The Ahwahnee and
Wawona hotels in Yosemite National Park will change names in March because of a
trademark dispute between the outgoing concessionaire and the U.S. National
Park Service.
The Ahwahnee will
become the Majestic Yosemite Hotel, while the Wawona will become Big Trees
Lodge. Both hotels are on the National Register of Historic Places. The
Ahwahnee was built in 1927. The Wawona dates to the 19th century, and became part of
Yosemite National Park in 1932.
The name change
was spurred when the National Park Service announced last year that Delaware
North Cos. will be replaced as Yosemite’s primary concessionaire by Aramark on
March 1, 2016. Delaware North had trademarked the names “without prior National
Park Service concurrence,” the NPS said in a Jan. 14 statement, and valued
those trademarks at more than $50 million.
In addition to
the Ahwahnee and Wawona name changes, Yosemite’s Curry Village will become Half
Dome Village, and Badger Pass Ski Area will be known as Yosemite Ski &
Snowboard Area.
Yosemite National
Park opened in 1890 and attracts more than 4 million visitors a year.