If it is your first time visiting Yosemite, I definitely recommend making a stop here. There is so…read moremuch staff throughout the center to help you find what you want to do while exploring this part of the park. Plus, they are experts in what is the most popular thing to do during your visit. I highly recommend stopping at all the exhibits throughout the center, the Ansel Adams gallery, and the museums about the history of the park. Plus, there are two gift shops to buy all your souvenirs. There is a theater that will go through the history of the park, which was pretty cool and informative. Once you are done exploring the exhibits, make sure to follow the trails to the nearest trail to capture some cool photos in nature and even walk over to Yosemite Falls. All in all, definitely a must-see and can be spent in one day to hit all the landmarks in this area. You will be entertained and amazed by the beauty of Yosemite National Park. Happy trailing and sight-seeing! Embrace the nature!

Small visitor center with passport stamps and a few souvenirs. It's a great place to gather…read moreinformation and grab a map of the park. The rangers were helpful and offered great suggestions for easy day hikes, especially since some routes are seasonal.

Peak Happiness…read more Yosemite is one of the country's most iconic and visited national parks, with nearly five million visitors per year, and after just a few minutes here, it's plain to see why. It features some of the most iconic views and natural rock formations in the world and spans an astonishing 746,000 acres of pristine California wilderness. This is a long-overdue review, as we haven't been since the COVID-19 lockdown, so I'll just barrage it with fun facts: * Home to America's tallest waterfall, Yosemite Falls, which drops an astonishing 2,425 feet. It is actually home to three of the ten tallest in the country. * Home to 3,000-year-old sequoias in the Mariposa Grove. * President Lincoln signed a bill to protect Yosemite back in 1864, during the middle of the Civil War. It didn't become an official national park until 1890. * 95% of the park is inaccessible as protected wilderness. * Over 800 miles of trails, including the Pacific Crest Trail. Conclusion: Just get here.

One word to describe Yosemite; Majestic. By far the best experience I've ever had. Indescribable…read morebreathtaking views that will have you keep coming back. It is 35$ per car to get in and it's for 7 days. What I will say is that you will not get to see and do everything in one day which is why the 7 day pass really benefits you. They have a campground if you wanna camp, a gift shop, and a restaurant if you're hungry. When it comes to hiking there are different trails. Some are short and some are long. The longer you hike to get to the top the better the views will be. I say take a sweater if you plan on hiking for a long time because it does get colder the higher you go. The good thing about these trials are pit stops where you can get water and use the restroom. Overall it's perfect tbh. Parking can get chaotic especially on the weekends. I recommend coming early and leaving early. Make sure you bring your hiking shoes because sneakers are not it. I can't wait to come back in a couple of years.

I love Visitor Centers but I think this one's focus is more on preserving you over heightening your…read moreexperience on your visit. I gave a friend a hand drawn map to a waterfall. My friend traveled 250 plus miles to see it. The staff here discouraged her from going because it's "dangerous." Next: I ask them about a waterfall near Nelder Grove. The employee tells me she's been there one hundred times. There is no waterfall! The map from the Friends of Nelder Grove website said it existed. I went out there, followed a trail that started next to a creek bed and found the Fall! Unless you want a restaurant recommendation, pass this Center by!

The folks that work here are probably the friendliest greeters I've experienced at a Visitor's…read moreCenter. Their knowledge and tips made our trip to Yosemite more enjoyable, without the hassle of getting lost or wondering what are the most significant views at Yosemite. Definitely, Mariposa Grove sounded like the best to drive, if you have a handicapped placard and other notable sites with waterfalls or majestic views. It's worth stopping into visitor centers to screen out difficult walks or those locations which may not be as worthy, such as the swinging bridge.

Having never tempted your family from this direction, I stopped at the visitor center in Mariposa…read more So glad I did, Jacob was full of information, knowledge, and tips for both things local and for Yosemite. Got a bunch of brochures which I always love, and save, and got to look at and purchase some cool merch. Bonus: there is an awesome looking escape room right there. Do not miss this stop!!!

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!

I remember my mom taking me through the Indian Village of Ahwahnee here in Yosemite National Park…read moreas a kid. Now I take my family here and pass down the legacy. This is a nice walk through area located in back of the visitor center. There was a deer just hanging out here while we were visiting...go figure. Exact location is as follows: Latitude: 37.750111 Longitude: -119.587606

Upper Yosemite Falls trail was definitely the hardest hike I've done. It was about 7.2 miles…read moreroundtrip, took exactly 7 hours starting at 10:40am and finally making it down at 5:40pm (5 hours going up, 2 going down), and was 2,700 ft of elevation gain. The terrain is mostly rocks and goes up most of the way, so it's an insane leg workout that left me sore for a couple days after. Going up was exhausting, but there's plenty of spots to sit down and take breaks. About halfway through, we stopped and ate snacks. Going down felt more difficult on my knees, but it was a lot faster. It also started to rain so we had to be careful about slipping. The views were absolutely beautiful and worth it every step of the way. I constantly stopped and took photos and admired it all. Once you get up to the top, you can get really close to upper yosemite falls on a narrow path along some rocks. If you're afraid of heights, you might be a bit scared. It was super chilly when we got up there. Almost everyone we encountered on the trail was super friendly, and it was fun to see familiar faces when we got up to the top and overhear people exclaiming how proud they are of themselves. Going in May when the weather was still cold (about 40° when we were here) was definitely helpful. I don't know if I would have been able to do it if it were hot outside. I get lightheaded pretty easily and there were times I felt like I was going to pass out, but I did it!! Definitely take breaks, don't rush yourself, drink plenty of water, and bring snacks. Make sure you have hiking boots!!! If I didn't have hiking boots I probably wouldn't have been able to do it.

