Yosemite Park Details

Yosemite National Park embraces almost 1,200 square miles of scenic wild lands set aside in 1890 to preserve a portion of the central Sierra Nevada that stretches along California's eastern flank. The park was established on October 1, 1890.

The protected status that Yosemite Park has enjoyed over the last 120 years has allowed for the preservation of many of its plant species and wildlife.

Yosemite National Park covers a huge area of the western Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California and has innumerable lakes, meadows, forests and granite summits with endless unspoiled alpine scenery. At the center is Yosemite Valley, a half-mile deep depression carved by glaciers during the last ice age, which now has soaring 3,000 foot high domes and many powerful waterfalls, including three of the world's highest. Visitors all year can gaze up from the Valley floor to appreciate the enormity of it all. During summer (or for those willing to do an overnight ski trip in winter), the view from Glacier Point provides a breathtaking perspective from above.

Today visitation to Yosemite National Park is around 5 million visitors annually. Visitation exceeded one million in 1954 for the first time and by 1976 over two million people were visiting Yosemite annually. However, even with the increasing visitation to the park, all you have to do is lift your eyes ever so slightly above the crowds and you'll feel your heart instantly moved by unrivalled splendors. The haughty profile of Half Dome, the hulking presence of El Capitan, the drenching mists of Yosemite Falls, the gemstone lakes of the high country's subalpine wilderness, the giant sequoias of Wawona, Hetch Hetchy's pristine pathways, all of these beautiful natural wonders will make you feel at one with the pristine Yosemite wilderness.