For future reference:

There are a couple trailheads off Glacier Point Road of interest to me, Ostrander Lake trailhead a mile past Bridaveil Campground and the next trailhead on the right that goes through Mono Meadow towards Mt. Starr King. Are backpackers allowed to park here?

Also, is backpacker parking allowed in the parking lot at the Chilnuala Falls trailhead behind Wawona Village?

Jim

I finally called Yosemite Valley Wilderness Center to get answers to my trailhead parking questions. Basically, all trailheads that don't have a specific parking lot asigned for backpackers allow roadside or turnout area parking.

Prior discussion on this site has made reference to needing parking permits. I asked them about this and was empahtically told that they do not require backpacker parking permits anywhere except in the valley itself and then only in one particular location ( I forget where).

I also asked for clarification regarding the Happy Isles parking lot which almost always has a "Parking Lot Full" sign posting down the road near Curry Village. It is perfectly O.K. to ignore that sign for the purpose of checking out the lot to see if it does in fact have any open spaces, especially for early arrivals.

Jim

Jim,
One little addition: Trailhhead parking at Hetch Hetchy requires a parking permit which is issued when you get a wilderness permit.

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Old Dude

Mike,

Tell that to the lady at the Yosemite Valley Wilderness Center at 209-372-0308. She will deny it and claims the Valley Wilderness Center has final word on such misunderstandings. Go figure.

Which center required that of you?

Jim

When you get your wilderness permit at the Mather Ranger Station (Hetch Hetchy) you are given a parking permit to display in your windshield while your car is parked during your hike. At Hetch Hetchy there is no overnight parking at the dam. All hiker's cars have to be parked in the backpacker's designated parking with the permit visible in the windshield or risk towing. This is so nobody will blow up the dam.

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Old Dude

mrcondron wrote:

> When you get your wilderness permit at the Mather Ranger
> Station (Hetch Hetchy) you are given a parking permit to
> display in your windshield while your car is parked during your
> hike. At Hetch Hetchy there is no overnight parking at the
> dam. All hiker's cars have to be parked in the backpacker's
> designated parking with the permit visible in the windshield or
> risk towing. This is so nobody will blow up the dam.

A polite but armed ranger will come out and write down the make and license plate of any car passing through the Hetch Hetchy entrance before issuing the day use or overnight parking permit. Even for day users. I've been to quite a few dams with security measures in place. At Hetch Hetchy it isn't even that severe. At Shasta Dam there's armed private security right on the dam. When I entered a visitor center at Glen Canyon NRA (combination NPS visitor center and dam operations headquarters) we weren't allowed to bring in anything larger than a purse or camera bag, and had to go through metal detectors. However - the Jackson Lake Dam in Grand Teton National Park had pretty much no permanent security.

For a while they actually had a ranger stationed on the dam at Hetch Hetchy. I thought he might give me grief when I carried my view camera case onto the dam. But all he did is come over and chat. I got the impression he was very bored.

We've had this discussion before.

Can I say "I told you so"?

>I've never ever needed a parking permit for Yosemite.
>Ok, maybe in the Valley. Never anywhere else.

It is apparent that the woman I talked to at the Valley Center may not be aware of the Hetch Hetchy parking permits since it pertains to anti-terrorism as apposed to normal Yosemite concerns. I personally don't care since Hetch Hetchy hiking would not likely be one of my choices. I wish I could remember where in the Valley she said they do require a permit; it was not Happy Isles.

Jim