The Trump administration is seeking to give up a small parcel of Yosemite National Park to a private developer in a proposed land exchange that could open the way for a private road into the protected park. The National Park Service has been working for more than a year on a proposal involving Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a Nevada-based real estate investment firm, according to four people familiar with the discussions and documents reviewed by NOTUS.
Under the proposal, the Park Service would surrender about a quarter-mile strip of land inside Yosemite – or an “interest” in the land through an easement – in exchange for property elsewhere in California of equal value.
Kingsbarn owns an 83-acre undeveloped plot just outside Yosemite’s western boundary. The company wants to build a short road linking its property to one of the main roads inside the national park.
Such a road would provide unusually direct private access to Yosemite, whose boundaries are otherwise largely surrounded by national forest land.
The company’s property, known historically as Hazel Green Ranch, is about five miles from the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. Its existing access road is more than 10 miles from a Yosemite entrance.
Without a new road, it would take about 90 minutes to drive from the property to Yosemite Valley by a circuitous route. It is not clear what Kingsbarn plans to build on the site. Possible uses could include a hotel, resort or private residence.
The proposal has the backing of senior political officials at the Department of the Interior, according to people familiar with the process.
National Park Service employees in California and Washington have been instructed to hold regular meetings with Kingsbarn representatives, with officials inside Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s office receiving updates on the negotiations, the sources told NOTUS.
“They want us to be responsive to the property owner and their lobbyists or people, and they want us to work with these folks,” one person familiar with the discussions said.
Another described the political pressure being brought to bear as “very unusual”.
Yosemite’s current superintendent, Ray McPadden, has also been pressured by Interior officials and has sought to help advance the proposed exchange, according to two people familiar with his role.
A spokesperson told NOTUS that any land exchange or access proposal would have to comply with federal laws, regulations and Department of the Interior policies, including environmental reviews and public notification requirements. “If a proposal advances, the Department would follow established procedures to ensure appropriate coordination, transparency, and public involvement, consistent with federal law,” the spokesperson said.
The proposal revives a dispute that has continued for more than two decades. The 83-acre property was purchased by a Kingsbarn-controlled limited-liability company for $4m in 2024. The company has called it “Sanctuary at Yosemite”.
Its previous owner, California developer Lewis Geyser, had spent years trying to secure permission to build a private road into Yosemite. He had sought support from both the George W Bush and Barack Obama administrations as part of plans to develop the property as a resort.
The Park Service ultimately rejected the proposal.
Geyser sued the federal government in 2007, arguing that he should be allowed to build the road. He lost in federal district court and again on appeal in 2012. The courts ruled that although the federal government has an obligation to provide an exit for private properties completely surrounded by federal land, it was not required to provide a new road when an existing route was already available.
That existing road passes through Forest Service land, although it is longer and more difficult to use.