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Yosemite National Park is implementing artificial intelligence, sensors and smart devices across the park to give visitors real-time updates on topics including parking availability, road status and wait times.
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That’s thanks to a new awarded to California’s most visited national park, known for its soaring views and rushing waterfalls nestled in the Sierra Nevada. Over $10 million was divided to support 18 projects described as innovative across 21 national parks by the National Park Foundation.
Yosemite’s initiative will be a collaboration with the Yosemite Conservancy to advance an existing park-wide system, the Integrated Visitor Information (IVI) Project, with new technology.
“This conceptual grant gives us a unique opportunity to test various technologies in the park and decide what tools will be most helpful to Yosemite visitors,” Yosemite said in an Instagram post Wednesday.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Yosemite National Park (@yosemitenps)
The announcement of the innovation grant award comes at a time when Yosemite is seeing a record number of visitors after the Trump administration eliminated its reservation system for 2026.
It’s triggered complaints from visitors of human traffic jams on hiking trails, gridlock through the park’s high-traffic roadways, long wait times at entrance gates, full parking lots before mid-morning, and wildlife and safety concerns this peak season.
Two California senators called to bring the reservation system back.
Yosemite says the money will allow it to provide automatic updates to visitors across websites, apps, signs, digital maps, visitor center displays and alerts.
With the new technologies, such as sensors, smart devices and AI-driven automation, the park will share real-time conditions throughout the park.
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“This will help visitors plan and navigate more confidently and efficiently,” Yosemite said in the Instagram post.
The over $10 million in funding came from NPF’s donors and partners, including Lilly Endowment Inc., NPF said in a Wednesday news release.
The official charitable partner of the National Park Service received over 200 proposals for innovation funding. Projects with a focus on real-time information and traffic management, connectivity and data-informed decision-making were chosen, according to NPF.
Yosemite’s neighboring parks, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, were also NPF grant recipients.
The funds will be used to “create a regionwide, real-time visitor information system” to “improve visitor safety, protect resources and expand interpretive access,” according to NPF.
“Innovation has always been part of the story of our national parks, but turning new ideas into action can be difficult. That’s where philanthropy can help,” NPF President and CEO Jeff Reinbold said. “The National Park Foundation is excited to empower parks and park partners to test new approaches, learn what works, and scale solutions that will help our national parks thrive for generations to come.”
This story was originally published July 23, 2026 at 2:42 PM with the headline “Yosemite using AI to give parking, road status, wait time updates. How it works.”
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