Eastern Sierra
The spectacular Ansel Adams Wilderness Area abuts Yosemite National Park, Mammoth Lakes, June Lake and Inyo National Forest. It contains some of the most…
Must-see attractions in Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada
Yosemite National Park
Just off Hwy 41, immediately east of Wawona Tunnel, is the parking lot for this spectacular viewpoint where you can take in much of the valley floor,…
Yosemite National Park
Spectacular views await from these falls, ricocheting 594ft as part of the 'Giant Staircase' leading the Merced River down into Yosemite Valley. Most…
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
Panoramic roadside pullout on the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway with soaring views of Rodger's Ridge, Spanish Mountain, Deer Ridge, Deer Canyon, Crown Rock,…
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Mono Lake Region
At 6.3 million acres, this is the largest national forest in the lower 48 states. Most of it is in Nevada, with a small portion around Bridgeport in…
Mono Lake Region
Constituting 128,000 acres of backcountry paradise, Hoover includes the Virginia Lakes, Lundy Lake and high peaks to the west bordering Yosemite National…
Yosemite National Park
A dirt road, closed to cars, dips steeply down the smallest, densest and quietest sequoia grove in the park.
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
Tragically, Converse Basin once contained the world’s largest grove of mature sequoias, but it’s now an unsettling cemetery for tree stumps. In the late…
Yosemite Conservation Heritage Center
Yosemite National Park
Built by the Sierra Club in 1903, this small, rustic, granite-and-wood lodge offers a glimpse of a relatively unknown chapter of California architecture…
Sequoia National Park
Discovered in 1918 by two parks' employees who were going fishing, this unique cave was carved by an underground river and has marble formations estimated…
Yosemite National Park
Chilnualna Creek tumbles around 2200ft over the north shoulder of forested Wawona Dome in an almost continuous series of cascades. The largest and most…
Sequoia National Park
Said to have been described by John Muir as the ‘gem of the Sierra,’ this lush meadow is buffered by a forest of firs and giant sequoias. High grass and…
Eastern Sierra
For a graphic view of the area’s geothermal power, journey south of Mammoth Lakes to where chilly Mammoth Creek blends with hot springs and continues its…
Kings Canyon National Park
More than 15,000 sequoias cluster in Redwood Canyon, making it one of the world’s largest groves of these giant trees. In an almost-forgotten corner of…
Sequoia National Park
For a primer on the intriguing ecology and history of giant sequoias, this pint-sized modern museum will entertain both kids and adults. Hands-on exhibits…
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
The 20ft-high Chicago Stump is all that’s left of the once-mighty, 3200-year-old General Noble tree. The 285ft giant was cut into sections and transported…
Yosemite National Park
Few know about it, but original Ansel Adams photographic prints are shown at Yosemite Valley's Ansel Adams Gallery. A number of walks and classes are also…
Kings Canyon National Park
Six miles east of Cedar Grove Village is the end of the road for cars. A seasonal ranger station issues wilderness permits, sells maps and hiking guides,…
Mono Lake Region
A stroll down a hillside brings you to this out-of-the-way (though it can still get crowded) hot spring. Water emerges piping hot and cools as it trickles…
Kings Canyon National Park
A five-minute walk on a paved trail (0.3 miles) leads to one of the park’s most accessible waterfalls, a 40ft chute gushing into a granite bowl. In late…
Kings Canyon National Park
About 3 miles northeast of the park’s Big Stump Entrance, Grant Grove Village is the park’s main tourist hub year-round, with lodge and cabin…
Yosemite National Park
The Yosemite Museum has Miwok and Paiute artifacts, including woven baskets, beaded buckskin dresses and dance capes made from feathers. Native American…
Yosemite National Park
Above the north shore of the Tuolumne River, carbonated mineral water burbles silently out of Soda Springs, a small natural spring that turns its…
Kings Canyon National Park
For a breathtaking view of Kings Canyon, head 2.3 miles up narrow, steep and winding Panoramic Point Rd (trailers and RVs aren’t recommended), which…
Yosemite National Park
About a quarter-mile east of Yosemite Village, The Ahwahnee is a picture of rustic elegance, dating back to 1927. You don’t need to be a…
Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada
Panoramic Hope Valley, ringed by Sierra Nevada peaks that may remain dusted with snow even in early summer, is home to wildflowers, meadows and burbling…
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
Built in 1923 and staffed during the wildfire season, this fire lookout is one of the finest restored watchtowers you could ever hope to visit. A total of…
Mono Lake Region
Rising above the southern shore of Mono Lake, Panum Crater is the youngest (about 640 years old), smallest and most accessible of the craters that string…
Yosemite National Park
This simple but beautifully rugged cabin was built in 1915 from local granite. It initially served as a Sierra Club meeting room and was named for Edward…
Kings Canyon National Park
Cedar Grove, at the bottom of Kings Canyon, is the last outpost of civilization before you reach the rugged grandeur of the Sierra Nevada backcountry. The…
Sequoia National Park
Visitors can drive through a 2000-year-old tree, which fell naturally in 1937. It once stood 275ft high with a base measuring 21ft in diameter. Regular…
Kings Canyon National Park
On excursions to Kings Canyon, John Muir would allegedly give talks on this large, flat river boulder, a short walk from the Road's End parking lot and…
Mariposa Museum & History Center
Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada
Mariposa's past comes alive, well, as much as possible considering the fairly fusty objects displayed in this museum. Menus, logbooks, train tickets,…
Yosemite National Park
Where the Merced River courses around two small islands lies Happy Isles, a popular area for picnics, swimming and strolls on marked paths and a small…
Kings Canyon National Park
During the 1920s, wealthy Santa Barbara businessman George Knapp built this simple wood-shingled cabin to store gear in during his extravagant fishing and…
Mono Lake Region
On the north shore of Mono Lake are the Black Point Fissures, narrow crags that opened when a lava mass cooled and contracted about 13,000 years ago…
Yosemite National Park
Pothole Dome marks the western end of Tuolumne Meadows. It’s small by Yosemite standards, but the short, 200ft climb to the top offers great views of the…
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
A stunning wilderness area 44,000 acres in size and bisected by the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway (Hwy 180). Monarch includes dramatic, high-elevation alpine…
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
When it was dammed in 1908, this 87-acre artificial lake powered a huge log flume that whisked sequoias harvested in Converse Basin to a mill more than 70…
