Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park lies in the central Sierra Nevada of eastern California, about four to five hours by road from San Francisco. In 1864 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant, which set aside Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove for public use, the first time the US federal government protected land for its scenery. The wider area became a national park on 1 October 1890, and UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 1984.

The park covers roughly 3,027 square kilometres, though most visitors spend their time in Yosemite Valley, a glacier carved valley about 11 kilometres long. The writer and naturalist John Muir campaigned for its protection, and his writing did much to shape the idea of national parks.

Granite walls rise straight out of the valley floor. El Capitan stands about 900 metres above the valley and is one of the best known big wall climbing routes in the world, while Half Dome, with its sheer northwest face, is the symbol of the park. Yosemite Falls drops a total of about 739 metres in three sections and runs strongest in spring snowmelt. Bridalveil Fall, Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall are also close to the valley.

Away from the valley, Glacier Point gives a wide view over Half Dome and the high country, and the Mariposa Grove in the south of the park holds more than 500 mature giant sequoias. Tioga Road crosses the high Sierra past Tuolumne Meadows and Tenaya Lake, but it closes in winter.

As of October 2026, the National Park Service charges 35 US dollars per private vehicle for seven days, and non US residents aged 16 and over pay an added 100 US dollar surcharge unless they hold an annual pass. Summer is busy, and reservation rules have been used on peak days in recent years, so check the park website before travelling. Spring is best for waterfalls.

How big is Yosemite, and what lives there?

Yosemite National Park covers 747,956 acres, about 1,169 square miles, and the National Park Service manages nearly 95 percent of that area as designated Wilderness. Roads and lodges reach only a small part of it. The park records more than 400 vertebrate species and over 1,000 plant species, from oak woodland in the foothills to alpine meadows above the tree line.

Black bears are the animal that shapes visitor rules most. Food, toiletries and anything scented must go in a bear-proof locker or canister, and leaving food in a parked car overnight is not allowed. Mule deer graze the valley meadows, and Steller's jays and acorn woodpeckers are common around picnic areas.