Yosemite National Park

Notes: On June 30, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant Act which ceded the 'cleft' or 'gorge' in the granite peak of the Sierra Nevada mountains ... known as the Yo-Semite Valley and the land embracing the Mariposa Big Tree Grove to the State of California as protected wilderness for public use, resort, and recreation. This act marked the first time the United States government preserved land for public use and led to the creation of America's National Park system.

On October 1, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison signed legislation which established Yosemite National Park, America's 3rd national park, and General Grant National Park (which, 50 years later, became part of Kings Canyon National Park). While the new park included the Tuolomne and Merced river watersheds, it excluded Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove both of which remained under state jurisdiction.

On February 7, 1905, Yosemite National Park shrank in size by 429 mi2 (1,111 km2) after President Theodore Roosevelt signed legislation which excluded land west of Lake Eleanor, Hodgdon Meadow, Crane Creek, and El Portal; east of the Sierra Crest; and southeast of the Merced-San Joaquin Divide and expanded the park's northern boundary to follow the Sierra Crest and the divide between Cherry and Eleanor, Kendrick, and Falls Creeks. On June 11, 1906, President Roosevelt signed additional legislation which returned Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove to the park and excluded a tract of land between Chinquapin and the South Fork Merced River including Yosemite West and Henness Ridge.

Several smaller park expansions along the western park boundary followed:

April 16, 1914 Land and Timber Exchange Small tract of land west of Crane Flat added in exchange for rights to harvest timber
May 28, 1928 Land Exchange 0.5 mi2 (1.4 km2) tract between El Portal and Yosemite West added as part of a land exchange designed to protect deer along the western park boundary
April 14, 1930 Rockefeller Purchase 8.7 mi2 (22.4 km2) Rockefeller Grove added when President Herbert Hoover signed Proclamation 1904. John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated $1.65 million to purchase this grove from lumber companies
August 13, 1932 Wawona Addition 13.7 mi2 (35.5 km2) Wawona Basin added when President Herbert Hoover signed Proclamation 2005
July 9, 1937 Carl Inn Addition 11.3 mi2 (29.1 km2) Carl Inn tract added (legal entanglements delayed the acquisition until 1939)

Yosemite National Park expanded for the last time on September 7, 2016 when The Trust for Public Land donated the Ackerson Meadow tract, near the park's Big Oak Flat entrance, which it had purchased from private ownership for $2.3 million.

Today, Yosemite National Park encompasses 1,169 mi2 (3,027 km2) of terrain, contains 800 mi (1,287 km) of hiking trails, and receives more than 4,400,000 visitors annually.

Yosemite National Park includes the last surviving giant redwood tunnel tree (California) and 1 of the 30 largest giant redwoods (Washington). The park contains 8 trees larger than 25,000 ft3 (708 m3) and 3 trees larger than 30,000 ft3 (850 m3).

Washington is the largest tree and Columbia is the tallest tree in Yosemite National Park.

Wawona Tree (now Wawona Log) fell in February 1969.

Yosemite National Park includes 3 giant redwood groves:

  • Merced Grove
  • Tuolomne Grove

Yosemite National Park includes the following giant redwoods:

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • American Legion
  • Andrew Johnson (fell 1870)
  • Annapolis
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • Bachelor
  • Boston
  • Bret Harte
  • Brooklyn
  • California
  • Captain A. E. Wood
  • Cathedral Group
  • Chester A. Arthur
  • Chicago
  • Claveau's Saloon
  • Clothespin
  • Colonel Thomas A. Scott
  • Colorado
  • Columbia
  • Commissioners
  • Connecticut
  • Corridor
  • Dana
  • Dead Giant (Mariposa)
  • Dead Giant (Tuolomne)
  • Delaware
  • Dewey
  • Diamond Group
  • Elephant's Foot
  • Emperor Norton
  • Faithful Couple
  • Fallen Giant (fell 1873)
  • Fallen Monarch
  • Ferdinand de Lesseps
  • Florida
  • Forest Giant
  • Forest King
  • Forest Queen
  • Four Guardsmen/Old Guard
  • Francis Scott Key
  • Fresno
  • Galen Clark
  • General Grant
  • General Logan
  • General Sheridan
  • General Sherman
  • Georgia
  • Governor/Window
  • Governor Todd
  • Grizzly Giant
  • Grover Cleveland
  • Hamilton
  • Harvard
  • Haverford
  • Hawaiian Islands
  • Honolulu
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Indianapolis
  • Iowa (fell 1954)
  • James A. Garfield
  • John Hay
  • John Muir
  • Kansas
  • Kansas City
  • Kentucky
  • Keystone
  • Kindergarten Group
  • Lafayette
  • Lincoln
  • Longfellow
  • Los Angeles
  • Louisiana
  • Lyell
  • Maine
  • Mariposa
  • Mark Twain (fell 1943)
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts (fell 1927)
  • Mather
  • McKinley
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Monadnock
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Oberlin
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pasadena
  • Pennsylvania
  • Philadelphia
  • Phillipine Islands
  • Pittsburgh
  • Pluto's Chimney
  • Princeton
  • Puerto Rico
  • Rhode Island
  • Robert E. Lee
  • Sacramento
  • Samoset
  • San Diego
  • San Francisco (fell 1944)
  • San Jose
  • Sergeant of the Guard
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Stable (fell 1934)
  • St. Louis
  • Stanford
  • Stonewall Jackson
  • Sunset
  • Telescope
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • The Sentinels
  • Three Graces
  • University of California
  • University of Michigan
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Utah (fell 1935)
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Wade Hampton
  • Washburn
  • Washington
  • Washington State
  • Wawona (fell 1969)
  • West Point
  • West Virginia
  • Whittier
  • Wigwam
  • William Penn
  • Wisconsin
  • Workshop
  • Wyoming
  • Yale

Visit nps.gov/yose for seasonal hours, current entrance fees, and more information.

Drive: Yosemite Valley Visitor Center is located at 9035 Village Drive 155 mi (249 km) east of San Francisco near Oakhurst.

Northbound: From U.S. Interstate 5 North, transfer to California State Highway 41 North toward Kettleman City. Drive north 146 mi (235 km) on California State Highway 41, past the park entrance station (entrance fee required), to Yosemite Valley. Merge onto Southside Drive and drive east 4 mi (6 km) to Sentinel Drive.

Southbound: From U.S. Interstate 5 South in Sacramento, transfer to U.S. Highway 50 East toward South Lake Tahoe. Drive east 1.7 mi (2.7 km) on U.S. Highway 50 and transfer to California State Highway 99 South. Near Merced, transfer to California State Highway 140 East. Drive east 74 mi (119 km) on California State Highway 140, past the park entrance station (entrance fee required), to Yosemite Valley. Veer right across the bridge over Merced River, and drive east 5 mi (8 km) on Southside Drive to Sentinel Drive.

Turn left onto Sentinel Drive and drive east 0.3 mi (0.5 km) to Northside Drive. Turn right onto Northside Drive toward the Visitor Center parking area.

Photos: Pictures of Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park - Olmsted Point Yosemite National Park - Tenaya Lake Yosemite National Park - Tuolumne Meadows Yosemite National Park - Wawona Point Yosemite National Park - Wawona Tree Yosemite National Park - Washington Tree Yosemite National Park - Mariposa Grove Cabin Yosemite National Park - Columbia Tree Yosemite National Park - California Tree Yosemite National Park - Grizzly Giant Tree