Yosemite's Gateway Towns

With its plunging waterfalls, alpine lakes, stark granite peaks, and verdant meadows, Yosemite National Park is a grand Sierra Nevada masterpiece. You might be in a hurry to get there, but don’t miss these surprising, off-the-radar attractions in the gateway towns surrounding the park. On your next Yosemite trip, linger a while in Fish Camp, Mariposa, Oakhurst, or Groveland and discover these delightful gems.

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad

Yosemite visitors typically travel by car or by foot, but it’s way cooler to ride in a vintage narrow-gauge steam train. The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, just three miles beyond the park’s southern entrance in Fish Camp, brings to life memories of long-gone logging camps with its narrow-gauge steam train “The Logger.” Two beautifully restored steam locomotives—one built in 1913 and the other in 1928—pull rail cars with tree-carved bench seats along four miles of track in Sierra National Forest’s scenic woodlands. The narrated ride lasts about an hour and often includes a stop in the forest so riders can stroll and take photos. Keep on the lookout, though. On warm summer evenings, “masked bandits” on horseback stage mock train holdups, their six-shooters blazing.

Erna’s Elderberry House

Try to look away from the elegant furniture and Old World paintings so you can peruse the 725-bottle wine list at Erna’s Elderberry House, the in-house restaurant at Oakhurst’s fabulous five-star hotel, Château du Sureau. Three lavishly furnished dining areas set the scene for a multi-course prix fixe dinner or decadent Sunday brunch, prepared with the freshest local, seasonal, and organic ingredients from nearby Central Valley farms. After one meal here, you’ll be tempted to sign up for the chef’s half-day or three-day cooking classes. Named for the elderberries growing on the estate’s grounds, this haute-cuisine restaurant and adjoining inn were the vision of Austrian-born chef and interior designer Erna Kubin-Clanin. Since 2017, both are owned by hotelier Bernard Rosenson.

Yosemite Ziplines and Adventure Ranch

In Mariposa’s pastoral, oak-covered hills, about 40 miles from Yosemite’s Arch Rock/Highway 140 entrance, Yosemite Ziplines and Adventure Ranch serves up 30-mile-per-hour thrills. Book a spot on the two-hour tour, which includes a ride in a beefed-up Polaris Ranger to the top of the zipline course, followed by a soaring descent on six separate lines. First-timers have nothing to fear; you’re provided with safety gear and taught how to zip by experienced guides. Anyone of any age can go zipping as long as they weigh between 60 and 250 pounds. If you’re hankering for a triceps workout, spend an hour climbing around on the ropes course.

Rush Creek Lodge

Only a half-mile from Yosemite’s Big Oak Flat entrance on Highway 120, Rush Creek Lodge’s 143 woodsy-chic rooms offer a peaceful respite after a day of adventuring in the park. The lodge’s restaurant and tavern serve mountain-style comfort food—burgers, steaks, and seafood—plus a wealth of vegetarian options. In summer, you can dine by the lodge’s huge saltwater pool. There’s plenty to do on the 20-acre property including table tennis, shuffleboard, board games, family movie nights, and fire pits for evening s’more roasting, but the lodge’s biggest selling point is location—you can’t get closer to the Big Oak Flat entrance without being inside the park. An easy, scenic drive leads to either Yosemite Valley or Tuolumne Meadows. If Rush Creek is booked during your travel dates, try its sister property, Evergreen Lodge, about 15 minutes farther north.

Rainbow Pool

Looking for the perfect spot to take your kids swimming in a crystal-clear stream? Head for Rainbow Pool, a 20-foot waterfall and swimming hole on the South Fork of the Tuolumne River, off Highway 120 between Groveland and Yosemite’s Big Oak Flat entrance. In the days of stagecoach travel, Rainbow Pool was the site of a toll bridge over the South Fork. The toll-keeper’s cabin was perched on a rock promontory jutting out above the waterfall. Today, a paved path leads a few hundred feet down to the small beach edging Rainbow Pool. On every summer day, bold teenagers dive, jump, slide, and wade around the falls, while more cautious youngsters wade into the giant pool.

On June 3, 2017, Honnold became the first person to ever ascend El Capitan, the 3,000-foot granite wall in Yosemite National Park, without the use of ropes, a harness, or a safety net of any kind. His free-solo feat, long considered inconceivable within the rock-climbing world, sealed the 31-year-old’s status as the best rock climber who has ever lived. Climber, filmmaker, and Honnold’s close friend Jimmy Chin documented the climb, which took just under four hours, for a National Geographic feature story and feature film.

Honnold was born in Sacramento and grew up with the Sierra Nevada as his mountain playground. He began climbing when he was 11, and at 19 left his studies at UC Berkeley to devote himself to his rock-climbing pursuits. Yosemite has been a second home to Honnold, who has notched some of his greatest climbing achievements there, including a solo of Yosemite’s Triple Crown—Mt. Watkins, El Capitan, and Half Dome—while living out of his van.

