A photo from Yosemite National Park shared on Reddit has ignited a wave of anger after showing a family biking in a place commenters say is wildly unsafe — and it's just another example of people breaking the rules in U.S. national parks.
The image, posted with the caption "My WTF moment, a family riding their bikes down from the Vernal Falls foot bridge," shows two adults and children riding bikes down a steep footbridge, a location where bikes are prohibited and pedestrian traffic is heavy.
"They had two younger kids, like 8 and 10. One almost crashed right away after leaving the water fountain. No clue how they got up there," the original poster wrote. "Weird and very foolish."
The post quickly gained reactions to what users described as a preventable disaster waiting to happen. While the image itself is from Yosemite, commenters tied the behavior to a broader trend of dangerous rule-breaking in parks such as Yellowstone, where we've seen everything from people venturing dangerously off-trail to getting too close to wildlife.
Park rules exist for a reason, and commenters were quick to point that out. Bikes are restricted in many high-traffic trail areas specifically to prevent collisions, injuries, and trail damage.
Beyond the immediate danger to the children involved, people noted that actions like this also put other visitors and wildlife at risk. When animals react defensively toward humans, officials may euthanize them, regardless of whether they were provoked.
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One commenter wrote: "Was in Yosemite this weekend and goodness gracious was there a lot of people blatantly breaking rules. So many people sitting in the middle of the dang meadows, skipping past like 3 signs that say DO NOT DO THAT."
"Went a few weekends ago and the amount of people jumping barriers to swim under all of the waterfalls was too much to count," another added.
A third Redditor pointed out: "lmao those are Yosemite rental bikes. Our bike paths maps do not include going on that path."
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