47 chapters
58 minute read
Selected Chapters
47 chapters
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK CALIFORNIA
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK CALIFORNIA
OPEN ALL YEAR UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1935 In bidding you welcome the National Park Service asks you to remember that you are visiting a great playground that belongs in part to you, and that while you are at liberty to go anywhere in the park with perfect freedom, you owe it to yourself and to your fellow citizens not to do anything that will injure the trees, the wild animals or birds, or any of the natural features of the park. The park regulations are designed f
42 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
RULES AND REGULATIONS (Briefed)
RULES AND REGULATIONS (Briefed)
Fires. —Light carefully and in designated places. Extinguish COMPLETELY before leaving camp even for temporary absence. Do not guess your fire is out—KNOW IT. Do not throw burning tobacco or matches on road or trail sides. Camps. —Register at camp entrance. Keep your camp clean. Burn all combustible material and place all garbage in cans provided. Camp at least 25 feet from other tents, buildings, or water hydrants. Trash. —Do not throw paper, lunch refuse, kodak cartons or paper, chewing-gum pa
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
IMPORTANT EVENTS IN YOSEMITE’S HISTORY
IMPORTANT EVENTS IN YOSEMITE’S HISTORY
Here are a few suggestions to help you plan your time in Yosemite to best advantage. This is a summer schedule —in winter see special programs posted on bulletin boards at hotels. Do not hurry through Yosemite—take the time to at least visit all points of interest in the Valley and do not leave the park without seeing the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees and the wonderful panoramic view from Glacier Point....
24 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
GENERAL
GENERAL
Visit the Yosemite Museum, located in the New Village, open 8 a. m. to 5 p. m. Interesting exhibits of the geology, Indians, early history, trees, flowers, birds, and mammals of Yosemite. Wild-flower garden and demonstrations of native Indian life in back of museum. Short talks on geology of the Valley given several times each day. Library, information desk, and headquarters for nature guide service. Maps and booklets. Take the auto caravan tour of the Valley floor with your own car, starting fr
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1-DAY MOTOR TRIPS
1-DAY MOTOR TRIPS
To Glacier Point. —Thirty miles (about 1½ hours) each way. Paved highway to Chinquapin, 14 miles, and good oiled road from there to Glacier Point. Leave the Valley on the Wawona Road just west of Bridalveil Fall. Visit Sentinel Dome, elevation 8,117 feet—a one-half mile drive and short climb from the main road above Glacier Point. Wonderful panorama of the High Sierra and the Valley. Camp ground and hotel at Glacier Point. To the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. —Thirty-five miles (about 1½ hours) e
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1-DAY HIKES FROM VALLEY—DISTANCES GIVEN ONE WAY
1-DAY HIKES FROM VALLEY—DISTANCES GIVEN ONE WAY
To Sierra Point. —Marvelous view of four waterfalls and Valley. Three-fourths of a mile of steep trail branching off the Vernal Fall Trail, just above Happy Isles (about 2-hour trip, not a horse trail). To Vernal Fall. —One and six-tenths miles from start of the trail at Happy Isles. To Nevada Fall. —Three and four-tenths miles from start of the trail at Happy Isles. To Glacier Point. —Eight and three-tenths miles from start of the trail at Happy Isles (via the long trail by Vernal and Nevada Fa
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
HOW THE VALLEY WAS FORMED
HOW THE VALLEY WAS FORMED
After the visitor has recovered from his first shock of astonishment—for it is no less—at the beauty of the Valley, inevitably he wonders how nature made it. How did it happen that walls so enormous rise so nearly perpendicular from the level floor of the Valley? When the Sierra Nevada was formed by the gradual tipping of a great block of the earth’s crust 400 miles long and 80 miles wide, streams draining this block were pitched very definitely toward the west and with torrential force cut deep
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
WATERFALLS
WATERFALLS
The depth to which the Valley was cut by streams and glaciers is measured roughly by the extraordinary height of the waterfalls which pour over the rim. The Upper Yosemite Fall, for instance, drops 1,430 feet in one sheer fall, a height equal to nine Niagara Falls piled one on top of the other. The Lower Yosemite Fall, immediately below, has a drop of 320 feet, or two Niagaras more. Counting the series of cascades in between, the total drop from the crest of Yosemite Fall to the Valley floor is
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
HEIGHT OF WATERFALLS
HEIGHT OF WATERFALLS
