Campgrounds at Yosemite National Park to Close Over Flood Threat as Snowpack Melts

A person stands on a stairway leading to the top of Vernal Fall, with a rainbow visible, as warming temperatures have increased snowpack runoff in Yosemite National Park, Calif., on April 28, 2023. Mario Tama/Getty Images

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif.—Three popular campgrounds at California’s Yosemite National Park will be temporarily closed starting May 15 because of a forecast of flooding as warming temperatures melt the Sierra Nevada’s massive snowpack.

Park officials said Sunday that the Lower and North Pines Campgrounds and the Housekeeping Camp will be shut over fears that waterways could overspill their banks.