YOSEMITE Circular of General Information 1936

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR VISITORS

Accommodations in Yosemite National Park offer a complete range from free public camp grounds to the highest class of hotel service. At all units except housekeeping there is a discount of 10 percent from the basic rates for stays of 3 days or longer and an additional discount for weekly stays.

FREE PUBLIC CAMP GROUNDS

The National Park Service maintains extensive camp grounds in Yosemite Valley and at Glacier Point, Mariposa Grove, and Tuolumne Meadows, for the use of which no charge is made. These areas are provided with necessary sanitary conveniences and for the most part with running water. The grounds are policed daily during the camping season and all litter and waste removed. Free camp grounds are open most of the year, except during the time when snow covers the Valley floor.

A camp-fire entertainment is held each summer evening (except Sunday) at a platform centrally located in Camp 14. Please report any talent among the campers to the ranger at entrance to Camp 14.

The public is requested to cooperate with the park force in keeping the camp grounds clean and presentable.

Campers must register their name, address, car make and number, length of stay and location in camp ground (post and section number) on the registration book at entrance to each camp ground. This is important in case of emergency messages.

No party, person, or organization shall camp more than 30 days in the floor of Yosemite Valley in any one year. There is no limit for camping in the fine camp grounds outside the Valley floor at Wawona, Big Trees, Glacier Point, and along the Tioga Road.

Groceries, light hardware, drugs, dry goods, and miscellaneous supplies are obtainable at stores in Yosemite Valley. Grocery stores are also located at Wawona and Tuolumne Meadows during the summer season.

Camping supplies, such as tables, chairs, cots, mattresses, stoves, lanterns, blankets, etc., may be rented by the week or month at the housekeeping rental office near Camp 6. Firewood may be purchased here, and any dead and fallen wood may be used for firewood by the campers.

HOTELS, LODGES, HOUSEKEEPING CABINS, AND CAMPS

The following list of accommodations is a brief summary of rooms, cabins, and tents available in Yosemite. These are operated by the Yosemite Park and Curry Co., which is under contract with the Government to supply these services and accommodations in the park. For reservations and information apply to the Yosemite Park and Curry Co., at Yosemite National Park, Calif., or at 39 Geary Street, San Francisco, Calif., and 608 South Olive Street, Los Angeles, Calif.

The Ahwahnee.—In Yosemite Valley. American plan. Open all year. Commanding all major Yosemite Valley views, the Ahwahnee is one of the most distinctive resort hotels. Complete informality prevails. All rooms have outside view and private bath. The spacious grounds include a native wildflower garden, a mashie golf course alongside the Merced River, tennis courts, archery, badminton, children's playground. Basic rates, including meals, are $10 and $12 per person daily.

Camp Curry.—In Yosemite Valley. American and European plan. Open approximately May to September. Camp Curry is a complete community center. Accommodations are in bungalows with bath, cabins without bath, and completely furnished tents. The dining room seats 700 guests; the cafeteria 350. European plan, in tents only, $1.50 to $2.50 per person daily; American plan, $4 to $8 per person daily.

Yosemite Lodge.—In Yosemite Valley. European plan. Open all year. A colony of redwood cabins, with and without bath set among pines and cedars near the Merced River. The main building has an excellent cafeteria. Rates, $2.25 to $5 per person daily.

The Ahwahnee offers fine living in a favored setting. Lloyd photo.

Glacier Point Hotel.—On the Valley rim. European plan. Open approximately June to September. The main building has accommodations for 150 guests in rooms with or without bath and meals are served in the cafeteria. Rates, $2 to $5 per person daily. During the winter months, when Glacier Point is accessible only by trail, the Annex is available as a headquarters for skiing parties.

Wawona Hotel.—Twenty-seven miles from Yosemite Valley, near the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. American and European plans. Open approximately May to October. A charming vacation place with one of the finest mountain golf courses in the West; headquarters for fishing and camping trips. Rates, $1.50 to $5 per person daily, European plan; $5 to $9 American plan.

Big Trees Lodge.—In the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, 35 miles from Yosemite Valley. European plan. Open approximately June to September. A new building of unusual charm and comfort with accommodations for 24 guests. Four bedrooms have private bath; all have hot and cold running water. The cafeteria has an outdoor terrace. Rates, $2.50 to $5 per person daily.

Tuolumne Meadows Lodge.—On Tioga Pass Road in the heart of Yosemite Park, 68 miles from Yosemite Valley. Open approximately July to September. A trail and fishing center and headquarters for pack-trip parties. Accommodations are in canvas cabins with lounge and dining room in central canvas building. American-plan rates, $5 and $6 per person daily. Partially furnished housekeeping tents, $2 for one or two persons, per night.

Housekeeping Cabins.—At Yosemite Lodge, open all year.

Cabins are furnished with wood stoves, complete housekeeping equipment including bedding linen, cooking utensils, and silverware. Electrically lighted cabins.

Housekeeping Cabins and Tents.—Partially furnished, with cots, mattresses, tables, chairs, and stove.

	Per day
Cabins or tent with floor:
For to or 2 persons	$1.50
For each additional person	50
Extra equipment:
Blankets	25
Linen and pillows	25
Cooking and table equipment	25
A charge of 50 cents per bundle is made for wood.

All kinds of camping equipment are available for rental to all campers; ask for rental price list.

Yosemite Housekeeping Camp.—Open May 7 until September 5. Regular outfits, comprising tents fully furnished except linen (sheets, pillow slips, and towels) are available at the following rates, by the week only:

Camp Curry Housekeeping Section.—A section of Camp Curry is devoted to tents arranged and equipped for housekeeping. The tents are permanently erected on frames with board floors and electric lights. A tent fly or awning stretched in front of the sleeping tent makes a combination outdoor living room, dining room, and kitchen.

Bed linen and one dozen assorted towels, together with laundering of the same, are included in rental.

High Sierra Camps.—An average of about 10 miles apart along High Sierra trails. Comfortable, camp-style accommodations for saddle and hiking parties. Open approximately July and August. Basic rates are $1 a night and $1 a meal. Camps located at Merced Lake, Vogelsang, Tuolumne Meadows, Glen Aulin, and Tenaya Lake.

Important Notice.—The closing of schools in California always brings a rush of visitors to the park immediately after June 15 and from that date to July 25 prospective visitors to the park (except those contemplating camping with their own outfits in the free public camping grounds) should in all cases apply in advance for reservations. Advance reservations for the period between December 28 and January 1 will not be made for less than 4 days.

Rates authorized herein are subject to change without notice on approval by the Director of the National Park Service. Authorized changes in rates will be posted for public information in the park.

All the rates of the authorized public utilities within the park are approved by the Government. Employees of the hotels, camps, and transportation lines are not Government employees, they are employed by the Yosemite Park and Curry Co.

Any suggestions regarding service furnished by these public utilities should be made to the superintendent.

YOSEMITE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

The Yosemite Transportation System, of the Yosemite Park & Curry Co., operates automobile transportation service connecting with railroad and stage lines at Merced, Fresno, Tahoe, and El Portal, and covering all points of interest reached by automobile roads in Yosemite National Park, and between Yosemite Valley and Lake Tahoe by way of the "Tioga Pass route."

For rates, time schedules, and reservations apply at Camp Curry, The Ahwahnee. or Yosemite Lodge transportation offices.

STAGE TRIPS

Merced to Yosemite Valley, $7.25 one way; $10.25 round trip. Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows, $7.50 one way. Yosemite Valley to Lake Tahoe, $25 one way.

Mirror Lake.—A short drive to view the reflections, 50 cents.

See the Bears.—A short drive in the evening to see Yosemite's bears feeding under a spotlight, 50 cents.

Valley tour.—A 2-hour, 20-mile drive with lecturing escort passing all points of interest on the valley floor. Leaves daily, $2.

Glacier Point.—A round trip to Glacier Point on the rim of the valley, from which a superb panorama of the Valley and the High Sierra is obtained (1 day), $5.

Mariposa Grove of Big Trees.—A memorable 1-day motor trip to this large grove which has many trees whose age has been estimated at 4,000 years. The Y. T. S. stage drives through the famous Wawona tunnel tree, $7.50.

Big Trees and Glacier Point.—Combining both the above trips with overnight stop at comfortable Glacier Point Hotel, $11 .

Hetch Hetchy Dam and Valley.—A delightful 1-day trip to San Francisco's gigantic water-supply project in the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River, via Tuolumne Grove of Big Trees and interesting High Sierra country. Take box lunch, $7.50.

1-DAY SADDLE TRIPS

3- AND 6-DAY SADDLE TRIPS

All-expense saddle trips, including saddle animal, guide meals, lodging, and box lunches, to High Sierra camps start at $19.50. For full information, see "High Sierra Vacations" folder.

The six-day High Sierra all-expense saddle trip leaves Valley every Monday morning during the season regardless of number in party and any day when a minimum party of five secures free guide service.

Pack Trip.—Ask for rates and "High Sierra Vacations" folder. Saddle and pack horses may be rented at Tuolumne Meadows, Mather, Wawona, and in Yosemite Valley.

