Yosemite Bans Large Flags on El Cap and Other Walls

The day after seven climbers temporarily rigged a trans pride flag on El Capitan, the Yosemite Superintendent announced a new ban on flags. The ban applies within wilderness areas or potential wilderness areas inside the national park. Designated wilderness comprises over 94% of Yosemite’s total acreage, including El Cap.

Released as an update to the Yosemite Superintendent’s Compendium, which lists permit requirements, closures, restrictions, and more guidelines within the park, the new flag ban states that no person or group may “hang or otherwise affix to any natural or cultural feature, or display so as to cover any natural or cultural feature, any banner, flag, or sign larger than 15 square feet (e.g., five feet by three feet).”

“[Flags have] proven to be a very effective form of protest,” says Ken Yager, the founder and president of the Yosemite Climbing Association. However, Yager acknowledges he has concerns that this form of protest and the new ban could lead to the erosion of the hard-won positive relationship between the National Park Service and the climbing community—a relationship he’s been working on improving for over three decades. “I do worry about local law enforcement having to start enforcing this and us losing what ground we’ve gained,” he says. “We actually have a really good relationship and I’d hate to see it go backwards.”

Why—and when—Yosemite banned flags on El Cap and beyond

The Compendium attributes the new flag rule to a need to “preserve the values of wilderness character in accordance with the Wilderness Act.” It also cites visitor experience, public safety, and the protection of both natural and cultural resources as grounds for the new ban.

“It’s hard to believe that it would actually cause any safety issues greater than what we see every day in Yosemite,” says Miranda Oakley, a professional climber who hung a banner from El Cap in June 2024 that read “Stop the Genocide” in the colors of the Palestinian flag.

Oakley also wondered if the political nature of the recent displays on El Cap precipitated the ban, rather than the displays themselves. She noted that other banners have been hung in the past on El Cap, including one that read, “I love you, Mom” and another about climate change. “We didn’t see a ban after that,” Oakley says. “I wonder if there would be the same ban if those flags or banners were less controversial, like if they said ‘Go Rangers!’ or ‘Go America.'”

The updated version of the Compendium with the flag ban is dated May 20, 2025, though the signature from the park’s acting superintendent, Raymond McPadden, is dated May 21, 2025. While there has been speculation about whether the display of the trans pride flag on May 20 served as the impetus for the flag ban, Yager says it’s his understanding that the park service actually began formulating the new rule in response to the display of an upside-down American flag in February—it just hadn’t been announced yet.

We reached out to the Yosemite Superintendent’s office for comment on this story, but have not received a response. It’s not entirely clear when McPadden assumed the position of Yosemite’s acting superintendent, but his name and position appeared in a May 22 press release about Memorial Day crowds. The previous longtime superintendent, Cicely Muldoon, retired in February 2025.

Flags and signs on El Cap: A recent history

In the past couple of years, El Cap has become a veritable billboard for activism via the temporary rigging of flags. Starting with the most recent flag to fly on the 3,000-foot high monolith, here’s a short history of some of the more prominent displays.

Trans Pride Flag Above Heart Ledges

Date: May 20, 2025

Flag: Trans pride flag (66’x35’)

Location: Above Heart Ledges, about one-third third of the way up El Cap

Riggers: A crew of seven trans climbers and allies, including Pattie Gonia and SJ Joslin

Length of display: About two hours

Purpose: To make trans climbers and individuals feel welcome in the climbing space and outdoors

Read our coverage of the trans pride flag and exclusive interview with Joslin.

Upside-Down U.S. Flag Next to Horsetail Falls

Date: February 22, 2025

Flag: Upside-down American flag (30’x50’)

Location: The headwall between Zodiac (C3) and Horsetail Falls (aka Firefall)

Riggers: A crew of seven current and former National Park Service employees, including Yosemite’s lone former locksmith, Nate Vince

Length of display: A couple of hours

Purpose: To broadcast a distress symbol about the endangerment of public lands in the United States under the current administration

Since climbers rigged this upside-down flag, others followed suit. Activities have hung upside-down flags as distress signals in Joshua Tree National Park and Smith Rock State Park, among others. Read the full story on the upside-down American flag and the impacts of DOGE cuts at Yosemite.

“Stop the Genocide” Banner From El Cap Tower

Date: June 17, 2024

Banner: A banner reading “Stop the Genocide” in red, green, and black, the colors of the Palestinian flag (25’x10’)

Location: Halfway up the Nose, just above El Cap Tower

Riggers: Four climber-activists from the organization Climbers with Palestine, including pro climber Miranda Oakley, who is half Palestinian

Length of display: 16 to17 hours

Purpose: To urge an end to the ongoing genocide in Gaza

Read the full story about the “Stop the Genocide” banner on El Cap.

In the wake of the flag ban

The Compendium does note that flags or banners may be displayed if the climber obtains a permit first. However, the Superintendent’s office has not specified the process for obtaining such a permit.

The other question is whether climbers will abide by the new guideline. “Climbers are pretty stubborn,” Yager says. “In the past, when you told a climber you can’t do something, they doubled down.”

Another remaining unknown is whether other national parks might follow suit and enact bans on the displays of large flags and banners.

Below is the full text of the added section regarding flag bans in the Compendium:

Within the designated Wilderness and Potential Wilderness Addition portions of the park it is prohibited for any person or group to hang or otherwise affix to any natural or cultural feature, or display so as to cover any natural or cultural feature, any banner, flag, or sign larger than fifteen square feet (e.g., 5 feet x 3 feet), or a series or combination of banners, flags, or signs that total more than fifteen square feet in aggregate, unless authorized by permit. 

This restriction is necessary to preserve the values of wilderness character in accordance with the Wilderness Act, provide for an unimpaired visitor experience, protect natural and cultural resources in designated Wilderness and Potential Wilderness Addition portions of the park. This restriction is also necessary to maintain public safety, as it prohibits draping items that could endanger and interfere with permitted or allowable unpermitted climbing activity. Maps showing Wilderness and Potential Wilderness Addition portions of the park are available on the park’s website and the Superintendent’s office.

 

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information becomes available. 

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