REPORT: Asian Americans Take 98% of Tourist Photos at National Parks

“But they only make up 2% of visits?”

March 15, 2021

The apexes of Yosemite National Park boast spectacular views across one of America’s most beautiful and revered landscapes. Hikers from across the world pilgrimage to the Upper Yosemite Falls, but the journey for most Asian families ends much sooner…they don’t die, they just stop at Lower Yosemite Falls. This trip for Asian families is particularly rare and special, as only 2% of visitors are Asian according to the National Parks Service. Visitors like Sophia Ly and her family start their journey early, waking at 3am to panic pack and leave at 5am. Though the trip typically takes 4 hours from San Francisco to Yosemite, Ly’s family will endure a 7-hour drive in order to complete a compulsory bargain hunt at an outlet mall along the way.

After a 10 mph drive into the park – slow enough to take pictures from the moving car and constant enough to keep traffic behind them congested – Sophia’s family arrives at the Lower Yosemite Falls. Here, they gather on a bridge after a half-mile hike to take pictures in front of the waterfall. They are not alone, surrounded by dozens of other Asian families that will end up in the background of their pictures. This is where their journey ends and where they document their final resting grounds…again, not that they die, they just stop because it’s time to eat.

When asked why the family chose this spot among the other vistas in the park, Ly responded, “There’s no way we could do the entire trail because we have to carry the 9-cup rice cooker and 3 dozen hard boiled eggs we brought. Food is too expensive here… and too salty.” Ly also commented on the best way to take pictures in the park: “I like to have a stranger take a picture of the entire family with my son’s girlfriend, and then have the girlfriend take another picture of just the family. That way, if they break up, we don’t have to crop her out of the photo.” These pictures are precious mementos for Ly and she was devastated when, in the previous year, she lost thousands of photos saved on a memory card that fell out of her purse when she reached in for some dried fish to feed to a wild deer.

After posing for a thousand more photos to make up for those lost last year, youngest child Brayden Ly is relieved. He remarked, “It was nice to finally walk. The car ride was uncomfortable because I was sitting on a sleeping bag and tent that we aren’t going to use.” The family will be staying at a Hyatt in Fresno over an hour outside of the park – the room was free, reserved with Ly’s credit card points and a groupon.