Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is located four hours east of Pacifica in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Yosemite National Park is famous for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear rivers, and giant sequoia trees that grow 307 feet tall and 29 feet wide. Granite cliffs, like Half Dome and Glacier Point, rise 3,000 to 4,000 feet from the Valley floor. In 1903 nearly 400 African-American soldiers, called Buffalo Soldiers, made the dusty journey on horseback from the Presidio in San Francisco to Yosemite National Park. They were among the first “Rangers” assigned to protect the Park along with Kings Canyon National Park, the home of the famous General Grant tree.

The first residents of Yosemite National Park were Miwok Indians who lived in the Valley 4,000 years ago. Their territory reached as far east as the Owens Valley and Mono Lake. Ansel Adams, the famous photographer, made his first visit to Yosemite National Park in 1916, when he was 14 years old. Visitors are still able to hike out to Taft Point, the famous photo spot, where the cliffs drop 2,000 feet to the Valley floor. Lodging is available at Wawona, Yosemite Village, or just outside Yosemite National Park.