YOSEMITE Circular of General Information 1936

CLIMATE AND SEASONS

This land of enchantment is a land of enchanted climate. Its summers are warm, but not too warm; dry, but not too dry; its nights cool and marvelously starry. Moonlight on the towering granite walls is unsurpassed in its romantic beauty.

It is a land of sunshine. It is a land of inspiring, often sublime scenery. It is the ideal camping-out ground. Rain seldom falls in the Yosemite between May and October. In winter Yosemite Valley is transformed into a snowy fairyland and all sorts of winter sports may be enjoyed. The weather is mild and sunny most of the time. To many, winter is the finest season in Yosemite. In addition to the toboggans, skating, dog teams, and other winter sports available in the Valley from December 1 to March 1, unlimited areas for snow sports and skiing are now accessible from the new Wawona Road which is open most of the winter.

Spring in Yosemite is most refreshing and exhilarating. It rarely rains and is seldom even cloudy. The falls are at their best; the azalea bushes, which grow to man's height, blossom forth in flowers exquisite as orchids. The latter part of April or the early part of May the lodges and camps are opened, tents are pitched, and before one knows it summer has arrived.

Roads into Yosemite Valley.
(click on image for a PDF version)

In this season Yosemite has an irresistible appeal. There is every form of enjoyment available. One may live in a lodge, where the honk of an automobile is never heard and where a full day's catch of trout is assured from nearby lake or stream; one may live in a hotel where mountain scenery is unsurpassed; or one may live in the Valley and enjoy swimming hiking, nature trips, auto caravans, evening programs, motor trips, fishing, dancing, tennis, golf, and many other forms of entertainment.

Autumn is intensified in the Yosemite. All is quiet. The falls are silent and only a few people and machines are encountered. Nature is supreme. The changing leaves of the dogwood, azaleas, and quaking aspens form a brilliant assortment of colors.

Half Dome and the Merced River in winter.

WINTER SPORTS

Yosemite Valley is unusually beautiful in winter, when the fresh snowfalls transform it into a white fairyland and sunset paints the cliffs and domes with rosy alpine glow.

John Muir, in describing the ice cone of the Yosemite Fall, writes:

The frozen spray (of the fall) gives rise to one of the most interesting winter features of the Valley—a cone of ice at the foot of the fall 400 or 500 feet high. * * * When the cone is in the process of formation, growing higher and wider in frosty weather, it looks like a beautiful, smooth, pure white hill.

The All-Year Highway is open and in good condition every day during the winter months and the Government maintains the roads in safe condition so that chains are not ordinarily needed. It is, however, advisable to carry chains in case they are needed during heavy storms. Information on snow sports and winter road conditions may be obtained at automobile associations. It is advisable to make reservations for rooms on Saturday nights and holidays from December 25 to February 25.

The Wawona Road to the Big Trees is open most of the winter except during periods of unusually heavy snowfall. There are unlimited snow fields for skiing and other snow sports along the Wawona Road, accessible through the tunnel.

On the new Glacier Point Road, near Badger Pass, excellent ski slopes may be easily reached by car, the road being kept open by rotary snow-plows practically all winter. A new ski lodge, where ski equipment may be rented and light lunches and refreshments are served, is located at Monroe Meadows, in the center of some of the finest skiing slopes in the West. Cars going to the ski fields should carry chains for use during the stormy weather or on roads that have been plowed out and are slippery.

The Valley, enclosed by granite walls which shut out the winds, has a mild and balmy winter climate. In fact, these walls really provide two distinct winter climates on opposite sides of the Valley, the north side being many degrees warmer than the south. On the northern side one may motor, ride horseback, and hike in comfort, while on the southern side, screened from the sun by the towering cliffs, all the popular winter sports prevail. Under the auspices of the Yosemite Winter Club, ice hockey matches, curling, fancy costume skating carnivals, snow figure contests, ski-joring races, skating gymkahanas, figure skating exhibitions, Eskimo dog races, and other winter sports events are held throughout the winter season, which usually lasts from December until March.

Competent instructors on the Yosemite Winter Club staff provide group and individual instruction in skiing and plain and fancy skating. Winter sports equipment and clothing may be rented reasonably in the Valley.

The National Park Service maintains a popular free snowslide for the enjoyment of the public. It is called "Ash Can Alley", because the trip down the slide is made in heavy tin pans that resemble ash-can covers.

Skiing enthusiasts may enjoy excursions of several days' duration in the high mountain country above Yosemite Valley accompanied by a ski instructor and guide and stopping overnight at ski lodges strategically located at an elevation where the snow is deep throughout the winter and in a region where the ski fields are second to none.

