🌲 Open for Business? The Real Story of Yosemite During the 2025 Government Shutdown
- Echo Adventure Cooperative Members
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
As the federal government’s funding lapse stretches on, Yosemite National Park remains open. As you may have seen in the news, both Yosemite Basecamp and Echo Adventure Cooperative have noted the opportunity and strain. And while we believe in broad access to Yosemite, we also know that access without adequate education and protection puts both the park and our local communities at risk.
What’s Different The 2025 Government Shutdown
As noted in many articles over the last few weeks, our guides have seen a surge in behaviors rarely observed under normal staffing conditions:
🚁 Drones buzzing over El Capitan and Yosemite Valley. One guide counted five in a single afternoon. “There are lots of drones in the skies, like everywhere,” noted one report during the shutdown. Read more → SFGate
🪂 BASE jumpers and unpermitted climbers taking advantage of fewer rangers.
“When the cat’s away, the mice will play,” one ranger told The Washington Post. Read more → Washington Post
😡 Visitor frustration — more road rage, arguments, and disregard for etiquette.
“It felt disorganized and had a ‘screw-you’ type of feeling,” said one visitor. Read more → KQED
Meanwhile, local businesses, including lodging, guides, and restaurants, are caught between gratitude for continued visitation and concern over long-term damage. Vistors are also getting the short end of the stick without the crucial education that traditionally accompanies every visit.
Why It’s Happening
During the shutdown, most rangers, interpretive staff, and maintenance crews are furloughed. Entrance stations go unmanned; educational programs are paused; law enforcement and rescue personnel operate on skeleton crews.
Without those touchpoints, many visitors, especially those unfamiliar with national park etiquette, may not realize the importance of certain rules. A drone launch or a “shortcut trail” may seem harmless in the moment, but collectively they cause erosion, stress wildlife, and degrade the wilderness experience and safety for others.
Why It Matters
Yosemite’s landscapes aren’t just photo ops - they’re fragile ecosystems, cultural landmarks, and the economic foundation for gateway communities like Groveland.
The more we see drones, off-trail hiking, feeding wildlife, and other rule-breaking behaviors, the more the park and everyone who depends on it stands to lose.
Yet, there’s a bright side: keeping Yosemite open means new people get to experience its wonder and small towns like ours can keep their doors open. The challenge is ensuring that access doesn’t come at the expense of stewardship.
What Are The Tensions We’re Navigating
Access vs Protection We support open access. But access without education is risky. Visitors who’ve never been here may not know that drones disturb peregrine falcons, migratory bird, and bats. Unpermitted drones also make SAR rescues, firefighting and commercial aviation more dangerous. Short-cutting switchbacks and cross country hiking creates new, unmanaged paths for water, damages fragile ecosystems and natural formations, and increase your chance of injury.
Local Economy vs Resource Integrity Gateway businesses depend on visitation, period! yet those same businesses rely on a healthy park with a positive visitor expereince to survive long-term. A degraded and frustrated Yosemite helps no one.
Short-Term vs Long-Term Thinking Yes, open gates bring short-term economic relief. But that also gives Washington the impression that “everything’s fine,” it removes pressure to properly fund and staff the parks in the future. This is made worse by the lack of entrance fees over the shutdown.
Community vs Competition Shutdown stress can pit local businesses against each other when we should be united. Every lodging host, guide, restaurant, and retailer shares the same customer: the Yosemite visitor. Protecting the park is protecting our livelihood.
What We’re Doing & What You Can Do
At Yosemite Basecamp and Echo Adventure Cooperative, we’re stepping up education for every guest and tour group. Before each trip, we review Leave No Trace Principles and more:
Research before you arrive - Everything you need is online, so spend an hour or two planning your trip so you can be a steward during your visit.
No drones - they were banned without a permit in national parks since 2014 and anyone who knows that looks at those insta videos with judgement and distain.
Stay on trails - new paths destroy native vegetation and soil and put your health and safety at risk.
Respect wildlife - no feeding, petting or tiktoking with the animals.
Pack it in, pack it out - Don't litter and better yet, just take your trash out of the park with you.
Don't take anything from the park - Leave the pinecones and the cool rocks where you found them!
Don't be that guy - Have respect for those around you and wear headphones, park correctly, and don't flip anyone the bird. We're all here to have fun!
Ask questions - Our guides are happy to share context, history, and safety information that’s often missing when rangers are furloughed. They are also available at the Yosemite Basecamp in downtown Groveland to help navigate the all of your questions!
We encourage all visitors to take responsibility — the park may be short-staffed, but that makes each individual’s choices more important than ever.
Looking Ahead
This shutdown highlights an uncomfortable truth: access without stewardship isn’t sustainable.We’re reminded that the health of Yosemite, the success of small businesses, and the vitality of our local economy are all connected.
We believe:
In keeping Yosemite open and equitable.
In protecting its resources and communities.
In collaborating — not competing — to sustain both.
If you love Yosemite, now is the time to prove it through respectful visitation, advocacy for park funding, and support for responsible local operators. Because when the guardrails are thinner, every one of us matters more.
🪶 Further Reading
Castro - Root, Gabe. "Shutdown Brings More BASE Jumpers and Drones To Yosemite Skies" NYTimes, Oct 21 2025.
Harrell, Ashley. “Squatters, Illegal BASE Jumpers Invade Yosemite Amid Federal Shutdown.” SFGATE, Oct 9 2025.
Harrell, Ashley. “The Shutdown Has Exacerbated a Growing Drone Problem in Yosemite.” SFGATE, Oct 23 2025.
Wright, Sarah. “What Is the Government Shutdown Doing to Yosemite?” KQED, Oct 16 2025.
Castro-Root, Gabe. “Amid Federal Shutdown, BASE Jumpers Converge on Yosemite’s El Capitan.” Washington Post, Oct 25 2025.
Alexander, Kurtis. “Government Shutdown 2025: How Yosemite and Major California Parks Are Impacted.” San Francisco Chronicle, Oct 2025.
Thompson, Emily. “‘Dangerous and Reckless’: Yosemite Chaos Sparks Plea to Close Parks During Shutdown.” San Francisco Chronicle, Oct 12 2025.
“Reports of Yosemite Misbehavior Are ‘Fake News,’ Says Interior Department.” SFGATE, Oct 17 2025.