton
