Articles

Every entry in the journal, newest first: Yosemite trip planning, trails and hikes, wildlife and nature, and seasonal guides, written from inside the park.

From the Archive: the year Yosemite measured a hole in a sequoia to the half inch: Yosemite's three tunnel trees, from the park's own 1929 bulletin: the Dead Giant, the California Tree, the Wawona Tree, and what you can still walk through.
Where the Animals Actually Are: A Naturalist's Guide to Watching Wildlife in Yosemite: Where to see wildlife in Yosemite: bears, mule deer, coyotes, bobcats, marmots, pika, and great gray owls, plus the best times, places, and viewing rules.
Showy milkweed is blooming in Yosemite Valley, and the monarchs depend on it: Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) is blooming in Yosemite Valley in July. How to identify it, the monarchs that depend on it, and where to see it.
Connecting to Traditions: Meet Yosemite's Indigenous Artists This Summer and Fall: Yosemite's free Connecting to Traditions demonstrations, July to October 2026: basket weaving, beadwork, acorn, and knapping at the Yosemite Museum.
The Waterfalls of Yosemite: What's Flowing, and When: Yosemite waterfalls by season: when Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil, Vernal, Nevada, Ribbon, and Wapama actually flow, which dry up by August, and the best months.
Where to Photograph Yosemite: The Spots, the Light, and When to Be There: Yosemite photography guide: Tunnel View, Valley View, Glacier Point, and five more proven spots, plus the best light, seasons, firefall, and moonbow timing.
Horsetail Fall: How the February Firefall Actually Works: How the Yosemite firefall works: when Horsetail Fall glows in February, the three conditions required, viewing at El Capitan Picnic Area, and honest odds.
Yosemite in Winter: The Season the Crowds Forget: Yosemite in winter: what's open and closed, Highway 140 and chain control explained, Badger Pass, Dewey Point snowshoeing, the Curry Village rink, and firefall.
Where to Stay Inside Yosemite: Every In-Park Option, Honestly Ranked: Every place to stay inside Yosemite, ranked: the Ahwahnee, Valley Lodge, Curry Village, Housekeeping Camp, high-country camps, and the 366-day booking game.
Yosemite Wildflowers: A Bloom Calendar That Climbs the Mountain: Yosemite wildflowers by month and elevation: Merced canyon poppies, Valley dogwood and azalea, McGurk Meadow lupine, and Tuolumne's short alpine summer.
Watching Climbers on El Capitan: A Spectator's Guide to the Biggest Wall in America: How to watch climbers on El Capitan: El Capitan Meadow and Bridge viewpoints, the Ask a Climber program, dusk headlamps, Nose history, and best seasons.
Getting to Yosemite: Five Entrances, and How to Pick the Right One: How to get to Yosemite: all five entrances compared, drive times from San Francisco and Fresno, winter chain rules, GPS warnings, and YARTS bus routes.
The Yosemite Wilderness Permit, Explained: How Yosemite wilderness permits work in 2026: the 24-week Recreation.gov lottery, the 7-day release, fees, the Half Dome add-on, and a strategy that works.
An Accessible Yosemite: What Works, and How to Plan for It: Accessible Yosemite: wheelchair-friendly trails, the accessible Valley shuttle, ASL and Deaf services, the free Access Pass, and honest planning advice.
Bringing a Dog to Yosemite: The Rules, the Two Trails, and an Honest Answer: Are dogs allowed in Yosemite? The leash rules, the only two trails that allow pets, which campgrounds work, and an honest take on bringing the dog at all.
The Best Thing in Yosemite Is Free: Ranger Programs and the Junior Ranger Badge: Yosemite's free ranger programs: guided walks, evening amphitheater talks, the Junior Ranger badge, and how to find the schedule in the Yosemite Guide.
The Dirt on Camping in Yosemite: All 13 Campgrounds: Camping in Yosemite in 2026? All 13 campgrounds, reservation tips, cancellation tricks, and bear safety from a park naturalist who lives here.
Where to Propose in Yosemite: What Twenty Years of Watching Taught Me: A Yosemite naturalist's guide to the best proposal spots. Which locations work, which are too crowded, and what makes the moment land.
The Bear Spray You Packed for Yosemite Is Illegal: Bear spray is banned in Yosemite. So is most of what you think you know about bears. A naturalist's guide to six myths and what actually keeps you safe.
Yosemite Heat Safety: A Naturalist's Survival Guide: How hot does Yosemite get in summer? A naturalist's guide to which trails to avoid, where to swim, and how to stay safe in Yosemite Valley heat.
When to Visit Yosemite in 2026: What the Traffic Data Says: Yosemite has no reservation system in 2026 and is pacing toward its second-busiest year ever. NPS data, a month-by-month forecast, and the best days to visit.
What a Yosemite Trip Actually Costs in 2026: What a Yosemite trip costs in 2026: entrance fees, lodging, food, gas, and gear, with real budget, mid-range, and splurge totals.
