While the National Park System protects wide swathes of officially designated wilderness, there are many, many wilderness-quality acres in the parks that are not so designated, though they are managed as de facto wilderness. President Obama, with hopes Americans would become more familiar with wilderness, has designated September as National Wilderness Month.

A Yosemite National Park wildlife biologist has been killed in a climbing accident in the park's backcountry.

Whenever something doesn't go according to plan, people understandably want to know what went wrong. And so the officials at Yosemite National Park have put together this list of frequently asked questions about what went awry with the Big Meadow fire -- a prescribed burn that quickly got out of control.

The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park is known to travelers from around the world, but even an iconic park hotel has to defer to the forces of nature. The hotel was evacuated Wednesday afternoon after a series of rockfalls. Following a geologic assessment of the area, the hotel is scheduled to reopen Friday afternoon.