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Yosemite National Park
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Orientation
In a high-country meadow two hikers crouch near the edge of a mirroring lake and watch a pika as it harvests blades of grass for a nest deep within a huge rock pile. When they resume walking, there is no other person in sight for as far as they can see. And on this sparkling summer’s day, the view seems endless.
In the valley’s crowded mall, families stroll by, eating ice cream, dodging bicycles. People pile in and out of buses. Shoppers hunt for souvenirs. Kids hang around a pizza place. Rock climbers, coils of rope slung over their shoulders, swap stories over beers on a patio. On this summer’s day about 14,000 people are in the valley village.
Both the solitude of the alpine ridge and the throngs of the valley are part of the experience when you visit Yosemite National Park. “No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite,” wrote naturalist John Muir, whose crusading led to the creation of the park. To this temple come more than four million visitors a year. And about 90 percent of them go to the valley, a mile-wide, 7-mile-long [11.3-kilometer-long] canyon cut by a river, then widened and deepened by glacial action. Walled by massive domes and soaring pinnacles, it covers about one percent of the park. In summer, the concentration of automobiles brings traffic jams and air pollution.
Beyond the valley some 800 miles [1,287.5 kilometers] of marked trails offer hikers easy jaunts or grueling tests of endurance in the High Sierra wilderness. Even the casual visitor can explore this solitude without getting outfitted for a backpack expedition.
The park, roughly the size of Rhode Island, is a United Nations world heritage site. Here, in five of the seven continental life zones, live the mule deer and chipmunks of the valley and the marmots and pikas of the heights; the brush rabbit and chaparral of the near desert; the dogwood and warblers of mid-elevation forests; the red and Jeffrey pine of mile-high [1.6-kilometer-hi gh] forests; the dwarf willow and matted flowers of Yosemite’s majestic mountains.
When to Go
All-year park. Avoid holiday weekends. Expect filled campgrounds from June through August and some crowding in late spring and early fall. Be sure you have reserved accommodations before attempting an over-night visit. You will find skiing and other winter activities in Badger Pass Ski Area from about Thanksgiving to mid-April.
Statistics
- Area: 748,542 acres [302,924.2 hectares]
- Date Established: October 1, 1890
- State: California
Getting There
By Plane
- Fresno Airport (FAT) 75 miles [120.7 kilometers] from the park
- Merced (MCE) 70 miles [112.7 kilometers] from the park
By Car
- From Merced (about 70 miles [112.7 kilometers] away): California Hwy. 140 to the Arch Rock Entrance. Also from the west: California Hwy. 120 to the Big Oak Flat Entrance. From the south, via Fresno: California Hwy. 41 to the South Entrance. From the northeast, via Lee Vining: California 120 to the Tioga Pass Entrance (closed early to mid-November to late May). Trains stop at Merced; check with Amtrak about connecting buses to Yosemite. Airports: Fresno and Merced.
By Train (Nearest Station)
How to Visit
When a visitor asked a Yosemite ranger what he would do if he had only a day to visit the park, the ranger answered, “I’d weep.” If you must zip through this huge park in a day, begin with Yosemite Valley. But even a dawn-to-dusk, 1-day visit hardly allows enough time for more than a tour of the valley plus a look at one or two of the park’s other major areas, such as the vistas from Glacier Point (in winter, road closed beyond the ski area) and the sequoias of the Mariposa Grove. As an alternative or on another day between late May and early November, take the High Sierra Tioga Road to explore the park’s alpine country. Better still, stay long enough to get beyond the crowds and discover the sense of seclusion this great park can give you.
Activities
Free naturalist-led activities: day and evening walks and talks, hikes, camera walks, children’s and evening programs, living history; Indian cultural interpretation. Also, auto tape tours, bus and tram tours, films, plays, concerts, art and photography classes, museums, horseback riding (call +1 209 372 8348), climbing, fishing, rafting, swimming, ice-skating, downhill and cross-country skiing.
Park Information
Headquarters P.O. Box 577, Yosemite National Park, California 95389. Phone +1 209 372 0200. FAX +1 209 372 0371.
Seasons & Accessibility Park open year-round. Tioga California Hwy. 120 east) and Glacier Point Roads closed by snow from about mid-November to early June. Call +1 209 372 0200 for recorded conditions. In winter, call +1 209 372 8437 for Badger Pass ski information.
Free shuttle buses operate in the valley year-round and at Wawona and Tuolumne Meadows in summer.
Visitor & Information Centers Valley Visitor Center open all year. Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center near Tioga Pass Entrance open summer only. Information also available at Happy Isles Nature Center, in the valley, and at Big Oak Flat Entrance on California 120 at western edge of park, both open spring through fall; and at Wawona Information Center, open summer-fall. For information call +1 209 372 0200.
Entrance Fee $20 per car per week.
Pets Not permitted in buildings, backcountry, on beaches. Permitted on leash on paved roads and trails only.
Facilities for Disabled Visitor centers, the nature and art centers, and some trails are wheelchair accessible. Free brochure.
Overnight Backpacking Free permit required; issued first come, first served; apply up to 24 hours in advance of trip to a park wilderness permit station. Advance reservations available by mail; write for wilderness permits at P.O. Box 545, Yosemite, Ca. 95389. Call +1 209 372 0200 for more information.
Campgrounds Eighteen campgrounds; in summer, 7-day to 14-day limits; other times some have 30-day limit. Four open all year; others open mid-spring to mid-fall or summer only. Reservations required year-round for all in the valley, for Hodgdon Meadow spring through fall, and for Crane Flat and half of Tuolumne Meadows in summer. Fees $3-$1 5 per night. Most have RV sites. Five group campgrounds.
Lodging
Hotels, Motels, & Inns (unless otherwise noted, rates are for 2 persons in a double room, high season)
INSIDE THE PARK:
Yosemite Concession Services Corp., 5410 East Home Ave., Fresno, California 93727, operates the following. Reservations: +1 559 252 4848. The Ahwahnee (Yosemite Valley) 123 units. $266. AC, pool, rest. Curry Village (Yosemite Valley) 18 rooms; 80 cabins; 427 tent-cabins. $40.75-$91.25. Pool, rest. High Sierra Camps 5 camps with tent-cabins. Accessible by hiking trail only. Guided trips avail. $90 per person and up. Late June-Labor Day. Reserve by mail Sept.-Nov. Tuolumne Meadows Lodge (8,600 feet [2,621.3 meters], at Tuolumne Meadows). 69 tent-cabins, central showers. $46. Rest. Open summer. Wawona Hotel (California Hwy. 41, 27 miles [43.5 kilometers] south of Yosemite valley) +1 209 375 6565. 104 rooms, 50 private baths. $94-$103. Pool, rest. Open all year. White Wolf Lodge (Tioga Road) 4 cabins, private baths; 24 tent-cabins, central bath. $43. Rest. Open summer. Yosemite Lodge (Yosemite Valley) 495 rooms/cabins, some with private baths. $92-115. Pool, rest. Also, The Redwoods Guest Cottages (Chilnualna Falls Rd.) P.O. Box 2085, Wawona Station, California 95389. +1 209 375 6666. 127 units with kitchens. $88-$345.
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