VALLEY FLOOR RIDES

Yosemite.—Twenty-five miles of oiled bridle paths. Guide not necessary. Rates, half day, $3; full day, $5.

Wawona.—Trails on floor of Wawona Valley. Guide not necessary. Rates, half day, $2; full day, $3.50.

MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES

STORES AND NEWSSTANDS

A general store and meat market is operated in the old Yosemite Village by the Yosemite Park & Curry Co. In this general store a complete line of groceries, meats, clothing, drugs, and campers' supplies of all kinds is available. This company also operates a store at Wawona and at Tuolumne Meadows, where food supplies are sold in summer.

At Camp Curry there is a grocery and provision store, where a full line of groceries, meats, food supplies, and fishing tackle is carried during the summer season .

Mrs. John Degnan operates a grocery store, bakery, delicatessen, lunch room, and soda fountain in the old Yosemite Village. Soda fountains are also operated at Yosemite Lodge, Camp Curry, and the Ahwahnee Hotel. Refreshment stands are maintained at the general store, housekeeping headquarters, and Happy Isles. Meals and light lunches are served during the summer at the village store.

In all of the hotels, lodges, and camps there are newsstands at which curios, post cards, photographs, souvenirs, newspapers, magazines, tobacco, smokers' supplies, etc., are available.

PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICE

A wide and attractive selection of Yosemite views is to be found in the studios of the following four park operators:

Best Studio, located in the Government Center, is open the year round and offers complete photographic developing and printing service, in addition to a choice of Yosemite views, and a large supply of small moving-picture film and equipment. H. C. Best is an artist of note and welcomes visitors to his gallery to inspect his paintings of Yosemite.

Boysen Studio is situated in the Government Center and is open through out the year. J. T. Boysen, the proprietor, is one of the pioneer photographers of Yosemite and displays a splendid collection of park pictures, in addition to developing and printing visitors' films.

Foley's Studio is located in the Government Center. D. J. Foley, the proprietor, was one of the first photographers to establish in the park. He has an excellent selection of Yosemite views for sale, both colored and uncolored. This studio also does developing and printing.

Yosemite Park & Curry Co. maintains studios in the Government Center, Camp Curry, Yosemite Lodge, Glacier Point, the Ahwahnee Hotel, general store, and Big Trees Lodge. Photographic supplies can also be purchased at the various other units of the Yosemite Park & Curry Co. Their studios also display a choice collection of the water-color paintings of the noted Swedish artist, Gunnar Widforss, in addition to photographic studies by several well-known photographers. All of the Yosemite Park & Curry Co. branches carry the small moving-picture film and the studios have a complete supply of 16-millimeter equipment.

LAUNDRIES

Adequate laundry and cleaning and pressing facilities are available to all in Yosemite. Convenient points for pick-up and delivery of laundry are to be found at Camp Curry, Yosemite Lodge, the Ahwahnee, the general store in the Old Village, and the Yosemite housekeeping headquarters.

BARBER SHOPS

Barber shops are operated in the Old Village, Camp Curry, and the Ahwahnee. Beauty parlors are operated at Camp Curry and the Ahwahnee during the summer season.

GARAGE SERVICE

The Yosemite Park & Curry Co. operates a storage garage and a completely equipped repair shop with modern machinery and skilled mechanics at Camp Curry in summer and the Yosemite Transportation System garage throughout the remainder of the year. A stock of standard automobile parts and accessories, tires, tubes, etc., is carried at this garage.

GASOLINE AND OIL STATIONS

Gasoline and oil stations are located at Camp Curry, Yosemite Lodge, at the Yosemite Transportation System garage near the Yosemite house keeping headquarters, at Chinquapin and Wawona on the Wawona Road, and at Carl Inn, Aspen Valley, White Wolf, and Tuolumne Meadows on the Tioga Road.

CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND

A playground for children is maintained at Camp Curry. It is equipped with swings, slides, sand piles, and the like, and is supervised by a competent attendant trained in kindergarten and playground work. Children may be left in her charge during the absence of parents on sight-seeing trips or hikes.

POSTAL SERVICE

The main post office is in the Government Center and the postal address is "Yosemite National Park, Calif." Branch post offices are maintained during the summer season at Camp Curry and Yosemite Lodge, and these branch post offices bear the names of these places. Mail for guests of Camp Curry should be addressed to "Camp Curry, Calif." Mail for guests of hotels or lodges of the Yosemite Park & Curry Co., other than above, should be addressed care of resort at which the guest is staying.

