September 25, 1998

The weather in the park has ranged from mostly sunny to partly cloudy with occasional showers. In Yosemite Valley, daytime highs have been in the 60s; overnight lows have been in the 40s. In Tuolumne Meadows, daytime highs have been in the 50s, with overnight lows from the upper 20s into the 30s.

Bears are breaking into cars in parking lots and campgrounds every night in search of food. Do not leave food in your car. Bears can smell food in and break into vehicle trunks. Visitors need to store all food, ice chests, and odorous items in metal food storage boxes or hard-sided cabins. Keep a clean car and campsite; throw away all trash. Once bears become conditioned to human food, they become unnaturally aggressive and must be killed. Firearms are prohibited in Yosemite National Park.

You may enter the park 24 hours a day. The entrance fee to Yosemite National Park is $20 per vehicle and is good for seven days. Reservations are not needed to enter the park in 1998. Private vehicles are allowed to drive into and around Yosemite Valley.

Visitors may experience traffic delays or periods of restricted access due to road construction on the El Portal Road, that portion of Highway 140 inside the park.

One way sections exist on the Hetch Hetchy Road, and vehicles exceeding 25 feet in length are permanently restricted.

For updated 24-hour road and weather conditions in Yosemite call (209) 372-0200. For information on regional road conditions visit the YATI website at www.yosemite.com or call Caltrans at (800) 427-7623. Visitors en route to the park should monitor the YATI changeable message signs and highway advisory radios for the latest road information.

The Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Lodge, Curry Village, Housekeeping Camp, and the Wawona Hotel are open seven days a week. Tuolumne Meadows Lodge and White Wolf Lodge are closed for the season. Lodging reservations may be made by calling Yosemite Concession Services at (209) 252-4848. Information is also available on their website at www.yosemitepark.com

Limited camping is available in Yosemite. Camping is permitted only in designated campgrounds. There are no RV hookups or showers in park campgrounds.

In Yosemite Valley, Upper Pines, Lower Pines, and North Pines campgrounds are open, reservations are required. Upper and Lower River Campgrounds were destroyed by flooding in January 1997 and are permanently closed. Sunnyside Walk-in campground is open year 'round on a first-come, first-served basis.

Yosemite Creek, Tamarack Flat, Porcupine Flat, and Bridalveil Creek campgrounds are closed for the season.

The Tuolumne Meadows campground closes for the season October 4. Half of the sites are available by reservation only; the other half are available on a first-come, first-served basis. White Wolf campground closes for the season October 15; sites are available on a first-come, first served basis. Crane Flat campground closes October 12.

The Hodgdon Meadow and Wawona campgrounds are open year-round. Sites are available by reservation only through September; and on a first-come, first-served basis during the winter and spring.

The National Park Reservation Service is taking campground reservations for the period ending December 14. The toll free reservation number (800) 436-PARK is answered between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. pacific time seven days a week. The reservation number for international callers is (301) 722-1257; the TTY toll free number is (888) 530-9796. Reservations through December 15 will be accepted beginning September 15. Mail-in reservations are processed on the same schedule as those accepted by phone. The address is N.P.R.S., P.O. Box 1600, Cumberland MD 21502. Information is also available on their website at www.biospherics.com/nprspub.

All trails which begin and end in Yosemite Valley remain open. The cables on Half Dome will be removed for the season on October 13, weather dependant. No overnight parking is allowed along the Tioga Road or from Badger Pass to Glacier Point after October 15.

Wilderness permits are required for all overnight trips into the wilderness in Yosemite National Park. The Wilderness Center in Yosemite Valley is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for wilderness information and to obtain wilderness permits. Same day permits are also available in Wawona, the Big Oak Flat area, and Tuolumne Meadows. Permits are available up to 24 weeks in advance by writing Wilderness Permits, P.O. Box 545, Yosemite CA 95389, or by calling (209) 372-0740. There is a $3 per person non-refundable processing fee charged for all reservation requests received by mail or phone.

All park Visitor Centers and Information Stations remain open seven days a week. Consult the staff or the Yosemite Guide newspaper for the current schedule of interpretive walks, activities, and evening programs.

The Yosemite Valley shuttle bus and the Wawona/Mariposa Grove shuttle bus are in service. Shuttle bus service is free. The Valley Floor tram tours, the Glacier Point tour and hiker's bus, the Mariposa Grove 6 hour tour, the Mariposa Grove tram tours remain in operation. A fee is charged for the tours and the hikers buses.

The National Park Service has completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Hetch Hetchy Road Drainage Improvements project. The construction project is expected to begin in mid to late October, 1998 and be completed by May 28, 1999. Public access on the Hetch Hetchy Road to the reservoir will be limited to weekend use from Friday at 5 p.m. until Monday at 7 a.m., safety and weather permitting. The City of San Francisco will provide the funding for the improvements. The NPS Office of Flood Recovery To request a copy of the EA write: National Park Service, Office of Flood Recovery, Attn: Hetch Hetchy EA, PO Box 577, Yosemite National Park, CA 95389. Requests for copies and comments will also be accepted at a special internet mailbox yose_flood_recovery_ea@ nps.gov. Public comments may be submitted until October 8, 1998.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/yose/news/1998/wkly925.htm
File created/updated Wednesday, 22-Dec-2004 10:15:24 Eastern Standard Time
Yosemite National Park Public Information Office