29% of households are owner-occupiers in Wawona, below both California’s towns (64%) and U.S. towns (73%). 71% of the land in Wawona is conserved, above both the California town median (4.3%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Its National Register listings include Wawona Hotel and Pavilion and Wawona Covered Bridge. Wawona has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.

What makes Wawona stand out

Where Wawona beats most towns.

Wawona Hotel and Pavilion

History

5 historic places

5 places on the National Register

Listed for their history, architecture or both.

Small town

125 people, and everyone knows the way

In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.

Wawona Hotel and Pavilion · National Register of Historic Places

Wawona’s story

Wawona in pictures

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

Explore the history →

Nearby attractions

Yosemite National Park and 24 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wawona. Close and well known come first.

All 40 attractions →

Big drawin town National ParkYosemite National Park4.3M visitors a year

Big draw15 mi MountainHalf Dome

29 mi LakeHetch Hetchy

35 mi Ski areaMammoth Mountain153 runs · 2,962 ft vertical

15 mi WaterfallYosemite Falls

30 mi National MonumentDevils Postpile National Monument100K visitors a year

Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons

Photo credits

Yosemite National Park: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Half Dome: Jon Sullivan, Public domain · Hetch Hetchy: Vulpinus2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mammoth Mountain: Hike395 (talk · contribs), CC BY 3.0 · Yosemite Falls: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Devils Postpile National Monument: Frank Kovalchek from Anchorage, Alaska, USA, CC BY 2.0

Getting set up

Moving to Wawona: who provides what

Wawona is unincorporated, so Mariposa County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerPG&E37.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA

InternetProviders and speedsData pending · D4

Trash & county servicesMariposa CountyMariposa County provides services here

SchoolsBass Lake Joint Union Elementary School District Yosemite Unified School District (9-12)2 districts serve Wawona; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES

Register to voteOnlineIn California you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.gov

Who runs elections hereMariposa County Elections DepartmentMariposa County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2025

ZIP code9538995389 100%Census 2020

EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

The data

Ordered by what stands out in Wawona.

Outdoors

Wawona has set aside nearly a third of its land for conservation

Wawona’s density of trails stands at 3.7 miles per square mile. In 2 parks and preserves, walkers have 4.1 miles of trail. The biggest place to walk is Yosemite National Park, 686 acres with 3.4 miles of trail.

71.4%conserved

71.4%

conserved · 490 of 686 acres

4.1 mi

of trails · 3.7 per sq mi

Biggest places to walk	Trails	Acres
1. Yosemite National Park	3.4 mi	686
2. Yosemite Wilderness	0.7 mi	61

Full pageWawona’s outdoors pageOpen the page

Trail map4.1 miles of trail, mapped Pick a walk3.4 miles of trail · Yosemite National Park Conserved land71.4% conserved · 490 acres protected Questions“Where can I hike in Wawona?”

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

Schools

The schools Wawona’s kids attend

Its one school is below.

School	Level	Students	Letter
Yosemite-Wawona Elementary CharterLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6	Grades K–6	15	–

Full pageWawona’s schools pageOpen the page

The districtsYosemite-Wawona Elementary Charter District Every school1 school · Yosemite-Wawona Elementary Charter Questions“Are Wawona’s schools good?”

NCES · EDFacts

Natural hazards

Wawona faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding

Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 99% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Wawona once, in 2023. FEMA puts nearly three fifths of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 27% to wildfires.

99risk score of 100

FEMA risk score

Inland floodingWildfireHeat waves

federal disasters paid out here

Full pageWawona’s hazards pageOpen the page

What it facesVery high risk Flood claims0 paid flood claims · No paid flood claims on record Past disasters1 federal disaster · Paid out in Wawona Get ready2.1 events a year, on average · Ready for inland flooding

FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Work & commute

With only 0.4 jobs per working resident, most people in Wawona work out of town

Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Wawona dropped by 20, to 39. The top destinations are Yosemite Valley (16%), Oakland (8%) and Fresno (8%). The town’s typical household income comes in at $70,000. Half of commuters travel less than 103 miles.

0%work in town

Where working residents work

In Wawona0%

Yosemite Valley16%

Oakland8%

Fresno8%

Sacramento4%

103 mi

median commute distance

jobs based in Wawona

A commuter town

jobs vs. working residents

Full pageWawona’s work & commute pageOpen the page

The jobs here39 jobs based here · A commuter town Where people work0% work in Wawona Commute timesCommute times How far they goHalf commute less than 103 miles

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

Four seasons and pleasant summers in Wawona

In Wawona, the midsummer high is 83°F.

83°summer high

Typical low → high °F

Winter30–49°

Spring36–59°

Summer54–81°

Fall43–67°

Oct 10

typical first frost

May 24

typical last frost

+1.3°

vs. the 20th-century average

83°

typical summer high

Full pageWawona’s climate pageOpen the page

A year of weatherJuly highs 83°, January lows 30°Rain & snow40″ of rain a year · Rain a year Heating & coolingMostly a heating bill Then and now+1.3° vs. the 20th century · Warmer than the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Health

How healthy Wawona is

For adults 18 to 64 in Wawona, the share who have no health insurance is 6.8%. The town does better than the California average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 8. Among adults locally, 32% feel lonely and 16% report frequent physical distress.

	Wawona	California towns	U.S. towns
Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES)	31%	35%	36%
Feel lonely (CDC PLACES)	32%	36%	33%
Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES)	16%	14%	14%
High blood pressure (CDC PLACES)	37%	31%	35%