KMPH Fox 26 Central San Joaquin Valley News Source in Fresno, California Entertainment, News, Sports and Weather | Yosemite Park Officials Turn Down Amgen Tour

Yosemite Park Officials Turn Down Amgen Tour

The Amgen Tour of California won't be returning to some portions of the Central Valley.

 Yosemite National Park Officials confirm they've turned down an application by race organizers, which would have allowed the tour to go through the historic park.

  The original proposal by Amgen tour officials included a route on 140, thru Yosemite Valley out through Highway 41, down through Oakhurst before making their way into Coarsegold and then onto the valley floor.

 When that proposal was struck down, Amgen officials attempted to compromise with a shorter, 40 mile ride through the park.

However, according to park spokesman, Scott Gediman,  the impact even with the shorter route would have been too great on visitors.

Gediman says that in order to have staffed the route and ensured the roadway was safe, organizers would have had to close down roads, which just wasn't an option.

The timing of the race also deterred park officials, with it being so close to Memorial Day Weekend.

Yosemite National Park regularly receives around 4 million visitors per year.

Last year the AMGEN Tour made stops in Merced, Oakhurst, Clovis and Visalia. At this point in time, it's not known whether the tour will make any previous stops.

Stay with KMPH and KMPH.com as we continue to follow this story.