Why the dogwoods turn red and the maples do not
A 1935 park naturalist on what frost really does to fall color, and this week's forecast.
The glaciers at the end of the melt
Why the park's naturalists measured Lyell and Maclure in the first week of October.
The acorn season, as the naturalists kept it
Black oaks, jays and bears, as the park's naturalists recorded them, 1931 to 1939.
The Merced at 18 cubic feet a second
The river at the bottom of its year. New guides to Glacier Point and Clouds Rest.
The Tuolumne store closes on the 20th
Tuolumne's store and grill close Sep 20. Two new drives on the site, and the YARTS dates by route.
They are trying to trade away a piece of Yosemite
This week we learned that the federal government is working on a deal to hand a piece of Yosemite National Park to a private developer. Here is what has been...
A thank you gift for reading
I want to start with the part that matters most: thank you. You read this letter. You forward it to people planning trips. You write back with questions,...
The Sunday Dispatch
Sunday, July 26, 2026 · From the Nature Notes archive Every issue of Yosemite Nature Notes from 1922 to 2003 is now readable on this site: 512 issues, about...
The Machine in the Meadow
A woman on Sentinel Bridge stopped me before I started talking. She had her phone in one hand, her kid's hand in the other, and she said, "I already asked...
The Mist Trail is closing. Here's what nobody is explaining.
Starting June 30, the Mist Trail will close Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for a rehabilitation project that will run through October 30....
The park is full by 7 a.m.
Yosemite Valley from Clouds Rest Last Sunday, Yosemite sent a text alert at 7:39 a.m. telling visitors that Valley parking lots were already full. Entrance...