Winter sports enthuasists enjoy unexcelled mountain scenery in the high country. Anderson photo.

TRAILS AND HIKES

With nearly 700 miles of well-defined trails radiating from Yosemite Valley to all sections of the park, and with, for the most part, camps, lodges, or hotels situated within an easy day's walking distance from each other, conditions in Yosemite are particularly adapted to hiking trips. The hiker may go "light", depending upon the hotels and lodges for accommodations, or he may pack his entire outfit either on his back or upon a pack animal and thereby be entirely independent. During July and August ranger naturalists conduct regular 7-day hikes through the High Sierra, stopping each night at one of the High Sierra camps above-mentioned. There is no charge for this guide service, but hikers desiring to go with these guides should register at the museum in advance.

FISHING

The introduction of game fish into the waters of Yosemite National Park began in 1878, 12 years before the area now confined within the park boundaries had been set aside as a national reservation, when plants of rainbow trout were made in some of the lakes in what is now the northwestern corner of the park. In the following year plants of eastern brook trout were made in the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River, and in 1880 plants of rainbow trout were repeated in the Lake Eleanor country. Nothing more seems to have been done in the way of stocking any of the waters that are now within the park until 1890, the year that the park was created, when a general stocking of the streams and lakes was begun. This was continued, at first intermittently, but from 1911 to 1925 plants of from 100,000 to 400,000 young fry were made annually. The State hatchery was completed at Happy Isles in 1926 and from that year from 500,000 to over 1,000,000 fry have been planted annually by the rangers, with the result that today all of the principal lakes and streams of the park contain one or more well-known species of game fish.

Landing a big one from Elizabeth Lake near Tuolumne Meadows. Anderson photo.

It is in the northern canyons, however, that the greatest of all fishing grounds in the entire park are found. Many of the waters of that great area of 500 square miles or more north of the Tuolumne River were stocked years ago with rainbow and eastern brook. Conditions for continued propagation seem to have been exceedingly favorable, with the result that practically all of the lakes and streams now teem with fish life, and the fisherman who seeks fishing de luxe amid surroundings of the most fascinating grandeur of high-mountain scenery will find here a fulfillment of his most ambitious dreams and will be more than repaid for having taken time to penetrate this portion of the park.

In Yosemite National Park few anglers, even the most inexperienced use bait during the summer or autumn. Of the various artificial flies the California Royal Coachman almost always proves the best lure; gray and brown hackles are also very good. Copper-nickel spinners of the sizes 0 to 2 are often taken in the lakes and sometimes in the streams when the trout are not rising to flies.

The nine species of trout in the waters of the park, about in the order of their relative abundance, are: Eastern brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, Lock Leven trout, cutthroat or black-spotted trout, Tahoe trout, steelhead trout, golden trout.

Information on the best lakes and streams for fishing may be obtained at any ranger station or at park headquarters in the Government center. See posted weekly bulletins.

Persons desiring to fish in the waters of Yosemite National Park must secure a sporting fishing license, as required by the laws of California. These laws provide that every person over the age of 18 years who obtains fish without first taking out a license is guilty of a misdemeanor. The license fee for residents is $2; for nonresidents, $3; and for aliens, $5. These licenses may be obtained from any county clerk, from the State Board of Fish and Game Commissioners, Wawona, Carl Inn, and Tuolumne Meadows, or at the general store in Yosemite Village. All fishing must be done in conformity with the State laws regarding open season, size of fish, and limit of catch. Inquire at ranger stations for information as to closed waters and special fishing regulations. Closed waters are posted with "No fishing" signs.

MAP OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
(click on image for a PDF version)

HOW TO REACH THE PARK

BY AUTOMOBILE

All-Year State Highway.—The main paved route to Yosemite Valley from all California points, both north and south, is through Merced on the Pacific Highway through the San Joaquin Valley (route 99). From Merced the State maintains the splendid paved All-Year Highway to El Portal (route 140), and from El Portal the National Park Service maintains a similar highway to Yosemite Valley. It is 83 miles long and is the shortest, easiest, and most popular route from Merced, a high-gear modern highway, requiring 2-1/2 hours to drive from Merced to Yosemite Valley. It is open and safely traveled every day of the year.

During the winter months bring chains and obtain the latest accurate information on the snow conditions and winter sports at the automobile association offices. On the way visit the quaint old town of Mariposa, center of the gold rush in the days of '49. See the oldest courthouse in the State, built in 1854.