During the summer season a branch post office is maintained at Wawona and Tuolumne Meadows to handle first-, second- and third-class matter. All mail for Tuolumne Meadows should be so marked and sent to Yosemite, Calif. Mail for Wawona should be addressed to Wawona, Calif.

EXPRESS SERVICE

Express service is available in the general store in the old Yosemite Village, and packages should be addressed "Care of Yosemite National Park, Calif., via El Portal."

TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH SERVICE

Local and long-distance telephone and telegraph service is maintained at the Administration Building in the Government Center and at branch offices maintained at the Ahwahnee, Camp Curry, and Yosemite Lodge. Telephonic communications may be had to all interior hotels, camps, and lodges, and long-distance and telegraph messages may be sent from interior points and delivered by telephone to such points. Money transfers are handled at the main office in the Administration Building.

MEDICAL AND HOSPITAL SERVICE

The Government owns and operates under contract a modern hospital building in Yosemite Valley, where medical, surgical, and dental services are provided. A competent medical staff with attendant nurses is in charge, and will also promptly attend patients at any place within the park.

The hospital is well equipped with X-ray and other apparatus for diagnosis and treatment, and an ambulance service is provided for emergencies. Prices and character of service are regulated by the Government.

CHURCH SERVICES

Both Protestant and Catholic Church services are conducted each Sunday during the summer season. Resident representatives of both faiths conduct the services, and speakers of State or national prominence are often in the pulpit. Bulletins are issued giving hours and locations of services.

An incorporation known as the Yosemite National Church, on whose board of directors sit representatives of the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, has for its purpose to erect and maintain an appropriate inter-denominational chapel.

PUBLICATIONS FOR SALE AT MUSEUM

The following publications are in such popular demand by park visitors for reference that they have been placed on sale at the Yosemite Museum, through the cooperation of the Yosemite Natural History Association.

ANIMAL LIFE IN YOSEMITE. Grinnell, Joseph, and Storer, Tracy I. An account of the mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians in a cross section of the Sierra Nevada. University of California Press, Beckeley, Calif. 1924. Illustrated. Price, $5.

A YOSEMITE FLORA. 1912. Hall, H. M. and G. G. 282 pages. A descriptive account of the ferns and flowering plants, including the trees, with keys for identification. Price, $2.

BIG TREES. Fry, Walter, and White, John R. A descriptive account of the Big Trees of California. 1930. Illustrated. Price $1.50.

BIRDS OF THE PACIFIC STATES. Hoffmann, Ralph. Field identification of some 400 birds. Illustrated. 1927. Price, $5.

BIRDS OF YOSEMITE VALLEY. Description of 37 common nesting birds. Special number Yosemite Nature Notes. Price, $0.25.

FAUNA OF THE NATIONAL PARKS. Price, $0.20.

FLOWERS OF COAST AND SIERRA. Clements, Edith S. With 32 plates in color. Descriptions of flowers and plant families for average nature lover. 1928. 226 pp. Price $3.

FOREST TREES OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. Sudworth. Price, $0.60.

GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF YOSEMITE VALLEY. Matthes, Francois E. Price, $1.10.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MAP OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK. Price, 25 cents.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MAP OF YOSEMITE VALLEY. Price, 10 cents.

GUIDE TO JOHN MUIR TRAIL AND THE HIGH SIERRA. Starr. Price, $2.

HANDBOOK OF YOSEMITE. Hall, Ansel F. A compendium of articles on history, geology, flora, fauna, etc., by scientific authorities. Illustrated. 1921. 347 pp. Price, $1.25.

LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF YOSEMITE, Taylor, Katherine Ames. San Francisco. 1926. Price, $1.50.

LET'S KNOW SOME TREES. U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Price, $0.05.

MIWOK MATERIAL CULTURE. Barrett & Gifford. Price, $3.

NATIONAL PARKS PORTFOLIO. Cloth bound with more than 300 fine illustrations of the national parks. Price, $1.50.

"OH, RANGER!" Albright, Horace M., and Taylor, Frank J. A book about the national parks. Price, $2.

100 YEARS IN YOSEMITE. Russell, Carl P. Price, $3.50.

OUR NATIONAL PARKS. John Muir. 1909. 382 pp. Illustrated. Yosemite on pp. 76-267; Sequoia and General Grant on pp. 268-330; Yellowstone on pp. 37-75; Wild Parks of the West, pp. 1-36. Price, $3.50.

OUTDOOR HERITAGE. Bryant, Harold Child. Covers many phases of natural history of California. Chapters on Yosemite. 465 pp., illustrated. 1929. Price $2.50.