Yosemite in June 2026: Two Junes, One Month: A Yosemite naturalist breaks down June 2026 conditions: low snowpack, no reservations, early waterfall peak, Tioga Road open, and how to plan around all of it.
Cathedral Lakes: the high-country day hike worth driving up for: Cathedral Lakes is the best day hike in Tuolumne Meadows. Trail distance, elevation, best months, and how to hike Lower and Upper Cathedral Lakes in Yosemite.
Yosemite needs a reservation system: Without a reservation system, Memorial Day 2026 left Yosemite Valley gridlocked and its meadows damaged. Why the park needs timed entry back.
So you decided to come to Yosemite on Memorial Day. What are you thinking?: Yosemite Valley will be gridlock on Memorial Day weekend 2026. Tioga Road and Glacier Point Road are open early. Skip the Valley, go to the high country.
Where to eat in and around Yosemite: Eight or nine restaurants worth knowing in and around Yosemite: the Half Dome pizza, the Mariposa brisket, the east-side coffee. No chains, no filler.
One day in Yosemite: a minimalist itinerary for one or two days: One day in Yosemite, done right: a 2026 itinerary for one or two days. The Valley waterfall sequence, what to skip, gas, parking, and a realistic hike.
My favorite day hike in Yosemite: Four Mile up, Panorama down: Four Mile Trail up to Glacier Point, Panorama Trail down past Nevada Fall. A 13-mile loop, 3,200 feet of climb, and the logistics that make it work.
Your last-minute Yosemite trip with kids: a naturalist's honest guide: A senior naturalist's guide to Yosemite with kids in 2026, no reservations needed. Kid-friendly hikes, timing, YARTS, and what families get wrong.
Tioga Road opens May 15: a plan for opening weekend: Tioga Road opens May 15, 2026. What's open in Tuolumne Meadows, road conditions, short hikes for mid-May, and a day east to Lee Vining and Mono Lake.
So you want to hike Half Dome: The honest case for the Half Dome cables, and the better hike most miss: Clouds Rest, a thousand feet higher, with bigger views and no permit.
How the Half Dome permit lottery actually works: Two Half Dome lotteries, not one: preseason in March and the daily during cables season. Real odds, the strategy that works, what to do if you lose.
Glacier Point Road is open: a plan for the early season: Seventeen miles to a 7,200-foot viewpoint at eye level with Half Dome. What is open at the top, what is not, and how to plan early-season 2026.
The Mist Trail: everything the internet isn't telling you: The most hiked trail in any national park. The honest answers about shoes, water, when to go, and whether you can actually die out there.
So you want to work in Yosemite: Most jobs in Yosemite aren't ranger jobs. The work is hospitality, housing starts in a tent cabin, the grocery store is an hour away. The honest version.
How water ouzels live inside a waterfall: A robin-sized bird walks directly into Yosemite Falls and stays there. The water ouzel is the most specialized animal in the high country.
Why a Yosemite bear in April is more dangerous than one in August: A Yosemite bear emerging from its winter den has lost a third of its weight and is metabolically desperate. Spring, not summer, is the dangerous season.
Yosemite's disappearing glaciers, and what they record: A ranger built a cairn at the toe of Mount Lyell Glacier in 1933. It's now four hundred feet from the ice. The retreat is a record of climate.
Why giant sequoias thrive where other trees burn: The fires that kill every other Sierra tree are the ones giant sequoias depend on. Two-foot bark, embedded tannins, seedlings that need burning.
Hetch Hetchy: the Yosemite Valley you didn't know you skipped: Same elevation, same length, same granite as Yosemite Valley. Carved by the same glaciers and still mostly empty. Why no one goes, and why you should.
Yosemite stargazing: where to look up, and when: On a moonless August night at Olmsted Point, the Milky Way casts shadows. Where to go, when to go, and how to see Yosemite the way the ancients did.
Yosemite for non-hikers: the park you can experience without a trail: Yosemite is built for non-hikers more thoroughly than almost any national park. A complete visit without ever putting on hiking boots. Plan one.
How to pack your car for a Yosemite trip: Nobody writes about packing the car. But the car is the base camp for most Yosemite trips, and what's in it decides crisis from inconvenience.
Yosemite gateway towns compared: which one to base in: Pick the wrong Yosemite gateway and you'll burn hours on the road. A side-by-side of Mariposa, Oakhurst, Groveland, El Portal, Lee Vining.
Yosemite during smoke season: how to actually plan around it: Smoke season in California now runs July through October. The question isn't whether your Yosemite trip overlaps. It's whether you have a plan.
Yosemite without reservations in 2026: a real strategy for the year the cap came off: The reservation cap came off for 2026. The park didn't get easier, it got harder. A real strategy for visiting Yosemite without reservations.
If it's your first time in Yosemite, read this before you book anything: The bucket list isn't the problem, the strategy is. Three things that turn a first Yosemite visit from a checklist into the best week of your year.