Trump Administration Proposes Land Swap in Yosemite National Park for Real Estate Development

The Trump administration has been in negotiations with a private real estate firm to transfer a portion of land within Yosemite National Park, according to sources familiar with the proposal.

Since spring 2024, the National Park Service (NPS) has engaged in discussions with Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a real estate investment company that owns 83 acres adjacent to the park. Under the proposed deal, Kingsbarn would receive a roughly quarter-mile strip of land inside Yosemite to construct a road connecting its property to a grove of ancient sequoia trees approximately five miles away. The land currently lacks road access, and the proposed development aims to facilitate visitor movement to the popular destination.

The proposal has received strong backing from the Interior Department, despite internal resistance from some NPS staff. One source described the political pressure as "very unusual." Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had previously pledged during his January 2025 confirmation hearings to preserve national parks intact, stating, "We need to support and protect every single inch of" U.S. national parks.

Federal law typically requires land exchanges to involve equivalent property elsewhere, and Kingsbarn would likely relinquish some of its California land in return. However, such a transfer within a national park would be unprecedented, as federal policy generally favors expanding, not reducing, park boundaries. Even if structured as a land swap, the deal could significantly increase the value of Kingsbarn’s property if the company developed hotels or residential units near the new roadway.

Cicely Muldoon, former superintendent of Yosemite National Park, criticized the proposal, stating that it conflicts with the foundational principle of preserving national parks for future generations. "The national park idea started in Yosemite with Abraham Lincoln’s preservation of Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias," she said. "Our basic purpose in the national parks is to preserve these places unimpaired for future generations, not letting go of that for the purpose of private profit."

The proposal remains under review, and no final decision has been announced. If implemented, it could set a precedent for future land transfers within protected federal areas.