For the finest rooms, resort homes and RV park nearest Yosemite Valley, click on any of the four Yosemite Resorts properties in the left column. From luxury to economy, they're four great places to stay!

A dusting of snow today has created excitement about the early arrival of winter to the High Sierra, although how unusual is it for snow to fall in September?

Despite the early snowfall, the Tioga Road (SR 120 across Yosemite National Park) remains open.  It is not planned to close for winter until November, and typically must do so at some time in winter because of its elevation and that it is not cleared of snow in winter.

Since 1933, the earliest the Tioga Road closed was Sept. 4 (1943 and 1944).  It closed as early as September in 1933, 34, 36, 43, 44, 45 and 1948.  During the 1940s, the road’s average closing date was 30 Sept., but that may have had more to do with management of the road during the war years, than snow depth.  The latest the Tioga Road remained open was until Jan. 1 in 2000.  Typically, the Tioga Road closes for winter on November 1.

This year, it’s anyone’s guess whether the road will close early, close as predicted or remain open for months to come.  Though, a September snowstorm has generated excitement in the High Sierra about a long, wet winter.

For the finest rooms, resort homes and RV park nearest Yosemite Valley, click on any of the four Yosemite Resorts properties in the left column. From luxury to economy, they're four great places to stay!

The discovery of a rare orchid, known only to grow inside Yosemite National Park was announced by scientists this month. The orchid lives only in wet meadows between 6,000 and 9,000 feet and it’s certainly not the type of plant that florists will be rushing to obtain, since it is as foul smelling as sweaty feet.

The offensive orchid uses its rank bouquet to attract pollinators in the rarified air of the high country. U.S. Geologic Survey Botanist Alison Colwell was reported by the Associated Press to have said, “I was out surveying clovers one afternoon, and I started smelling something. I was like, ‘Eew, what’s that? It smelled like a horse corral on a hot afternoon.”

The plant is the only known orchid species indigenous to California’s Sierra Nevada range and grows in spring-fed areas between 6,000 and 9,000 feet. To read more about California plants, CLICK HERE.

For the finest rooms, resort homes and RV park nearest Yosemite Valley, click on any of the four Yosemite Resorts properties in the left column. From luxury to economy, they're four great places to stay!

This summer, the National Park Service has continued discussions with the public, park visitors, staff, stakeholders and volunteers regarding planning both for the Tuolumne Wild and Scenic River and Tuolumne Meadows. To further those conversations, the NPS released the Tuolumne Planning Workbook which compiles work completed on the planning process to date.

The workbook is sort of a progress report and provides an additional opportunity for the public to comment. To view the workbook online, CLICK HERE.