PLACE NAMES OF THE HIGH SIERRA. Farquhar, Francis P. A record of the origin and significance of names in the Yosemite region, especially Sierra Club. 1926. 128 pp. Price, $2.

RAMBLING THROUGH THE HIGH SIERRA. LeConte, Jos. Price, $2.

SONGS OF YOSEMITE. Symmes, Harold. With painting by Gunnar Widforss. Twelve poems in unique binding. 1923. 44 pp. Price, $1.

WILDFLOWERS OF CALIFORNIA. Parsons, Mary Elizabeth. Price, $3.50.

YOSEMITE TRIP BOOK. Taylor, Frank J. 61 pp., illustrated. H. S. Crocker Co. (Inc.), San Francisco, 1927. Price, $0.50.

YOSEMITE VALLEY, AN INTIMATE GUIDE. Hall, Ansel F. Account of history, Indians, and geology; and tours to points of special interest. 80 pp., illustrated. Price, $0.50.

YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES. Published monthly by Yosemite National Park. Observations and happenings in Yosemite National Park. Distributed monthly to members of Yosemite Natural History Association. Membership, $1.

REFERENCES

The following list of references will be found helpful. Most of them are available at the museum nature library.

BADÉ, WILLIAM F. Life and Letters of John Muir, 2 volumes. 1923 and 1924. Houghton Mifflin Co.

BREWER, WILLIAM H. Up and Down California in 1860-64. Yale University Press, 1930.

BUNNELL, LAFAYETTE HOUGHTON. Discovery of the Yosemite; and the Indian War of 1851. 349 pp. Historical and descriptive.

CHASE, J. S. Yosemite Trails; Camp and Pack Train in the Yosemite Region of the Sierra Nevada. 1911. 354 pp., illustrated.

CLARK, GALEN. Indians of the Yosemite Valley. 1904. 110 pp., illustrated. The Yosemite Valley. 1910. 108 pp. General description and notes on flora. The Big Trees of California. 1907. 104 pp., illustrated.

FOLEY, D. J. Yosemite Souvenir and Guide. 1911. 133 pp.

FROTHINGHAM, ROBERT. Trails Through the Golden West, Robert M. McBride & Co., New York. 272 pp.

GORDON-CUMMING, G. F. Granite Crags. 1884. 373 pp., illustrated.

HITTELL, THEO. H. The Adventures of James Capan Adams, Mountaineer and Grizzly Bear Hunter of California. 373 pp., illustrated. Chas. Scribner's Sons.

HUTCHINGS, J. M. In the Heart of the Sierras. 1886. 496 pp., illustrated. Historical and descriptive.

JEPSON, W. L. The Silva of California: Memoirs of the University of California, vol. 2, 1910. 480 pp., illustrated.

______. The Trees of California. 1923. 240 pp., illustrated.

KELLEY, EDGEMOND, and CHICK. Three Scout Naturalists in the National Parks. Brewer, Warren & Putnam. 1931.

KING, CLARENCE. Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada.

KNEELAND, SAMUEL. The Wonders of the Yosemite Valley. Boston. 1871-72.

LECONTE, JOS. A Journal of Rambling Through the High Sierra of California—1870; Sierra Club, 1930.

MERRIAM, C. HART. The Dawn of the World. Tales of the Mewan Indians of California. 273 pp., plates, map, and colored frontispiece. 1910.

MILLS, ENOS A. Your National Parks. 532 pp., illustrated. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1917. Yosemite on pp. 65-98; 444-454.

MUIR, JOHN. The Mountains of California, 1894. 382 pp., illustrated.

______. Our National Parks. 1909. 382 pp., illustrated. Yosemite on pp. 76-267.

______. My First Summer in the Sierra. 1911. 354 pp. Descriptive of Yosemite and Tuolumne region.

______. The Yosemite. 1912. 284 pp., illustrated.

______. Steep Trails. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1918.

SIERRA CLUB BULLETIN. Published by the Sierra Club, San Francisco.

SMITH, BERTHA H. Yosemite Legends. 1904. 64 pp.

WHITNEY, JOSIAH DWIGHT. The Yosemite Guide Book. Published by the California State Geological Survey. 1869, 1870, 1872, 1874.

WILLIAMS, JOHN H. Yosemite and its High Sierra. 1921. 194 pp.

YARD, ROBERT STERLING. The Top of the Continent. 1917. 244 pp., illustrated. Yosemite on pp. 161-187.

______. The Book of the National Parks. 1926. 444 pp., 74 illustrations, 14 maps and diagrams. Yosemite on pp. 36-68.

Deer find refuge in the park. Lloyd photo.