I hiked Half Dome several years ago. It was a long, grueling hike, but so enjoyable to sit atop that rock. On the day I was there, the # of people was about half what you see in the picture below. And even then, it felt crowded and somewhat dangerous. I don't necessarily like the idea of limiting the number of people who can access national park areas, but something needed to be done.

(AP) Climbing Yosemite's Half Dome is one of the national park system's most iconic hikes, but officials have announced approval of a plan that permanently limits how many can do it: 300 a day. That's the target number since an interim plan was approved in 2010 to reduce congestion in a wilderness area and make the hike safer. The park also decided to keep in place the metal cables hikers can use on the 45-degree final ascent up the slick granite. Over the past decade, up to 1,200 hikers a day had crowded the route.