Highway 41 corridor Attractions in Yosemite National Park
The many great things to do near Wawona are many of Yosemite's best things, too. The south end of Yosemite is its own separate park in some ways: a bit quieter, subtler scenery than the Valley, different accessibility and a historic grove of the biggest trees on earth.
The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias is well worth a visit; it's part of the very first land in the world that was preserved by a national government simply for its beauty. You can ride a free shuttle from Wawona in the summertime and avoid the parking worries. Take the one-mile hike up to the Grizzly Giant and you'll get a great exposure to a magnificent forest, or buy a tour ticket for a narrated tram ride to the upper grove where a small museum explains more about the surrounding giants. In winter this grove makes a fantastic snowshoe or XC ski outing.
In the small settlement of Wawona is the historic Wawona Hotel right next to the NPS visitor center in the historic Hill's Studio - both will repay a visit in your exposure to the area's southern charm. Just down the slope and across a covered bridge is the Pioneer Yosemite History Center where a dozen antique buildings have been gathered to lay out some of the heritage of the park's development.
The park's southern tip is surrounded by the Sierra National Forest which is filled with its own attractions, summer and winter. The gateway communities of Fish Camp and Oakhurst have numerous lodgings and good places to eat.
The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias is well worth a visit; it's part of the very first land in the world that was preserved by a national government simply for its beauty. You can ride a free shuttle from Wawona in the summertime and avoid the parking worries. Take the one-mile hike up to the Grizzly Giant and you'll get a great exposure to a magnificent forest, or buy a tour ticket for a narrated tram ride to the upper grove where a small museum explains more about the surrounding giants. In winter this grove makes a fantastic snowshoe or XC ski outing.
In the small settlement of Wawona is the historic Wawona Hotel right next to the NPS visitor center in the historic Hill's Studio - both will repay a visit in your exposure to the area's southern charm. Just down the slope and across a covered bridge is the Pioneer Yosemite History Center where a dozen antique buildings have been gathered to lay out some of the heritage of the park's development.
The park's southern tip is surrounded by the Sierra National Forest which is filled with its own attractions, summer and winter. The gateway communities of Fish Camp and Oakhurst have numerous lodgings and good places to eat.
Mariposa Grove
Mariposa Grove Road
Park at the Wawona Store parking area and walk east 0.25 miles to Forest Dr. The trail head is on the right
Largest living things on earth...
Nelder Grove Campground
P.O. Box 10
This campground sits in the midst of the giant sequoia grove that is Nelder Grove. An interpretive display enhances the visit...
Wawona Campground
P.O. Box 577
This site is available year round with reservations necessary from May through October. Swimming and fishing opportunities are available on site...
Wawona Golf Course
Highway 41
(27 miles south of Yosemite Valley)
Magnificent views from every hole...
Pioneer Yosemite History Center
P.O. Box 577
Wawona Hotel
Historic structures from the mining era...
Wawona Visitor Center
Wawona Hotel Drive, off 41
(near Wawona Hotel in Yosemite Valley)
Your best first stop if coming in from the south...
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