Wawona Road.—The park may be reached from the south by branching off the San Joaquin Valley (route 99) at Fresno or Madera. This route is being rebuilt and paved by the State and is not advisable for use in winter months during rainy weather. Inquire at automobile club offices for best routing over the Wawona Road. The Wawona Road from the Valley floor to the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees is paved, high-gear road and is open most of the year, except during heavy snowstorms in winter.

Big Oak Flat Road.—The park may be reached from the north and west over the Big Oak Flat Road from Manteca, Modesto, or Stockton, via Oakdale, Groveland, and Carl Inn to the Valley. This is a good, oiled and paved road but has many turns and long grades. Open in normal years from May to to November 1; closed in winter.

Tioga Road.—The Tioga Road crosses the park and the Sierra Nevada Range, reaching a high point of 9,941 feet at Tioga Pass. It is a fair, dirt road with many turns and several long grades, and is open only during the summer months from about July 1 to October 1. It connects the Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake, Bishop region with Yosemite Valley, via Tuolumne Meadows, Tenaya Lake, and Carl Inn. The Tioga Road opens up to the motorist some of the most spectacular scenery in the park and enables fishermen to reach the fine fishing waters of Yosemite's high country by car.

The Tioga Road was built by Chinese labor in 1881 to a gold mine east of the park, but as the mine did not pay the expenses of getting out the ore it was quickly abandoned and soon became impassable. In 1915 a group of public-spirited citizens, headed by the Hon. Stephen T. Mather, purchased it from the present owners of the old mining property and presented it to the Government. When a young man, Mark Twain visited Mono Lake on the Tioga Road. Following is his own inimitable description from Roughing It:

Mono Lake is a hundred miles in a straight line from the ocean—and between it and the ocean are one or two ranges of mountains—yet thousands of sea gulls go there every season to lay their eggs and rear their young. One would as soon expect to find sea gulls in Kansas. And in this connection let us observe another instance of nature's wisdom. The islands in the lake being merely huge masses of lava, coated over with ashes and pumice stone, and utterly innocent of vegetation or anything that would burn; and sea gulls' eggs being entirely useless to anyone unless they be cooked, nature has provided an unfailing spring of boiling water on the largest island, and you can put eggs in there, and in 4 minutes you can boil them as hard as any statement I have made during the past 15 years. Within 10 feet of the boiling spring is a spring of pure, cold water, sweet and wholesome. So in that island you get your board and washing free of charge and if nature had gone farther and furnished a nice American hotel clerk, who was crusty and disobliging, and didn't know anything about the time tables, or the railroad routes or anything—and was proud of it—I would not wish for a more desirable boarding house.

BY RAILROAD AND AUTO STAGE

Merced is the most popular railway and stage gateway to the park and is served by the Southern Pacific Railway, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, and stage lines.

At Merced, direct connections are made throughout the year with daily trains of the Yosemite Valley Railroad to El Portal, at which place passengers are transferred to stages on the last 14 miles to Yosemite Valley. In summer, through overnight sleeper cars from San Francisco and Los Angeles are available for train passengers daily. For information regarding schedules, rates, etc., visit your nearest ticket office or write to the passenger traffic manager of the Southern Pacific Lines, San Francisco, Calif., the Santa Fe Lines, Chicago, Ill., or the Yosemite Valley Railroad, Merced, Calif.

Automobile stages from Merced to Yosemite Valley are operated every day of the year. In summer stages leave Fresno and Stockton for Yosemite Valley, the service being available daily from about June 1 to September 1. From July 4 to September 3 stages connect Yosemite Valley and Lake Tahoe with daily service via the Tioga Road. For information and rates, apply to the Yosemite Transportation System, Yosemite National Park, Calif.

BY AIRPLANE

For persons desiring to spend less time en route to the park, fast air service is available to Fresno, Calif. This is furnished by the United Air Lines on their Seattle to San Diego route, which connects with their transcontinental planes at Oakland and those of the American Airlines and TWA at Los Angeles.

ADMINISTRATION

The representative of the National Park Service in immediate charge of Yosemite National Park is the superintendent, C. G. Thomson, whose office is located in the Administration Building in the Government Center and whose address is Yosemite National Park, Calif. General information may be obtained from him, and all complaints should be addressed to him. A staff of employees, including rangers and ranger naturalists, assists the superintendent in serving the public.

Exclusive jurisdiction over Yosemite National Park was ceded to the United States by act of the California Legislature, dated April 15, 1919, and accepted by Congress by act approved June 2, 1920 (41 Stat. 731).

