Active Things To Do in Yosemite National Park

Yosemite's best active things to do can keep the outdoorsperson busy for a joyful lifetime, with four seasons of recreation opportunities. While some think of Yosemite as a sanctuary, a museum or a cathedral, the active tribe recognize it as a playground. Indeed, the above descriptors can be applied at the same time; this refuge was set aside by our wise predecessors for all of us to enjoy in our own ways.

Rockclimbing may be the first active pursuit that comes to mind for this place. The park's peaks and kilometer-tall cliffs fill the dreams of granite addicts around the world. Nowhere on earth has so much easily accessible vertical terrain, where a beginner can get a taste of climbing with the Yosemite Mountaineering School or an experienced rock star can barely make their way up the most technical routes. Even for those who don't rope up themselves, climbing has become a popular spectator sport.

Yosemite has 800 miles of hiking trails that lead the admiring traveler on and on through jaw-dropping Sierra terrain. You need a permit for overnight backpacking, but there's lots of landscape to go around. There's also no shortage of world-class dayhikes from Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne Meadows, Hetch Hetchy or Glacier Point.

In the winter there's ice skating, sledding, snowshoeing and cross-country and downhill skiing or snowboarding at the historic Badger Pass Ski Area. Backcountry ski touring is another option.

In a popular place like Yosemite, 'Leave No Trace' practices need to be employed so that the park's beauty is sustained. Swim, bike (no mountain biking in the park, but plenty in four adjacent National Forests), fish or kayak; Yosemite IS a playground.

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