Yosemite National Park to Celebrate National Public Lands Day (2011)

Yosemite National Park to Celebrate National Public Lands Day (2011)
Date: September 9, 2011

Park Entrance Fees Waived for the Day

On Saturday, September 24, 2011 Yosemite National Park will celebrate National Public Lands Day. In commemoration of this special day, the park will waive park entrance fees for all park visitors.

National Public Lands Day is the nation's largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands American's enjoy. In 2010, 170,000 volunteers built trails and bridges, and removed trash and invasive plants on public lands across the country.

Yosemite National Park's major emphasis for the day will be the Yosemite Facelift. This volunteer effort begins Wednesday, September 21, and continues through Sunday, September 25. Last year, this massive cleanup effort yielded over 172,307 pounds of trash collected throughout the park, including 140,000 pounds of old asphalt and concrete. Over 1,000 volunteers assisted during the Facelift effort. Additionally, 160 miles of roadway were cleaned, as well as over 100 miles of trails and 20 miles of river corridor. For more information on the Yosemite Facelift, please visit http://www.yosemiteclimbing.org.

Fees being waived for National Public Lands Day include the park entrance only. All other fees associated with camping, lodging, or activities within the park are not waived. The fee waiver is good for National Public Lands Day only.

Other federal agencies participating in National Public Lands Day include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Forest Service.

The National Public Lands Day also corresponds to the annual Yosemite Facelift. I don't think they have made a formal announcement yet but it starts Wednesday Sept 21st and ends Sunday Sept 25. For more info you can visit http://yosemiteclimbing.org/ Also, if you volunteer for a day you get a Public Lands Fee waiver that is valid for all public lands, or at least they did last year. Always a fun event.