Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

4 million visitors per year – 1,170 square miles – Home of the giant sequoia. Yosemite National Park, CA.

Yosemite's majestic granite peaks, groves of ancient giant sequoia trees, and waterfalls, including Yosemite Falls,which at a height of 2,425 feet is the nation's highest inspired some of the earliest attempts at conservation in the United States. In 1864, Congress enacted laws protecting the valley. Journalist Horace Greeley, who once visited this park, noted that he knew of “no single wonder of Nature on earth which can claim a superiority over the Yosemite.” And naturalist John Muir, whose efforts led to the park's formation, said of the valley. “Not temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite.”

The enormous park occupies an area comparable to Rhode Island, with elevations of up to 13,114 feet.

Peak season tips: During the busy summer months, forgo the sights and splendors of the seven-mile Yosemite Valley, which attracts the hordes.

Camping: Of the 18 campgrounds in Yosemite, the 5 main ones in the valley offer “refugee-style camping” - over campsites crammed into a singularly unspectacular half-mile. For more space and better views, head for the hills and try one of the eight Tioga Road campgrounds. There also are five tent camps about a day's hike from one another on the High Sierra Loop Trail. Campers can obtain meals, showers, and cots there. Reservations via Yosemite Reservations are advised.

Reservations also are required year-round in Yosemite Valley's auto campground and for Hodgdon Meadow, Crane Flat, and Tuolumne,  Meadows campgrounds. All other campgrounds are operated on a first-come, first-served basis. Camping reservations may be made up to, but no earlier than, eight weeks in advance through Mistix. Reservable campsites fill up quickly from mid-May to mid-September. Your best bet for snagging a spot is to start calling the Mistix reservation number at 7 a.m. Pacific Standard Time eight weeks in advance of the date you want to camp. 

Best one-day trip: Avoid the congested route to Yosemite Valley. Instead, grab a tour bus and get off either at shuttle stop 7, for an easy half-mile, 20-minute hike to Lower Yosemite Falls, or shuttle bus stop 8, for a strenuous one- to three-hour round-trip hike to Upper Yosemite Falls. Other sites include the Native American Yosemite Village and El Capitan, a 2,000-foot face crawling with little black specks which, on closer inspection, turn out to be rock climbers.

In fact, the dramatic domes and soaring pinnacles in Yosemite make it one of the best places in the world for rock climbing. The Yosemite Mountaineering School and Guide Service offers beginning through advanced classes in the summer.

Nice park... Photo by Elena.