Friendliest guides ever. There were three seniors who were very delightful and informative in…read morehelping us out when we had questions. Maps after maps and markings were given and discount coupons offered to make use of and good with conversations. I'm glad we stopped over at this visitor information to gather information on the nearby parks all over central CA

READ FOR PRO TIPS!!!…read more DO THE SCAVENGER HUNT! It's super fun (did it with our 9 & 10 year olds). It is normally $15 but you get a $5 discount if you ask for one. PLUS you get a free coupon per participant for ice cream at Happy Burger Diner and the ice cream scoop is HUGE!!! And 10% off your entire meal if you get anything else :) STAFF IS FRIENDLY They will hook you up! :) Enjoy!

Our family's first experience at this visitor center has been excellent. The gentleman working that…read moreday was super helpful, demonstrated excellent knowledge of the local businesses and professionals. He was also friendly and respectful. As we traveled the area this past Saturday, we had a few questions and decided to stop by this visitor center again. This ended up being our worst consumer experience in years. The woman at the counter seemed very easily irritated, wouldn't allow me to complete my sentences, and stated she didn't know how to get to Stanislaus National Forest. That's understandable, yet ironic since there was a giant map directly behind her labeled with that forest. In the end, she suggested we drive an hour to Bass Lake to speak to a forest ranger there (which would have been an hour in the wrong direction). I was almost in tears when we left. Terrible experience.

The visitor center and the Ansel Adams gallery are must-visit stopping points on anyone's tour of…read morethe Valley! We were lucky to arrive at the tail end of an outdoor presentation (on 3/8), where a very nice employee let everyone pet a bear skin. It was really interesting, as the fur was a lot rougher than I imagined. He was friendly and answered a few of our questions about the Yosemite wildlife. Lovely guy. The inside was airy and had some fun things to buy. Most employees we met were nice. The one star off was for the rude man who worked at the info desk (along with the nice presenter I mentioned earlier after he was done with the presentation outside... unfortunately, he was helping someone else). I asked Rude Man a few questions about some trails, and he was just not friendly. At. All. He answered in monosyllables with a low-key mean, impatient attitude. I've no idea if it's race-related (we're Asian), or if he just didn't want to be there. Either way, it didn't belong in a welcome center and he was pretty unsuited for customer service. Why work at an info desk, in a customer-facing role, if you're going to be grumpy?

As of November 2024, this is no longer the Yosemite Visitor Center. This is now the Exploration…read moreCenter and Theater, and serves as more of a museum. Those looking for visitor information should walk just a couples minutes up the road to the newer Yosemite Welcome Center. The Exploration Center here has a free museum, with hands-on activites for kids, bookstore gift shop, and a theater showing a 30-min film at select times.

This welcome center is nice and big with plenty of information about the park. My kids ran into a…read morePark ranger at Glacier point and were asked if they wanted to become a junior ranger of course they agreed . A book for them to complete was handed to them and once done they can bring it into the welcome center. They had a mini ceremony it was such a great cute experience for the kids. You need to do this for your little ones when in yosemite. Note to self always have a map with you. They have some here.

Great Welcome Center on the South entrance of YNP. Stop by if you need maps, guidance on how to…read morenavigate the park or other information. If you're not familiar with the park- I highly suggest you stop by and grab a map so that you can coordinate your stops.

Pro tip: Take the shuttle (approximately $15 per person round-trip). You take it from the Main…read moreLodge and they run every 20-30mins from 7amish to 730pmish (as of Aug 2025). You want to get off at Red's Meadow and hike to the falls. It's easy-easy/moderate and is the shortest distance to the falls. Do not take it from Devil's Postpile because it will add 1.5 miles of open sun hike to the falls. Once there, reward yourself with glass of wine and lunch. The water is cool to cold (depending on the time of year) and refreshing. Highly recommended

There's almost a guaranteed rainbow and maybe even a double rainbow if you're lucky at Rainbow…read moreFalls! From the shuttle stop, it's a 1.6 mile exposed hike to the falls, then some stairs to the bottom. We were prepared wearing our swimsuits to take a dip in the frigid water! Totally worth it. So beautiful!

We came here during the government shutdown. Shuttle services was still operating although the…read moreVisitor Center was closed. We had stayed in Oakhurst for the night, so this was a stop before going to Yosemite Valley. We had to park at the Mariposa Grove Welcome Plaza where the Visitor Center was and took the free shuttle to get to the start of all the trails. We saw some deer on the way! The giant sequoia trees were a magnificent sight to see, and the trails were nice and defined.

Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias is absolutely stunning--a truly magical place filled with…read morebreathtaking trees. There's a large parking lot and a visitor center with very friendly, helpful staff who gave us great information before we headed out. From there, we took the shuttle up to the walking path (note: if you're handicap, you can actually drive up directly). There are restrooms both at the visitor center and up by the trees, plus a convenient water fill station with fresh snow water from the area. The walking path itself is easy to follow, and every turn offers incredible views of these majestic giants. An unforgettable experience and a must-see in Yosemite!

My first time visiting…read more If you love nature, you will love this park. It's just breathtaking and deserves to be seen. I only spent a few hours there as I drove from San Francisco, which is about 4.5 hours. $35 a car. One thing I didn't like, when paying to get in, the Ranger asked if I was a legal resident. He asked that because he said it's $100 for a non-resident. Trump at his finest because the Ranger said it was an Executive Order. There are so many beautiful sites. Definitely worth visiting. Oh, I almost forgot. They have gas stations, and when I saw the price, I filled my tank. $6.19 for regular.

Before I visited the place, I had heard of the Sequoia National Park several times throughout my…read morelife and all these mentions amounted to me believing one large fact: that the place was a sprawling, maybe never ending, sea of deep forest pageantry. And do not get me wrong, the place is in fact miles and miles and cubic centimeters of forest as commonly imagined. It had tall trees, meadows, dirt paths with twigs and shrubs all around and views so expansive the word majestic comes to mind. But after walking the same scenery for hours the beauty in green became a dull brown motif. Wood sprites might have heard my words or seen my unimpressed and tired face because Sequoia stopped being a forest of trees and green and it started to become a land of different weathers that not only gave me new challenges and vistas to experience but it also gave me beauty I had to endure. As I saw my friend Denise walk into a spherical cloud of fog, I realized that this place oscillated between being both proof of nature's magic and her jagged disposition. The fog seemed like a portal to Avalon where Pulk waited with prose, but it was also a reminder of all the sailors and drivers lost when the thickness of mist impairs good visual choices. The fog sphere was seen after Denise and I walked for hours, uphill, to see Morro Rock. As we walked up, we first passed mist that seem to have broken from a cloud. This was a sensational moment. She and. had both skydove but this is the first time where we felt like we walked through cloud veils, insetad of zooming past them with the hope of gravitiy abandon. I do not think I will ever re-feel the sensation of walking on cloud air, literally. She and I got separated. I thought I could follow the signs. But the signs were tricksters. As I walked toward the museum I saw a sign that said this way to Crescent Meadow. I did not see a sign that said this way to Crescent Meadow (pointing to the left) and this way to the Museum (pointing ahead). I assumed that because I no longer saw signs assuring me that I was on the right path, I must have gotten into the wrong one. I share this as the biggest piece of advice that I wish to give: Stay the trail, despite not having signs of reassurance that you are still in the right direction. The signs, and my broken internal compass, are both valid reasons as to why I eventually left the designated path and got lost. Like legit lost in the wilderness of Sequoia. I was not in an episode of Naked and Afraid but I did feel scared, disoriented and like I would not see my life tomorrow. Before I got to this point of panic, I arrived at a bluff of a white mountain that saw me greet miles of green pines that streched as far as the eye could see. It was a Rocky-like-triumph moment, except that I had to drag myself, as I sat, down this white mountain, but that was my survival experience that I am proud to have endured. After sliding down, I searched for paths that seemed walked on before, and found several that I had to follow and eliminae. I climbed over trees by hugging their fallen bark, and almost lost my shoe. I continued and eventually found a path and others humans. I was save for now. I got lost again but this time my survival was quicker as I walked down to the road. Rangers told me that I was not able to ride in the truck after I explained I was scared and unable to find my way twice. One of them told me to follow the road and eventually I would hit the museum. I did just that and I found my friend Denise waiting in the museum. After hugs laced with relief, she and I continued our trek to Sherman. But we got hit by rain. I had a hoodie. She did not. Her face looked beautiful covered with the remains of heavy rain. We walked and the sleet followed. We were wet, damp, and we were scared. What could be next? We could not find our path to Sherman. We waved people down, hoping that someone would take us to our car near Sherman. Eventually, we met Chester and he let us both into his car. The snow now was falling hard. She and I did not expect snow. We did not expect white to fall from the sky not when we were promised green on top of green all around. We got to the car and she drove in Snow for the first time. It was both scary and and beuatiful. I imagined that I was in snow caped mountains seeing frozen giants walk around. The night was gray. The monsters were there. She worried about us not having snow tired but still we drove down the snow covered pines, in a pilgramage to safety. Before we left the park we saw mist contrasted in the dark of the knight. It was a spooky evening, yes, the one that frames scary stories. But for us the night mist was further proof that Sequoia offers weather that is cyclical within a day. With space from the experience, I am only happythat I visited the place and was ensconsed by its many seasons. And, grateful that I survived the beauty of it all.