INFORMATION BUREAU

The National Park Service maintains an information bureau at the superintendent's office in the Government Center, and the ranger in charge will supply accurate information concerning points of interest, trails, camping facilities, camping locations, fishing places, etc.

A branch office of the California State Automobile Association is maintained in conjunction with the Park Service Information Bureau, where the best road information obtainable is furnished free to autoists.

Information can also be obtained at the museum or at any of the hotels, camps, lodges, or garages, and at the transportation offices.

FREE EDUCATIONAL SERVICE

Constant improvement of the roads makes Yosemite more and more readily accessible. Every class of accommodation is provided for the comfort of the tourist. But the National Park Service has carried the idea of service to a still higher point in providing a free nature-guide service. In other words, the visitor is encouraged to avail himself of the offices of an interpreter in the form of a trained ranger naturalist who can answer the visitor's questions and reveal the many fascinations of nature which abound on every side. To enjoy fully a national-park trip, one must learn to read the trails.

During the summer season a splendid program of lectures and nature guide service is offered to visitors. One should plan to take advantage of the lectures and trips listed below which are available only during the long summer season. During winter months the modified program consists mainly of lectures at the hotels and the museum. The more the visitor knows about the park and its wildlife the more he will enjoy his stay. This service is maintained by the Government and is free to the public.

Nature walks each morning (except Sunday).

Special bird walks at 8 o'clock each Wednesday morning.

Auto caravans each day at 9:30 a. m. and 2 p. m. (except Sunday) to points of special interest on the floor of the Valley. These start from the museum, visitors using their own cars.

Each day (except Sunday) there is an all-day hike to Glacier Point, Vernal and Nevada Falls, Eagle Peak, Tenaya Canyon, or Half Dome.

At the evening camp-fire program at Government Camp No. 14, Camp Curry, Yosemite Lodge, and the Ahwahnee Hotel there are short talks on wildlife, flora, history, Indians, natural features, etc.

Short talks on the geology of Yosemite Valley are given several times each morning and afternoon in the museum.

Each week a naturalist leads a party on a 7-day hike into the spectacular high mountain region of the park, starting from Happy Isles at 7:30 o'clock each Monday morning. Make reservations in advance at the museum.

A junior nature school for children is conducted during the summer.

The bears are fed every evening at 9:30 o'clock at the bear pits, and a short talk is given on animal life of the Yosemite.

Groups or organizations may procure the services of a naturalist by applying to the park naturalist at the museum.

MUSEUM

The park museum, in the Government Center, a gift to the Nation from the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, is a spacious and appropriately designed building in which are housed a large number of exhibits loaned or contributed by park enthusiasts. These exhibits are appropriately displayed in rooms devoted to the following major fields: Geology, birds and animals, Indians, history, trees, and flowers.

The museum grounds have recently been beautified by plantings of native wild flowers and shrubs, a project made possible by a gift from Marjorie Montgomery Ward. Flower lovers will find this garden a great aid in identifying flowers that they have seen along the roads and trails.

An Indian exhibit is conducted back of the museum daily during the summer by inhabitants of the local Indian village.

The museum also contains a library well supplied with scientific and historical books and periodicals, all of which are available to visitors.

Naturalists at the museum are at the service of the public to answer questions and to instruct regarding the park and its wildlife.

YOSEMITE SCHOOL OF FIELD NATURAL HISTORY

A 7-weeks' course in field study of Sierra Nevada natural history is offered by the Yosemite educational staff to students who have completed at least 3 years of college work. Emphasis is placed upon field methods, and the course is designed to avoid duplication of work offered in universities and colleges.

RANGER NATURALIST OUTPOST

The development of the park areas above the rim has inevitably brought with it the establishment of branch-museum and ranger-naturalist service at several focal points of interest.

The Glacier Point Lookout is located on the most famed scenic point on the rim. Powerful binoculars enable visitors to bring the Sierra's great peaks to their very feet. A flower show is maintained, and a ranger naturalist on duty conducts a service of field trips and lectures which correlate with those offered from the Yosemite Museum.

At Mariposa Grove the old log cabin originally built by Galen Clark and replaced by the State in 1885 has been reconstructed. This is now equipped as a museum telling the complete story of the Big Trees. A ranger naturalist is stationed here to lecture, make guide trips to famous trees, sell publications, and give accurate information.

At Tuolumne Meadows a ranger naturalist is stationed during July and August to conduct field trips, organize more strenuous mountain-climbing expeditions, keep up an exhibit of local interest, and lecture at evening camp fires.

Guide and topographical maps may be obtained from the ranger naturalists, who will be glad to assist visitors desiring to know more about the park.