Kirk S. Thomas Olsen, 61, was found dead after park rangers learned that he was overdue to return from backpacking in the Ostrander Lake area of the park.

A roof replacement project spurred the need for an "assessment of the hotel." There hotel will close indefinitely in December.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK – The historic Wawona Hotel inside Yosemite National Park has been slated for an extended closure. National Park Service officials announced Wednesday that the hotel will close starting Dec. 2, 2024.

An historic piece of Yosemite lodging is getting an indefinitely closure in December as the National Park Service conducts a “comprehensive condition assessment” on the 168-year-old Wawona Hotel complex. The park recently started work on a roof replacement project for the main hotel building inside the national park in Central California.

The calendar still says summer, but winter is coming early to parts of California’s Sierra Nevada next week, including Yosemite National Park.

Park rangers said the missing backpacker who vanished while hiking in Yosemite National Park was found dead Saturday morning. Kirk S. Thomas Olsen, 61, went missing near Ostrander Lake during a trip to the backcountry spot scheduled for Aug. 23-27.

A historic hotel in Yosemite National Park will close indefinitely this winter while park officials evaluate the building’s safety, according to the National Park Service. Wawona Hotel, a national historic landmark near Yosemite Valley,

Officials with Yosemite National Park announced on Wednesday the indefinite closure of a historic and beloved hotel, KTLA sister station KSEE/KGPE reports. The National Park Service announced on social media that starting December 2,