All parking is free, but next to impossible to find on a busy weekend. Or even a busy week day. Visitors not staying at the lodge are discouraged from parking there. Basically, you can almost always find a parking spot close to your room when the park visitors leave in the evening. Then the next morning you don't have to worrry about it at all when all the other visitors that just drove in are frantically vying for too few spots - or hiking 2 miles to the nearest bus stop once they park. Once in the park, the busses are awesome.
I do remember there were some parking areas at the lodge that said they were for guests only, but not all. The lodge is government property, so it's a bit different than a hotel keeping out non-guests.
When I went backpacking years ago, I had a parking pass that allowed me to park overnight in the backpackers parking lot near the end of the road. That lot was also open for day parking between certain hours. But when I got there it had a sign up saying "lot full". When I picked up my backpacking permit, the ranger advised me that they generally put up that lot full sign even when there's space - to discourage day users from parking there when it's getting full.
They did previously have a pilot reserved parking program on summer weekends, but I think that was only a couple of years. It wasn't necessarily pay parking, but there was a $1.50 reservation fee.
Date: July 17, 2017
Guaranteed parking will enhance a visitor’s experience during Yosemite’s busiest month.
There are a limited number of day parking reservations still available for visitors planning a trip to Yosemite Valley on weekends this August. Securing a free day parking reservation in Yosemite Valley will greatly enhance a visitor’s experience during weekends in August, the park’s busiest month. These reservations are free (with a $1.50 service fee per reservation) and can be booked online (
www.recreation.gov) or by phone at 1-877-444-6777. There are 150 parking spaces available by reservation daily and availability is limited. This is the second year Yosemite National Park is testing a pilot day parking reservation program.
These parking reservations are located in the newly designed Yosemite Falls Parking Area, located directly west of Yosemite Valley Lodge and south of Camp 4 in Yosemite Valley. This parking lot also provides visitors the ability to avoid afternoon traffic congestion when leaving Yosemite Valley.
Visitors who book a parking reservation will be guaranteed a parking space in Yosemite Valley from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm. A reservation is valid for one day only. Reservations are available for passenger vehicles up to 20 feet in length. At this time, reservations cannot be booked for RVs or trailers.