
Yosemite's Wawona (Alternate Tees) Course
Wawona Golf Course
About this course
Wawona Golf Course sits within Yosemite National Park near the southern entrance, making it one of the few courses located inside a national park boundary. Walter Fovargue designed the layout in 1918, working with the natural terrain of the Wawona Valley at approximately 4,000 feet elevation. The course occupies meadowland surrounded by towering pines and cedars, with the South Fork of the Merced River running through the property. The routing reflects early 20th-century design principles adapted to the Sierra Nevada landscape, with relatively modest length and straightforward holes that accommodate the park's recreational mission. The course plays as a nine-hole layout with alternate tees that create an 18-hole experience, a common solution for smaller facilities and particularly appropriate given the park setting and seasonal operation. The terrain features gentle rolls rather than severe elevation change, though the high-altitude location affects distance and playing conditions. Fairways wind through the forest openings, and several holes play alongside or across the meadow areas that characterize this section of Yosemite. Wawona serves primarily as a recreational amenity for park visitors and guests of the historic Wawona Hotel, which dates to the 1870s. The course operates seasonally due to winter snowfall and reflects a quieter, more rustic golf experience than resort courses outside the park. Its setting within Yosemite gives it distinctive character, though the design itself remains modest and functional rather than architecturally ambitious.
Quick facts
- Location
- Wawona, CA, USA
- Access
- Public
- Year built
- 1918
- Designer
- Walter Fovargue
- Holes
- 18
- Par
- 70
- Length
- 6,034 yards
- Difficulty
- 71.4/130
Getting there
The journey to Wawona Golf Course unfolds through one of California's most storied landscapes, typically beginning at Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT), roughly two hours to the south, before ascending into the Sierra Nevada via Highway 41 - a route that trades Central Valley flatlands for dense conifer forest and granite peaks. The final ninety minutes wind through Yosemite National Park itself, a passage that shifts from modern thoroughfare to mountain road, with the air growing cooler and the vistas more austere as elevation climbs. Arrival at Wawona Golf Course carries the quiet satisfaction of a destination earned rather than simply reached - nestled in the historic village of Wawona at the park's southern gateway, the course sits among giant sequoias and meadowland, a nine-hole sanctuary that rewards the pilgrimage with both solitude and the unmistakable grandeur of the high country.

FAQ
Common questions about Yosemite's Wawona (Alternate Tees) at Wawona Golf Course
Ratings, design, and course details pulled from Course Vaults.
Yosemite's Wawona (Alternate Tees) was designed by Walter Fovargue.
Yes. Yosemite's Wawona (Alternate Tees) at Wawona Golf Course is listed as welcoming public or guest play on Course Vaults.
Par at Yosemite's Wawona (Alternate Tees) is 70.
Yosemite's Wawona (Alternate Tees) plays 6,034 yards from the back tees on Course Vaults.
The slope rating at Yosemite's Wawona (Alternate Tees) is 130.
Yosemite's Wawona (Alternate Tees) is a 18-hole course.