Visited Yosemite Falls on May 1st, and it felt just right…read more No crowds, perfect weather -- not too hot, not too cold. The waterfall was powerful, full of life, rushing down like it had something to say. Yosemite National Park felt wild and peaceful at the same time -- clean, untouched, and deeply beautiful. Grateful for everyone who takes care of this place

Visited Yosemite National Park for the first time in a while on Easter weekend! Definitely…read morerecommend coming on a weekday/non-holiday time or arriving early as the park gets pretty crowded - we waited about 30 minutes to get through the entrance on Saturday. Park is well maintained and very prompt on trail closures. There's something for everyone here from straightforward and short paved walks to more intense ones like Half Dome. We hiked the Vernal Falls & Nevada Falls trail on Friday, and part of the John Muir trail was closed due to snow so we had to do it out and back instead of a loop. Views were stunning and there was a lot of water in the falls this time of year! Took us a little over 4 hours to complete. Only downside was that this is a very popular trail so we were having to move slowly and wait behind people on some narrow portions. We stopped by Lower Yosemite Falls on Saturday and it is a simple, easy stroll with a great view, but super super packed. We weren't able to find parking so one person had to keep circling the lot until. Gift shops were nice and I picked up a couple of magnets as souvenirs. Overall, I would definitely return, and will plan my next visit around the crowds. Pro tip: find accommodation inside the park if possible. The roads leading into the park are very windy and going back and forth made me a bit car sick. All the lodges were already completely booked, so next time I will plan well in advance.

What a great experience at Devil's Postpile NP. Easy 1/2 mile hike with some climbing, steep…read moreportions of trail. What an incredible experience. Steep climb to top but worth it. Ample parking in dirt lots. Cool info signage about the area. Seeing this phenomenon was amazing. Two miles further to Rainbow Falls. Devil's Postpile is closed 10/6-10/11, major road work repairs.

We came here in July and really enjoyed this monument. It is so interesting with all the columnar…read morebasalt. The columns tower over 60 feet and these columns were formed approximately 100,000 years ago from a volcanic lava flow that cooled. The lava flow cracked into these multi sided columns. When you stand on a column you will see it forms a perfect octagon. WOW! Nature is so incredible. To get here, we took the shuttle from the main Mammoth Lakes Lodge. It was an easy ride down here and back. Parking is available at the lodge. The only vehicles that were allowed on the road besides the shuttles were for campers who had reservations and sites. Take your time when you are here to really study these structures. I highly recommend when visiting Mammoth Lakes.

Tour 1/15/23 Ramji went out of his way to book a very last minute tour for us. We were a party of 6…read moreadults and 1 child. The weather was unpredictable the day of our tour so I felt more comfortable going in with a guide that could drive in snowy conditions. Laura was our guide. She was very knowledgeable and catered the tour around what we wanted which was sightseeing but also lots of snow play for our 6 year old. She engaged with our son many times during the car ride to keep him interested in the tour. She also offered to take pictures of us. She was very comfortable driving the van and we didn't feel unsafe at anytime. We got to see more than we thought we would see. She made stops along the way when we needed bathroom breaks. Lunch was good - sandwich, cookie, chips, and water. We were missing 1 sandwich. I would check at pick up to ensure all lunches are there. We would use this company again. Thank you Ramji + Laura for making my son's birthday wonderful.

I wish that my words can adequately express my gratitude for having the most enjoyable tour of…read moreYosemite. It was a very emotional experience for me. I am still mourning the loss of my parents from the pandemic. Seeing the sites and beauty of Yosemite had me in tears. Our tour guide, Daniel, was so informative and most of all - inspiring. He captivated me with his Yosemite stories and his war stories. My two kids received a year's worth of history education in the span of less than a day. Daniel gave me and my family new wonderful memories in this new chapter of our lives. Most especially, I seriously respect the owner. My son left his iphone in the tour van and I completely flipped out. The owner luckily was able to arrange a driver to drive from Yosemite to our hotel in Fresno to return the phone to us to save our vacation. As a business owner myself, I don't know if I would have done the same. This act of kindness speaks volumes about the business and how dedicated the owner is at giving visitors truly memorable experiences. We will be back!