Campsite reservations and permits to scale Half Dome have become such hot commodities that the National Park Service is scrambling to halt the auctioning of park access to the highest bidder.
The flipping of reservations and permits in Yosemite -- the third-most-visited national park -- is so rampant on Internet sites such as Craigslist that park officials are "becoming more aggressive" in trying to shut down these operators, Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said.
"We want to stop it as much as we can," he said. "It's not fair. These (reservations and permits) aren't intended to go into the after-market. But it's becoming more sophisticated. People are finding ways to abuse the system."
Profiteers also are nabbing and reselling permits to climb Half Dome, which are issued by the park essentially for free (plus a $1.50 handling charge). Gediman said the program limiting the number of people allowed each day to ascend Half Dome via the cables was started last year for safety reasons and has been well-received by visitors.
Then scalpers moved in.
Rick DeLappe, reservation service program manager for the National Park Service, said he is fielding increasing consumer complaints about illicit Yosemite resales. But the battle is tricky. While eBay has a filter that will remove any posting to auction off a piece of Yosemite, he said, the same is not true with Craigslist.
But can those cashing in on Yosemite be prosecuted? And if so, who would do it? Gediman said the legal aspects of how to handle profiteers are under review by National Park Service and Yosemite officials, along with other federal agencies, given that multiple jurisdictions likely would be involved.
Yosemite officials urge visitors to steer clear of resale schemers and to check back often with ReserveAmerica for campsite cancellations -- which can, and do, occur throughout the summer. Park insiders also recommend reserving online, not by phone.
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