Mist Trail Corridor Project EA

Yosemite National Park is seeking the public's input on a project to enhance the visitor experience in the Mist Trail Corridor by addressing safety, wayfinding, stewardship, education, and improving amenities to accommodate sustainable levels of visitor use.

The Mist Trail corridor project and environmental assessment (EA) includes three approaches, called alternatives, for improving the visitor experience and safety messaging. The proposed actions include improvements to the Happy Isles Shuttle Stop and visitor arrival area at the Mist Trail/JMT trailhead to improve visitor preparedness, development of a comprehensive signage and messaging plan, and a redesign of the existing trailhead to address safety, wayfinding, stewardship, and education. The project also aims to provide and upgrade amenities that support sustainable levels of visitor use. The park's preferred alternative includes re-establishing the trail circulation that was detoured when the historic Happy Isles Bridge was washed out in 2001.

Project Story Map: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/057fd04078744b3783e1517de28d56b9
Project Information Page: https://www.nps.gov/yose/getinvolved/misttrailcorridor.htm

During the first round of public engagement for this project during the fall of 2024, the park received around 200 letters. The comments helped inform the development of the proposed actions, refine issues in the corridor to address, and identify additional resource concerns.

Data gathered during this time helped inform a range of alternatives to enhance the visitor experience while improving messaging for safety, so visitors are better prepared for the challenging hike ahead.

To be most helpful, your comments should address: 1) the purpose and need for action; 2) the environmental issues/impact topics analyzed; 3) your opinions on the alternatives, including mitigation measures which could reduce potentially harmful effects; and 4) the information used to describe the affected environment and environmental consequences.

Comments which are not helpful include those which: 1) vote for or against a potential management strategy or alternative without giving reasons why; 2) agree or disagree with laws, regulation, or NPS policy; 3) discuss other projects or other areas that are not related to the draft plan; and 4) contain vague language or open-ended questions or statements.

Document Content:

YOSE_Mist Trail EA-PublicReview_20260526_508.pdf   (4.3 MB, PDF file) YOSE_Mist Trail EA-PublicReview_Appendices_20260527_508.pdf   (22.1 MB, PDF file) https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/057fd04078744b3783e1517de28d56b9    Disclaimer: Links within the above document(s) were valid as of the date published. Note: Some of the files may be in PDF format and can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. You may download a free copy of from Adobe Systems.