Can I carry in Yosemite National Park??

[John Gault]

It's frustrating to try to figure this out...
Looks like as an Oregon resident I can Maybe Open Carry a Non- Loaded Weapon, and as long as I don't discharge it for ANY reason I'd be ok.. I'm still laughing at how bubblegumed up this sounds...

PS: I purcchased a $40.00 can of Bear Repellant Spray today at REI and looking further it appears that bear repellant is Illegal to Possess or use in Yosemite.

So apparently if a bear wants to eat me I'm bubblegumed.....

Any Cali Transplants who can shed some light on this for me?

Read More

 

[mkwerx]

Open carry in Cali was banned last year - so you cannot even carry openly an unloaded firearm. If you don't have a Cali CCW - you're pretty much boned from carrying a gun on you.

I'd look into a knife of some sort, and some personal size OC spray. Easy to conceal both, and easy to say they're part of a fishing kit or something if you have to use it and wind up talking with some federal LE...

Do you really have to go to Yosemite? Yellowstone and Grand Tetons booked?

 

[orygun]

Honestly, who give a damn what they say when it comes to your personal safety?

Read between the lines to know what I'd do...

 

[Mark W.]

There so many people in Yosemite that the chances of a wild animal being there is pretty rare. People are crawling all over that place all summer long. If your worried about humans well bear spray will be super effective and still get you put under arrest I would imagine.

 

[DeanfromOregon]

I had a bear run across my sleeping bag at one of the campgrounds when I was in my 20's.

I grew up there, and There are some pretty amazing things to see in Yosemite and the sierras in general.I'm pretty much done with California though. I was down for a business trip last year and drove down to Big Sur. Every cool spot along the way has a ticket booth and you have to pay to get in. When I drove by in the evening, nature was closed for the day.

Down there it isn't the four legged predators you need to worry about. The two legged ones roam in packs and will prey on anyone by themselves. They know their prey is disarmed.

 

[WillametteWill]

Cali transplant with about 20 trips to Yosemite including this year. I know bad things can happen but the bears are typically (and rarely) a worry in the park (unless you leave food in your car!) My wife had backpacked with our kids for days at a time in the backcountry and I really don't worry.

I've seen plenty of bear in the park, sometimes from only a few feet when they were outside the tent. They are easily scared away by yelling. Many of the bears in the Valley are tracked with radio tags by Rangers who shoo then off when they get around the camp sites.

As the prior post stated, no open carry in CA any longer. I believe the parks changes some of their regs related to just possession in the past few years making it easier but definitely check directly with the park for the latest.

As a footnote, my wife and I were married in the park 20 years ago last week. Nothing wrong with Yellowstone as in a previous post...but there is something about Yosemite. Have a great trip.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Go to Glacier National Park. Montana honors your OR CHL, and you can carry loaded in the park. I just spent a week there. And don't pay $40 for a can of bear spray. You can rent one in GNP for $5 a day. If I'm going where there are grizzlies I carry both, and there are lots of grizzlies in GNP. I grew up about 50 miles from Yosemite. I prefer GNP. My wife and kids, and I love the place. We go there every 2 or 3 years for a week.

http://www.zzzeke.com/John_Prices_Home_Page/Glacier_Park_Photos.html
http://www.zzzeke.com/John_Prices_Home_Page/Wildlife_Photos.html

 

[John Gault]

Trip to Yosemite is too far planned to change. Been trying for years to get down there. Two weeks in Cali- if I survive I'll never have any desire to return again. Next year hoping to go Montana, Wyoming area.

Sadly, I see our State and the Nation falling in line with them. Hell Obama's gonna make criminals out of millions of us pretty soon with more of his treasonous decrees on the way out of office.

I'm taking the shotgun for Predator control should any arise and an unloaded pistol to throw like a rock.......

 

[John Gault]

Update:
Yosemite trip went well. The areas of the state that I visited were very nice as well as most of the people that I met along the way. I suspect that it has something to do with the fact that I was primarily in the woods in outlying areas including Yosemite, Mammoth area and Hwy 395 from Mammoth thru Reno and back into Mid Northern Cali.

Good hiking, climbing and weather. Got to hone my mapping and compass skills a little bit although Yosemite does a great job of making sure you can't get lost. All in all I hiked about 40 miles of trails and ate properly except on traveling days. Now have a hankering to climb Mt. Shasta yet this year if I can arrange it.

Kept the shotgun in the trailer at campgrounds and carried a large survival type knife on backpack which I think bothered some rangers but apparently wasn't illegal (yet)

Spent some time talking to a blacksmith at Wowona history museum. Apparently there are still good people who've not been converted....

Finally broke out an MRE on my Half Dome day. I must have been hungry because it tasted pretty darn good.

 

[1337BaldEagle]

Sorry I was late: http://www.nps.gov/gate/parkmgmt/firearms-in-national-parks.htm
<broken link removed>

Basically, it looks as of 2010 they are across the nation defaulting to "state and local laws" provided you take in to consideration the laws prohibiting firearms in "federal facilities." In there FAQ they note that any building that they consider a "federal facility" WILL be marked at entrances: "Buildings that meet this definition will have signs posted at public entrances noting the prohibition on firearms"

So, in short, it depends on what state you are in.


Glad the trip went well.



Eagle