Book Yosemite Lodging Early

It’s always important to make sure you book your Yosemite lodging arrangements early to ensure all of your preferences are met, but 2010 visitor numbers are showing that now more than ever this is the case.  You may want to start browsing the Scenic Wonders website a little earlier this year because more and more visitors are planning vacations and accommodations are filling up fast! Steady Increase Yosemite National Park recorded over 4 million visitors in 2010, which is the highest number of visitors in the past 14 years!  And that wasn’t a fluke.  The 4 million mark is just an exclamation point on a trend of steadily increasing numbers over the past four years.  An interesting asterisk to these visitation numbers is that an estimated 23% of the visitors to Mariposa County were international—which is a 19% increase from 2009.  People from around the world know that the park is natural wonder to be hold as well as a great deal, given the current economy. A Consolidated Area Effort The constant increase in park visitation is the result of cooperation between multiple generous groups, such as the Yosemite/Mariposa county Tourism Bureau, the National Park Service, DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc, and the regional Tourism Bureau marketing partners including Tuolumne County Tourism Bureau, Mono County Tourism, and the Yosemite Sierra Oakhurst Tourism Bureau.  That’s a mouth-full of bureaus, but what’s important is that a lot of people recognize how important the park is to American and international travelers. The Historic Numbers Still not quite convinced of how important it is to book your Yosemite lodging early?  Perhaps a little history will show give you a nudge.  In 2010, Yosemite received 4,047,880 visitors, which is up from 3,866,970 visitors in 2009 and that is up from the 3,561,656 visitors in 2008.  The highest recorded level of visitation was in 1996 when 4,190,557 people visited the park.  Looking at the trends, though, it’s not unlikely that the visitor record will be broken soon.  The park first broke the one million mark in 1954, the two million mark in 1967 and the three million milestone in 1987. A Year Round Destination Some vacation spots allow you to avoid the rush of visitors by visiting during certain times of the year.  This isn’t the case for Yosemite National Park.  The numbers show that people are visiting the park year round.  Once you’ve stopped by during the spring, fall or winter, you’ll see that the park is spectacular during every season.  There are activities for all ages and interests during the entire year, so when planning your trip you’ll never have to feel limited by the calendar or your personal schedule.  So book your trip early! If you’re thinking that Yosemite National Park is the destination for you and are looking for lodging, call Yosemite’s Scenic Wonders at 1-888-YOSEMITE (1-888-967-3648) and book your memorable vacation today! Photo credit: Nouhailler