Glacier Point, above the Valley rim, commands a magnificent view of the High Sierra. Spread before one in panorama are the domes, the pinnacles, the waterfalls, and dominating all, Half Dome, a mythical Indian turned to stone. A few steps from the hotel one looks down into Yosemite Valley, 3,254 feet below, where automobiles are but moving specks, tents white dots, and the Merced River a silver tracery on green velvet. From the little stone lookout, perched on the very rim of the gorge, by means
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE BIG TREES
THE BIG TREES
One of the best groves of giant sequoia trees outside of the Sequoia National Park is found in the extreme south of the Yosemite National Park and is called the Mariposa Grove. It is reached from the Wawona Road, which enters the park from the south. From the Yosemite Valley it is an easy drive of 35 miles over a paved, high-gear road requiring about 1½ hours each way. Unsurpassed views of the whole expanse of Yosemite Valley may be had from the east portal of the new 4,233-foot tunnel and, from
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE WAWONA BASIN
THE WAWONA BASIN
The Wawona Basin of 14 square miles, added to the park in 1932, provides an extensive area for recreational use. Here camping, riding, and golfing may be enjoyed in a perfect setting along the South Fork of the Merced River. Wawona is located in a beautiful mountain meadow on the new Wawona Road, 27 miles south of the Valley and near the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. Superb views are obtainable from many points on this road, which leaves the Valley just west of Bridalveil Fall. Saddle and pack an
47 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
HETCH HETCHY VALLEY
HETCH HETCHY VALLEY
A good oiled mountain road makes the scenic Hetch Hetchy Valley a short, 2-hour drive by car from Yosemite Valley, a distance of 38 miles each way over the Big Oak Flat Road. This road is a 1-way control road for the first 4 miles after it leaves the Valley near El Capitan. This one-way section is a road of rare charm and beauty with superb views over the Valley. It passes through fine stands of Sugar Pine and Red Fir and the Tuolumne Grove of Big Trees. The road continues on through one of the
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
TUOLUMNE MEADOWS
TUOLUMNE MEADOWS
John Muir, in describing the upper Tuolumne region, writes: It is the heart of the High Sierra, 8,500 to 9,000 feet above the level of the sea. The gray picturesque Cathedral Range bounds it on the south; a similar range or spur, the highest peak of which is Mount Conness, on the north; the noble Mounts Dana, Gibbs, Mammoth, Lyell, Maclure, and others on the axis of the range on the east; a heavy billowy crowd of glacier-polished rocks and Mount Hoffmann on the west. Down through the open sunny
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PATE VALLEY
PATE VALLEY
A few miles farther westward the granite heights slope back more gently and the river suddenly pauses in its tumultuous course to meander through the pines and oaks and cedars of a meadowed flat. Pate Valley has been known for years from the reports of venturesome knapsackers, but now it is made accessible by one of the best trails in the park. An unnatural smoky blackening of the overhanging cornices of the 200-foot walls almost surrounding the glade leads one to approach them, and there, near
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE NORTHERN CANYONS
THE NORTHERN CANYONS
North of the Tuolumne River is an enormous area of lakes and valleys which are seldom visited, notwithstanding that it is penetrated by numerous trails. It is a wilderness of wonderful charm and deserves to harbor a thousand camps. The trout fishing in many of these waters is unsurpassed. Though unknown to people generally, this superb Yosemite country north of the Valley has been the haunt for many years of the confirmed mountain lovers of the Pacific coast. It has been the favorite resort of t
27 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE MOUNTAIN CLIMAX OF THE SIERRA
THE MOUNTAIN CLIMAX OF THE SIERRA
The monster mountain mass, of which Mount Lyell, 13,090 feet high, is the chief, lies on the eastern boundary of the park. It may be reached by trail from Tuolumne Meadows and is well worth the journey. It is the climax of the Sierra in this neighborhood. The traveler swings from the Tuolumne Meadows around Johnson Peak to Lyell Fork and turns southward up its valley. Huge Kuna Crest borders the trail’s left side for miles. At the head of the Valley, beyond several immense granite shelves, rears
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
MERCED AND WASHBURN LAKES
MERCED AND WASHBURN LAKES
The waters from the western slopes of Lyell and Maclure find their way, through many streams and many lakelets of splendid beauty, into two lakes which are the headwaters of the famous Merced River. The upper of these is Washburn Lake, cradled in bare heights and celebrated for its fishing. This is the formal source of the Merced. Several miles below, the river rests again in beautiful Merced Lake. One of the six Yosemite High Sierra camps is at the head of Merced Lake. There is a new trail 13 m