It gets super busy in the area, but its worth checking out if you love waterfalls. the hikes are…read moregreat, it's worth it, the waterfalls are breathtaking, and hiking is hard but worth it.

9/29/2022 Stopped to…read moretake a bathroom break... Always clean and friendly staff! I love all the cool merchandise... Today's purchases: Baseball hat, and shea butter for cuticles. Sales clerk was friendly and asked if we wanted to become members of the Mono Lake ? If you purchase $25 worth , $25 would go towards the Mono lake protection... Why not... of course! Now, this will be another must stop to support Mono lake! Also got a free dvd about Mono Lake...

Great place to start if you're not familiar the story of Mono Lake, the tufas, or the efforts to…read morerestore the land bridge and water levels. Open 9-5, with a free film about the region and lake, a gift shop, interactive learning stations and stunning views of the lake from the back terrace. Plenty of free parking. Cheers! "CC"

We love this place! We always stop here to walk the trails amongst the giant Sequoias…read more You need to park and take a shuttle to the Grove. The shuttle runs pretty frequently so the wait isn't very long but the line can get long during the weekends. We like to go early in the day when it's not so busy. The main loop has a wide wooden boardwalk. The trails are well maintained and busy. There are restrooms at the start and benches along the main loop. Highly recommend.

Firstly, if this is a must see, be sure and ask the ranger for a pocket trail map when you drive…read morein. The ranger handed us one when we arrived at the Wawona Gate and told her we hoped to find parking at Mariposa, since the weekend proved too crowded (folks were parking along the main road and walking uphill to the Welcome Plaza, something that would have been too much of a challenge for us in the midday sun). She assured us it was much less crowded this Monday morning, and handed us the pocket map, which became very helpful, once I remembered it was actually IN MY POCKET! This is the first time I've been able to see this grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite. It reopened in June 2018 after a long closure and refurbishment to allow better access while protecting the trees in their ideal conditions - meaning, keep humans at bay. When you arrive at Mariposa Grove Welcome Plaza, there are nice bathrooms and a small bookstore, sundries, souvenir shop and information about the various hikes, maps of trails(I suggest taking a pic of, if you don't have the pocket map), and volunteers happy to guide you through hiking options, or easy routes to just see the largest of the popular Sequoias, Grizzly Giant. You catch the shuttle here for the 6 mins ride to the trailhead for Mariposa Grove, Big Tree Loop and Grizzly Giant Loop trails. We opted for the "moderate" hike along the Mariposa Grove Trail to Tunnel Tree, in which we saw the famous Grizzly Giant as well as the notable Bachelor and Three Graces trees. Our elevation gain was about 300ft. We then continued .2 miles to Tunnel Tree. After queuing for our turn to take pics, we added on treks to see Faithful Couple and Clothespin trees and still found it mildly challenging, but not strenuous. I believe we hiked a total of 1.25 miles up, then it was all an easy downhill back. This total visit, with shuttle rides up and back, took 3 hours. We did not find this to be "moderate," but rather enjoyable and only slightly more challenging than a level walk around a forest. My friend often has to stop periodically for heart rest breaks when hiking, but didn't need any breaks on during today's hike. Take plenty of drinking water with you and maybe a light snack. If you need a restroom, try holding out for the ones at the Welcome Center. The set up at the shuttle pickup/drop-off were not as well maintained, lacked TP, had on stall marked "Closed for the Season," like THAT would be a thing, and defunct hand dryers, but no paper towels. All in all, if you're a fan of Giant Sequoias, you'll want to add Mariposa Grove to your list. We are hitting all the Giant Sequoia areas we can during this road trip, so I would say, comparing the 2 so far, Calaveras Big Trees Park was more enjoyable and an easier tour of these amazing Goliaths, but soon we will add Sequoia Ntl Park & Kings Cyn, so THEN we will know definitively which park towers above the rest. Cheers! "CC"

Construction on Thursdays = Major Delays. Not recommended for families with babies or toddlers…read more We arrived at the Village at 8:30 a.m. to catch the 8:45 shuttle to Devils Postpile, only to be told the first shuttle was delayed until 10:05. Since we were already committed, we drove to Main Lodge instead, where we found a huge line from everyone waiting on the delayed shuttles. At every step, we asked staff for updates, but no one warned us how bad the delays would be. We were told the shuttle ride would take about 20 minutes, but it ended up taking over an hour because of stop-and-go traffic from construction. The return trip was even worse. We boarded the shuttle at 1:30 p.m. and didn't get back to Main Lodge until after 3:00 p.m. The shuttle was hot, overcrowded, made multiple stops, and even returned to Devils Postpile before heading back. Staff seemed just as uninformed as visitors, and no one could provide accurate wait times or expectations. Our timeline: * Arrived at the Village: 8:30 a.m. * First shuttle departed: 10:05 a.m. * Reached Devils Postpile: Just after 11:00 a.m. * Boarded return shuttle: 1:30 p.m. * Returned to Main Lodge: Just after 3:00 p.m. The ticket agent refunded our shuttle tickets and admitted they didn't realize how severe the delays were because multiple agencies are involved. If you're traveling with young children, especially babies or toddlers, I'd avoid visiting on Thursdays during construction. It turned what should have been a simple outing into an exhausting, all-day ordeal.

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.

Our group had a fantastic trip. The lodging accommodations were perfect…read more The chosen activities were spot on and my children had the most fun learning the history and the technique of gold panning. Services are highly recommended and will most definitely be using their service again.

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