A historic Yosemite lodge will close indefinitely in December while the National Park Service undertakes a “comprehensive condition assessment” of the 168-year-old Wawona Hotel complex.
The park recently began work on a roof repair project for the main hotel structure within the National Park in Central California.
The process “revealed the need for more intensive investigation and assessment of the hotel,” according to a social media post from the park service.
The closure takes effect on December 2, and accommodation cancellations have already been issued for customers with future reservations, according to the website travelyosemite.com.
There is no news on when the hotel may reopen.
California’s original mountain lodge
The Wawona Hotel is located 30 minutes from Yosemite Valley, near Mariposa Grove and the park’s southern entrance on Highway 41.
The hotel represents a step back in time.
It is one of the state’s earliest mountain resorts, dating back to 1856 and the creation of Clark’s Station, which supplied lodging and refreshments for visitors visiting Yosemite Valley.
Clark’s Station was renamed Wawona (the local word for huge trees) in 1882 by Henry Washburn’s wife, who owned the hotel at the time and was in charge of its main building, which was built in the fashionable Victorian style of the East Coast.
Washburn’s grandniece, actress Wawona Washburn Hartwig, was born at the hotel in 1914 and began her career in Hollywood as a stunt double in the 1929 film “Tiger Rose,” which was shot in Yosemite’s Mariposa Grove.
The Ahwahnee, Yosemite Valley’s other historic hotel, opened in 1927.
Over the years, the Wawona complex has grown to include not only the hotel (whose 104 rooms are placed off a wrap-around porch with Adirondack chairs for visitors), but also a historic Chinese laundry building (which will reopen to the public in 2022), a nine-hole golf course, a swimming pool, and equestrian stables. It became a tourist hotspot in the park, with three US presidents visiting.
In recent years, the Wawona has been threatened by wildfire on multiple times. The hotel was evacuated due to the Washburn fire, which also threatened Mariposa Grove.
Deterioration of Historic Structures
The hotel’s shutdown comes amid concerns over the deterioration of historic structures in Yosemite as a result of failures by the firm contracted to handle hospitality services within the national park.
SFGate reported in May that a guest was hurt at the Wawona Hotel after falling from a damaged railing.
According to the SFGate investigation, the park staff discovered “extensive deterioration and rot of railings” during annual examinations in 2022 and 2023. There have also been allegations of deteriorating conditions at the Ahwahnee Hotel, with portions of the ceiling falling down.
In 2016, the National Park Service signed a 15-year deal with Yosemite Hospitality, LLC, an Aramark subsidiary, to offer concession services, including the operation of lodging units, in Yosemite.
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