32 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CLIMATE AND SEASONS
CLIMATE AND SEASONS
This land of enchantments is a land of enchanted climate. Its summers are warm, but not too warm; dry, but not too dry; its nights cool and marvelously starry. Moonlight on the towering granite walls is unsurpassed in its romantic beauty. It is a land of sunshine. It is a land of inspiring, often sublime scenery. It is the ideal camping-out ground. Rain seldom falls in the Yosemite between May and October. In winter Yosemite Valley is transformed into a snowy fairyland and all sorts of winter sp
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
WINTER SPORTS
WINTER SPORTS
Yosemite Valley is unusually beautiful in winter, when the fresh snowfalls transform it into a white fairyland and sunset paints the cliffs and domes with rosy alpine glow. John Muir, in describing the ice cone of the Yosemite Fall, writes: The frozen spray (of the fall) gives rise to one of the most interesting winter features of the Valley—a cone of ice at the foot of the fall 400 or 500 feet high. * * * When the cone is in the process of formation, growing higher and wider in frosty weather,
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
TRAILS AND HIKES
TRAILS AND HIKES
With nearly 700 miles of well-defined trails radiating from Yosemite Valley to all sections of the park, and with, for the most part, camps, lodges, or hotels situated within an easy day’s walking distance from each other, conditions in Yosemite are particularly adapted to hiking trips. The hiker may go “light”, depending upon the hotels and lodges for accommodations, or he may pack his entire outfit either on his back or upon a pack animal and thereby be entirely independent. During July and Au
39 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
FISHING
FISHING
The introduction of game fish into the waters of Yosemite National Park began in 1878, 12 years before the area now confined within the park boundaries had been set aside as a national reservation, when plants of rainbow trout were made in some of the lakes in what is now the northwestern corner of the park. In the following year plants of eastern brook trout were made in the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River, and in 1880 plants of rainbow trout were repeated in the Lake Eleanor country. Nothing
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
HOW TO REACH THE PARK
HOW TO REACH THE PARK
All-Year State Highway. —The main paved route to Yosemite Valley from all California points, both north and south, is through Merced on the Pacific Highway through the San Joaquin Valley (Route 99). From Merced the State maintains the splendid paved All-Year Highway to El Portal (Route 140) and from El Portal the National Park Service maintains a similar highway to Yosemite Valley. It is 83 miles long and is the shortest, easiest, and most popular route from Merced, a high-gear modern highway, r
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
ADMINISTRATION
ADMINISTRATION
The representative of the National Park Service in immediate charge of Yosemite National Park is the superintendent, C. G. Thomson, whose office is located in the Administration Building in the Yosemite New Village and whose address is Yosemite National Park, Calif. General information may be obtained from him, and all complaints should be addressed to him. A staff of employees, including rangers and ranger-naturalists, assists the superintendent in serving the public. Exclusive jurisdiction ove
29 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
INFORMATION BUREAU
INFORMATION BUREAU
The National Park Service maintains an information bureau at the superintendent’s office in Yosemite New Village, and the ranger in charge will supply accurate information concerning points of interest, trails, camping facilities, camping locations, fishing places, etc. A branch office of the California State Automobile Association is maintained in conjunction with the Park Service Information Bureau, where the best road information obtainable is furnished free to autoists. Information can also
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
MUSEUM
MUSEUM
The park museum, in New Village, a gift to the Nation from the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, is a spacious and appropriately designed building in which are housed a large number of exhibits loaned or contributed by park enthusiasts. These exhibits are appropriately displayed in rooms devoted to the following major fields: Geology, birds and animals, Indian history, trees, and flowers. The museum grounds have recently been beautified by plantings of native wild flowers and shrubs, a project
52 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
YOSEMITE FIELD SCHOOL OF NATURAL HISTORY
YOSEMITE FIELD SCHOOL OF NATURAL HISTORY
A 7 weeks’ course in field study of Sierra Nevada natural history is offered by the Yosemite educational staff to students who have completed at least 2 years of college work. Emphasis is placed upon field methods, and the course is designed to avoid duplication of work offered in universities and colleges....
