Visit Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is located in east-central California and covers more than 761,000 acres. It also includes part of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. More than three and a half million people visit this park each year, but they only stay in seven square miles of Yosemite Valley. It was also designated as a World Heritage Site in 1984. What makes this park attract so many visitors? The diversity of natural habitats found here. There are granite cliffs to climb, like El Capitan, waterfalls, clear, icy streams, vast meadows, and of course, groves of giant sequoias, which outgrow redwood trees. More than 90% of Yosemite National Park has been set aside as undeveloped wilderness.

While Yosemite Valley is open to tourists year-round, much of the park is closed from late fall to mid-spring due to heavy snowfall. There are campsites in the Valley and hotels nearby. Some of the activities that can be experienced here are outdoor tours, tram rides through Mariposa Grove and Yosemite Valley. There are also bus tours to Glacier Point, and you can drive along the scenic Tioga Road, to Toulumne Meadows until late fall. There are a plethora of hiking and walking trails, and rock climbing can be enjoyed not only on El Capitan, but also on Sentinel Rock and Half Dome. In fact, Yosemite is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, for its help in developing rock climbing into a sport.