Since Yosemite National Park is one of the most visited national parks in the United States, authorities want to implement a new management plan to improve the overall guest experience.

Last year, Yosemite began implementing a trial version of a reservation system for the busiest weeks of the year.

On weekends between mid-April and June, daily from July to mid-August, and again on weekends from mid-August to October, guests must make reservations before visiting the park.

Reservations are possible for the whole day or just in the afternoon and are valid for three days.

Yosemite’s new system seems to be working well, but it does impose some restrictions on visits. Guests must now plan their trips further in advance and may miss the opportunity to vacation on a particular weekend if they wait too long.

The extra effort involved in planning a trip to Yosemite National Park is met with mixed reactions, but this has also been true for the past few summers due to overwhelming traffic.

Below are the specific issues that officials hope to address with the new plans:

“Ensuring world-class experiences, a welcoming environment for all visitors, and protecting nationally significant resources is Yosemite National Park’s primary and daily focus,” the park said in a statement. “Due to rapid increases in peak season daily visitor numbers and changing use patterns, providing and managing visitor use has become an increasingly complex issue, impacting both resources and the visitor experience.”

The draft plan will be open to the public for inspection from August 14th and can be commented on until the end of September.

Park officials are urging users who have experience with the trail runs or who have concerns about the new plan to comment by then, which is the third and final public comment period.

“This process has engaged the public and interested parties in a transparent process of citizen and stakeholder engagement to discuss issues and opportunities, as well as specific strategies and ideas. The park is also applying lessons learned through the 2020-2022 reservation systems, while also considering a range of strategies to address crowding and congestion and improve the visitor experience and resource conditions in the park, Yosemite said in a statement.”