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
RANGER-NATURALIST OUTPOST
RANGER-NATURALIST OUTPOST
The development of the park areas above the rim has inevitably brought with it the establishment of branch-museum and ranger-naturalist service at several focal points of interest. The Glacier Point Lookout is located on the most famed scenic point on the rim. Powerful binoculars enable visitors to bring the Sierra’s great peaks to their very feet. A flower show is maintained, and a ranger-naturalist on duty conducts a service of field trips and lectures which correlate with those offered from t
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
FREE PUBLIC CAMP GROUNDS
FREE PUBLIC CAMP GROUNDS
The National Park Service maintains extensive camp grounds in Yosemite Valley and at Glacier Point, Mariposa Grove, and Tuolumne Meadows, for the use of which no charge is made. These areas are provided with necessary sanitary conveniences and for the most part with running water. The grounds are policed daily during the camping season and all litter and waste removed. A camp-fire entertainment is held each summer evening (except Sunday) at a platform centrally located in Camp 14. Please report
43 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
HOTELS, LODGES, HOUSEKEEPING CABINS, AND CAMPS
HOTELS, LODGES, HOUSEKEEPING CABINS, AND CAMPS
The following list of accommodations is a brief summary of rooms, cabins, and tents available in Yosemite. These are operated by the Yosemite Park and Curry Co., which is under contract with the Government to supply these services and accommodations in the park. For reservations and information apply to the Yosemite Park and Curry Co., at Yosemite National Park, Calif., or at 39 Geary Street, San Francisco, Calif., and 540 West Sixth Street, Los Angeles, Calif. Important Notice. —The closing of
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
YOSEMITE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
YOSEMITE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
The Yosemite Transportation System, of the Yosemite Park & Curry Co., operates automobile transportation service connecting with railroad and stage lines at Merced, Fresno, Tahoe, and El Portal, and covering all points of interest reached by automobile roads in Yosemite National Park, and between Yosemite Valley and Lake Tahoe by way of the “Tioga Pass route.” For rates, time schedules, and reservations apply at Camp Curry, The Ahwahnee, or Yosemite Lodge transportation offices....
21 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
STAGE TRIPS
STAGE TRIPS
Merced to Yosemite Valley, $7.25 one way; $10.25 round trip. Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows, $7.50 one way. Yosemite Valley to Lake Tahoe, $25 one way. Mirror Lake. —A short drive to view the reflections, 50 cents. See the Bears. —A short drive in the evening to see Yosemite’s bears feeding under a spotlight, 50 cents. Valley tour. —A 2-hour, 20-mile drive with lecturing escort passing all points of interest on the Valley floor. Leaves daily, $2. Glacier Point. —A round trip to Glacier Poin
57 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
3- AND 6-DAY SADDLE TRIPS
3- AND 6-DAY SADDLE TRIPS
All-expense saddle trips (including saddle animal, guide meals, lodging, box lunches) to High Sierra camps start at $19.50. For full information, see “High Sierra Vacations” folder. The 6-day High Sierra all-expense saddle trip leaves Valley every Monday morning during the season regardless of number in party and any day when a minimum party of five secures free guide service. Pack Trip. —Ask for rates and “High Sierra Vacations” folder. Saddle and pack horses may be rented at Tuolumne Meadows,
25 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
VALLEY FLOOR RIDES
VALLEY FLOOR RIDES
Yosemite. —Twenty-five miles of oiled bridle paths. Guide not necessary. Rates, half day. Forenoon, $2.50; afternoon, $2; full day, $4. Wawona. —Trails on floor of Wawona Valley. Guide not necessary. Rates, half day, $2; full day, $3....
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
STORES AND NEWS STANDS
STORES AND NEWS STANDS
A general store and meat market is operated in the old Yosemite Village by the Yosemite Park & Curry Co. In this general store a complete line of groceries, meats, clothing, drugs, and campers’ supplies of all kinds is available. This company also operates a store at Wawona and at Tuolumne Meadows, where food supplies are sold in summer. At Camp Curry there is a grocery and provision store, where a full line of groceries, meats, food supplies, and fishing tackle is carried during the sum
48 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICE
PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICE
A wide and attractive selection of Yosemite views is to be found in the studios of the following four park operators: Best Studio, located in the New Village, is open the year round and offers complete photographic developing and printing service, in addition to a choice of Yosemite views, and a large supply of small moving-picture film and equipment. H. C. Best is an artist of note and welcomes visitors to his gallery to inspect his paintings of Yosemite. Boysen Studio is situated in the New Vi
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
LAUNDRIES
LAUNDRIES
Adequate laundry and cleaning and pressing facilities are available to all in Yosemite. Convenient points for pick-up and delivery of laundry are to be found at Camp Curry, Yosemite Lodge, the Ahwahnee, the general store in the Old Village, and the Yosemite housekeeping headquarters....
