Yosemite National Park - The Cradle of American Conservation
Yosemite National Park is one of my favorite national parks in the country. While it’s truly spectacular, it also has a powerful history of preservation and conservation, ideas that greatly contributed to the formation of national parks. When you visit Yosemite, you can pay tribute to a great activist and naturalist, John Muir. Not only did he lead environmental efforts to preserve Yosemite as a national park but he also lobbied for the establishment of the national park service. Due to his efforts, Yosemite National Park was established in 1890 and ranks as our 3rd national park. The park is also on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Because of its tremendous natural beauty, Yosemite National Park is visited by close to 5 million visitors a year. The Yosemite Valley is the most popular area of the park. From here, you can admire the sheer granite cliffs of El Capitan and Half Dome, two particularly iconic landmarks of Yosemite NP.
El Capitan is a very popular rock climbing spot and frequently you can see a number of rock climbers ascending its vertical granite face.
Take the one mile loop trail to view Yosemite Falls, the highest waterfalls in North America at 2,425 feet. While I believe Yosemite Falls are the most spectacular, there are many other amazing waterfalls throughout the park. The gushing water against the white granite is a view to behold.
For commanding views of Half Dome, the entire valley, and the High Sierras, head to Glacier Point. I certainly don’t know of any other national park where you can have the entire park laid out right in front of you. The views are awe inspiring and they will take your breath away.
While you’re in Yosemite National Park, make sure to visit the Mariposa Grove. Once there, you will be among an amazing forest of giant sequoias. They are such beautiful trees and a hike among them is rejuvenating. They’re the largest trees in the world and can serve as an inspiration for visiting Sequoia National Park. Some of the trees are almost 1,800 years old- indeed, a fascinating fact to consider.
If you want to visit a more secluded section of the park, head to Hetch Hetchy Valley. It’s an amazingly tranquil place. You can take a beautiful trail along the reservoir. We did the trail in the spring when the flowers were just beginning to blossom, so it was beautiful. Unfortunately, we were not able to complete our hike because a huge bear chose to take the same trail as we did. Since it was spring, it could have been a mama bear with little cubs behind her. We immediately turned around and slowly backed out of the area. I must admit, I was petrified, but fortunately the bear did not charge after us. It is now an awesome memory.
Yosemite National Park is one of the parks that everyone should visit. It’s a vast wilderness area located in the magnificent High Sierras and when you see it once, you’ll want to return again.
