Yosemite National Park Valley on a cloudy autumn morning from Tunnel View.

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Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada

With fierce granite mountains standing watch over high-altitude lakes, the Sierra Nevada is a formidable but exquisite topographic barrier enclosing magnificent natural landscapes and an adventurer’s wonderland.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • October 9, 2014: Visitors gather at Glacier Point with the Half Dome mountain in the background.

    Yosemite National Park

    Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada

    Yosemite means "killer" in the Indigenous Miwok language, and in today's parlance it's indeed an impressive, awesome site. Everywhere you look in Yosemite…

  • Earthquake Fault on Minaret Road near Mammoth Lakes California

    Earthquake Fault

    Mammoth Lakes

    Mammoth Mountain is the product of millions of years of volcanic activity, so it should be no surprise that the region surrounding it is full of…

  • General Grant Grove trees

    Mariposa Grove

    Yosemite National Park

    With their massive stature and multi-millennium maturity, the chunky high-rise sequoias of Mariposa Grove will make you feel rather insignificant. The…

  • Half Dome and the Yosemite Valley viewed from Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park

    Glacier Point

    Yosemite National Park

    If you drove, the views from 7214ft Glacier Point might make you feel like you cheated – superstar sights present themselves without your having made…

  • Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

    Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

    Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada

    Joined by a high-altitude roadway bisecting a national forest and contiguous with a number of wilderness areas, these two parks combined offer vast…

  • Half Dome and the Tenaya Valley

    Half Dome

    Yosemite National Park

    Yosemite's most distinctive natural monument, Half Dome is 87 million years old and has a 93% vertical grade – the sheerest cliff in North America…

  • El Capitan

    El Capitan

    Yosemite National Park

    At nearly 3600ft from base to summit, El Capitan ranks as one of the world’s largest granite monoliths. Its sheer face makes it a world-class destination…

  • Olmsted Point

    Olmsted Point

    Yosemite National Park

    This ‘honey, hit the brakes!’ viewpoint, midway between the May Lake turnoff and Tenaya Lake, is a lunar landscape of glaciated granite with a stunning…

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Emily Harrington is first woman to free climb El Capitan's Golden Gate in 24 hours

Nov 11, 2020 • 3 min read

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Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada and beyond

Beyond Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada
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