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BARBER SHOPS
BARBER SHOPS
Barber shops are operated in the Old Village, Camp Curry, Yosemite Lodge, and the Ahwahnee. Beauty parlors are operated at Camp Curry, Yosemite Lodge, and the Ahwahnee during the summer season....
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
GARAGE SERVICE
GARAGE SERVICE
The Yosemite Park & Curry Co. operates a storage garage and a completely equipped repair shop with modern machinery and skilled mechanics at Camp Curry in summer and the Yosemite Transportation System garage throughout the remainder of the year. A stock of standard automobile parts and accessories, tires, tubes, etc., is carried at this garage. Gasoline and oil stations are located at Camp Curry, Yosemite Lodge, at the Yosemite Transportation System garage near the Yosemite housekeeping
28 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUND
CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUND
A playground for children is maintained at Camp Curry. It is equipped with swings, slides, sand piles, and the like, and is supervised by a competent attendant trained in kindergarten and playground work. Children may be left in her charge during the absence of parents on sight-seeing trips or hikes. Deer find refuge in the park....
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
POSTAL SERVICE
POSTAL SERVICE
The main post office is in the Yosemite New Village and the postal address is “Yosemite National Park, Calif.” Branch post offices are maintained during the summer season at Camp Curry and Yosemite Lodge and these branch post offices bear the names of these places. Mail for guests of Camp Curry should be addressed to “Camp Curry, Calif.” Mail for guests of hotels or lodges of the Yosemite Park & Curry Co., other than above, should be addressed care of resort at which the guest is staying
38 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
EXPRESS SERVICE
EXPRESS SERVICE
Express service is available in the general store, Old Yosemite Village, and packages should be addressed “Care of Yosemite National Park, Calif., via El Portal.”...
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH SERVICE
TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH SERVICE
Local and long-distance telephone and telegraph service is maintained at the Administration Building in the New Village and at branch offices maintained at The Ahwahnee, Camp Curry, and Yosemite Lodge. Telephonic communications may be had to all interior hotels, camps, and lodges, and long-distance and telegraph messages may be sent from interior points and delivered by telephone to such points. Money transfers are handled at the main office in the Administration Building....
21 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
MEDICAL AND HOSPITAL SERVICE
MEDICAL AND HOSPITAL SERVICE
The Government owns, and operates under contract, a modern hospital building in Yosemite Valley, where medical, surgical, and dental services are provided. A competent medical staff with attendant nurses is in charge, and will also promptly attend patients at any place within the park. The hospital is well equipped with X-ray and other apparatus for diagnosis and treatment, and an ambulance service is provided for emergencies. Prices and character of service are regulated by the Government....
22 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHURCH SERVICES
CHURCH SERVICES
Both Protestant and Catholic Church services are conducted each Sunday during the summer season. Resident representatives of both faiths conduct the services, and speakers of State or national prominence are often in the pulpit. Bulletins are issued giving hours and locations of services. An incorporation known as the Yosemite National Church, on whose board of directors sit representatives of the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, has for its purpose to erect and maintain an appropriate in
21 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
REFERENCES
REFERENCES
The following list of references will be found helpful. Most of them are available at the museum nature library....
24 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PUBLICATIONS FOR SALE AT MUSEUM
PUBLICATIONS FOR SALE AT MUSEUM
The following publications are in such popular demand by park visitors for reference that they have been placed on sale at the Yosemite Museum, through the cooperation of the Yosemite Natural History Association. MAP OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK High-resolution Map...
43 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
Glimpses of Our National Parks. An illustrated booklet of 92 pages. Address the Director, National Park Service. Washington, D. C. Free. Recreational Map. Shows both Federal and State reservations with recreational opportunities throughout the United States. Brief descriptions of principal ones. Director, National Park Service, Washington, D. C. Free. National Parks Portfolio. By Robert Sterling Yard. Cloth bound and illustrated with more than 300 beautiful photographs of the national parks. Sup
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter