The News from Yosemite

A Trip to Yosemite National Park via YARTS is a Must for Valley Residents

The YARTS bus sped up Highway 140 from Merced into the foothills. It passed Mariposa and stopped at the entrance to Yosemite National Park. A sign read, “Chains required.”

The driver parked, and deftly fitted the chains over the tires. A horde of enthused travelers lined up outside the bus, but there were no more seats. Instead of turning them away, the kindly driver allowed them to board the bus and stand in the aisle for the remaining 13 miles of the trip.

Cabins Lost to Slide Should be Replaced

People visiting Yosemite Valley this year -- or next, or for the foreseeable future -- are going to find it more difficult to find overnight lodging.

The National Park Service permanently closed 233 cabins at Curry Village in Yosemite National Park late in the fall because of the danger from falling rocks. The cabins had been off limits since early October, when the equivalent of hundreds of dump-truck loads of rock hit 17 cabins.

Melting Yosemite Glacier an Omen

As melting water gushed off the ice in a tinseled maze of rivulets and tumbled through a gaping chasm, the hikers watched, wondered and worried.

Unlike most backcountry travelers who pitch their tents along the John Muir Trail in the upper reaches of the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River, these visitors had not pushed on to scale the summit of Mount Lyell -- Yosemite's highest peak.

Sierra Winter Wonderland

Visitors to the floor of the Yosemite Valley on Tuesday were pretty much contained to one intense photographer shooting the snow and ice-covered Merced River and a couple of thieving crows, but the sights in the national park were Christmas-card perfect.

Yosemite's Badger Pass Ski Area Opens for 2008-2009 Winter Season

California's first ski resort, Yosemite's Badger Pass Ski Area, will open on Saturday, December 20 for downhill skiing, snowboarding and cross-country skiing. The popular family destination received 24 to 36 inches of new snow since Sunday night, and groomers are out on the hill today packing down the snow and building the base.

Geologist Suspects Wastewater Facilities in Increase in Yosemite Rockfalls

For thousands of years, slabs of the Glacier Point cliff have broken loose, roared down at more than 100 mph and blasted the forest in nature's version of bunker bombs.

Such rockfalls are triggered by earthquakes, large storms or freezing and thawing of water in granite joints. But are these frightening events also somehow connected to the toilets at the Glacier Point overlook above the sheer cliff?

Uberuaga Named Interim Yosemite Superintendent

Dave Uberuaga, a 24 year veteran of the National Park Service, has been selected to serve as the acting superintendent at Yosemite National Park.

Frozen in Time at Yosemite National Park

The spectacular views of Half Dome don't include snow at the moment, but skaters are still seeing it daily as they glide on a famous piece of ice in Yosemite National Park.

Warm weather delayed the opening of the Curry Village Ice Rink until Thanksgiving, and visitors were ready for the park's 80th season of ice skating, officials said.

Winter Getaway: Yosemite National Park

Whether coated in white snow or shrouded in stark winter gray, Yosemite National Park takes on a serene identity from December through February. Without summer crowds or hot sun, the park is prime for skiing, skating and quiet hikes to majestic sequoia trees—weather permitting. Suit up in waterproof attire, equip your car tires for icy conditions and prepare to be awestruck by the winter scene at Yosemite.

Yosemite National Park Lodging on a Budget

For the family that is looking to vacation on a budget or simply the bargain hunter, the beauty of Yosemite can still be enjoyed with an inexpensive stay at Yosemite Pines RV Resort & Family Lodging.

Heyday Adds Yosemite Association Line

Berkeley’s Heyday Books, publisher of exclusively California-related titles, has assumed all publishing-related functions for the Yosemite Association effective immediately. Malcolm Margolin, who founded Heyday in 1974, has been on the Yosemite Association board for over 10 years.

Rock Threat Danger Closes Part of Yosemite Lodging

An unstable cliff prompted officials Friday to permanently close some cabins in a popular Yosemite National Park lodge complex that has a long history of rockslides.

National Park Service officials said 233 cabins in family friendly Curry Village will close permanently. That's about one-third of the units available in the complex that also includes stores and restaurants run by an outside company.

Falling Boulders Endanger Lives at Yosemite

A major rockslide at Yosemite National Park's Curry Village has prompted officials to consider closing part of the lodging area permanently.

Yosemite National Park's Leader Says Farewell

Unpacking his car after a trip last month, Yosemite National Park boss Mike Tollefson chatted with an intimidating visitor lying next to his sidewalk -- a deer with a large rack of antlers.

"I was trying to have this conversation with him, mostly so he wouldn't be startled," he said.

"I wanted to be really careful."

Whether he's speaking to a buck mule deer in the front yard or an environmental pit bull in the courtroom, careful conversations have defined Tollefson's life for six years in the park. All that will end in January.

Feasts and Festive Fun for Christmas Week at Evergreen Lodge

Dreaming of a white Christmas but hesitant about airfare to Aspen? Then go ye to Yosemite National Park. The park interior is full of enjoyable options including heated tent cabins and less rustic lodge rooms, but more comfort for your dollar — as well as, perhaps, serenity — may be had outside park boundaries.