Rangers, Hikers, And Climbers Are Infuriated By This Netflix Series About Yosemite

Netflix's new hit series "Untamed" pulls you in almost as soon as it begins. The viewer is taken on an aerial tour through some of the most magnificent views in all of Yosemite. The camera soars past iconic landmarks before zooming in on two climbers struggling to reach the top of El Capitan. As the lead climber hammers a piton into a crevice thousands of feet in the air, a woman's body comes hurdling down at them — presumably after falling over the edge of the cliff above. To the dismay of those who regularly spend time in Yosemite, it's one of the few scenes with recognizable scenery from the park. 

With such an intense intro, it's no surprise "Untamed" hooked viewers. The series premiered on July 17, 2025 and during the first two weeks following its release 50 million people watched. It's one of the most "liked" shows on Netflix, but not everyone is equally thrilled about the murder mystery. Some of the people who are the most familiar with Yosemite National Park — like rangers, hikers, and climbers — aren't fans of the series.

Established in 1890, Yosemite National Park is the third oldest national park in the United States. It's also one of the most popular. Over 4 million people visited in 2024 alone. The iconic national park is beloved for its beautiful waterfall views, sparkling lakes, majestic rock formations, adventurous trails with rewarding views, and giant sequoia trees. It's hard to imagine why the creators didn't consider that people who frequent the park wouldn't notice the unfamiliar scenery and the many unrealistic situations that occur throughout the series.

The main character in "Untamed" is a moody federal agent named Kyle Turner (portrayed by a dangerously handsome Eric Bana) who investigates crimes that take place in Yosemite National Park. In the very first episode he said, "This park is the size of Rhode Island. It's got five separate highway entrances bringing in over 100,000 people a week." He's not wrong. The park encompasses over 759,000 acres — the majority of which are unspoiled wilderness. It really is too bad that so few of those acres were used in the filming of the hit Netflix series.

Beth Pratt is an author who has lived near Yosemite for over 20 years. She's currently working on a book about Yosemite's wildlife, and is definitely not a fan of the Netflix original series. She said that she was yelling at her television throughout the first episode. "Why claim Yosemite, one of the most unique and cherished landscapes in the national park system, as your setting yet then feature almost nothing recognizable about the park, either in scenery or people?" she said in an interview with SFGate.

While the entire premise of the show leans heavily on events that take place in the rugged wilderness of Yosemite National Park, most of the show was filmed in British Colombia, Canada. "We couldn't get the kind of access that we would've needed, particularly in summer to Yosemite. So we stitched a lot of things together and we were in a beautiful, beautiful part of Canada. Just absolutely stunning," Eric Bana said in an interview with Variety.

Right from the start of the series there were countless plot turns that seemed unbelievable to people who frequent the park. That scene with the rock climbers in episode one? A rock climber named Dustin Weatherford, who formerly worked on searches and rescues in Yosemite, said there's no way it would have gone down like that. He told SFGate that the characters weren't using the correct gear. He also mentioned that search and rescue crew members wouldn't approach the edge of El Capitan without safety equipment like Eric Bana's character did in the show. 

People squatting in the park, poachers hunting wildlife, and other plot points were also scrutinized. There were even some scenes depicting wildlife — like a herd of elk and a Harris's hawk — that would never be found in Yosemite.

Others argue that the Park Rangers' roles were exaggerated. "My family was watching it when I stopped by to visit them the other day. Everyone was so excited to see what a day in the life of a Park Ranger is like. Didn't have the heart to tell them we don't get that adventurous at the ole visitors center. I just completed a couple of days of OL training. I was laughing to myself about how my supervisor would respond to me not only going into an abandoned mine without preparation, but then deciding that crawling into a tiny space was a good plan. Not a SPE in sight," u/Weary_Success_4990 wrote on the r/ParkRangers subreddit. Another self-proclaimed former ranger couldn't even get through the show. "I'm a retired Ranger. I lasted about 40 minutes into the first episode. That's 40 minutes of my life I can't get back," skiddadle32 wrote.