Even Honnold doubted the probability of a totally unsupported ascent of “El Cap,” one of the world’s most iconic climbing destinations. “I think it’s important to let yourself feel that doubt, because I didn’t want to put pressure on myself,” he said, in a post-climb interview with Men's Journal. “But, I knew I had to at least practice it and see if it was possible, otherwise I’d have always wondered whether I could, or should, have gone for it.”

Despite the international celebrity that followed, Honnold has maintained his self-proclaimed “simple dirtbag-climber existence,” living in his van in his favorite place on earth.

Where do you live? I’m from Sacramento, but have spent basically my whole life traveling and living out of my van. I spend more time in Yosemite than any other place—often three months or more a year.

Why there? Yosemite has the best climbing on earth.

What is your greatest California love? The Sierra Nevada. I grew up there and spent my whole life playing in the mountains. The smell of the dry pine forest around Tahoe and the High Sierra—that feels like home to me. There are so many [climbing] opportunities with big mountains, and the rock is so good. The sheer walls in the Sierra are unlike any other mountain range in the United States. The whole Eastern Sierra just drops off with several thousand-foot walls. It’s amazing for climbing.

What is the biggest misperception about Californians? A lot of people just think about Hollywood, surf culture and the beach. Obviously, that is California, but for me it’s 100 percent mountain-focused.

What is the stereotype that most holds true? That there’s crazy traffic, especially in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

What is your favorite Golden State splurge? There’s so much great food and fresh produce in California. The Mexican and Asian food is so good.

Time for a road trip—where are you going? I’d go up north on the coast. There’s a lot of rock up there I haven’t seen.

If you could decree an official state culinary experience, what would it be? I would decree Asian noodles. I love eating them. L.A. and the Bay Area are amazing for food and have the best options.

Best California song? "Californication" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

How would your California dream day unfold? I live my dream day. Wake up in Yosemite, pedal my bicycle down to El Capitan (which is the biggest rock wall in the world), and go climb it. Afterwards, I hang out with my friends in the Valley and socialize.

With its iconic granite domes and spires etched in snow, and a hushed beauty that’s both intimate and wild, Yosemite National Park makes a magical—and surprisingly accessible—winter getaway. And with crowds a distant summer memory, you can relax and take time to enjoy the snowy finery.

“One of my favorite things about winter in the park is to walk around Yosemite Valley and see all of the families out building snowmen,” says Ashley Meyer, spokesperson for the park. “Some of these folks are experiencing snow for the first time—you can see the excitement in their eyes.” 

But it’s by no means all DIY fun at Yosemite in winter. The park offers a full slate of seasonal activities: ranger-led snowshoe walks, special dinners, ice-skating at the valley’s Curry Village (formerly Half Dome Village), winter photography workshops, and starry night sky events. Go sledding at play areas near the park’s main entrance, or take the family skiing at the park's low-key ski area, near the historic Wawona Hotel(formerly the Big Tree Lodge) at the park's south entrance.

 “You can’t get much more wintry than Yosemite’s Ostrander Ski Hut, a 1941 two-story stone structure nestled in a remote glacial cirque at an elevation of 8,500 feet.”

While some high-country routes do close for the winter (usually November through June or even later in heavy snow years), you can still get to the park—especially Yosemite Valley—on well-maintained roads. If storms do blow in, you might need 4WD or tire chains, so be prepared (check current road conditions here). Another option: Ditch the winter driving entirely and catch the daily Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) bus from Merced. Once you get to the park, you can expect everything from sunny, 60° F days to blustery winter storms and plunging temperatures, so pack accordingly.

If it gets too chilly for you, head to the Valley’s interpretive center to learn about natural and human history in the region. A small theater regularly shows the short movie Spirit of Yosemite, and exhibits fill the Indian Cultural Museum. Also stop by the Ansel Adams Gallery to see works by one of California’s photographic legends.

Most lodgings in and around the park stay open year-round, with many offering special events and packages. Plan well ahead to join annual Bracebridge Dinners—holiday extravaganzas with music and feasting—at the park’s grand dame hotel, The Ahwahnee (formerly The Majestic Yosemite). The Ahwahnee also hosts two multi-day events focusing on food and wine: Chefs Holidays and Vintners Holidays. The Wawona Hotel also stays open through winter, and it’s a great place to try cross-country skiing or snowshoeing. (Snowshoe and ski rentals and lessons are available at Yosemite Cross-Country Ski School.) And you can’t get much more wintry than Yosemite’s Ostrander Ski Hut, a 1941 two-story stone structure nestled in a remote glacial cirque at elevation 8,500 feet. The hut has basic overnight accommodations and cooking facilities for up to 25 adventurers who don’t balk at the 10-mile cross-country ski or snowshoe tromp from the cross-country ski school to reach the hut. It’s so popular, in fact, that it requires a lottery system for reservations. 

One of the most photographed regions of Yosemite, Tuolumne Meadows is a wide, grassy expanse bounded by high granite domes and peaks. At elevation 8,600 feet, pristine meadow extends for more than two miles along the Tuolumne River, making it the largest subalpine meadow in the Sierra Nevada. From its tranquil edges, hiking trails lead in all directions—to the alpine lakes set below the spires of Cathedral and Unicorn Peaks, to a series of roaring waterfalls on the Tuolumne River, and to the summits of lofty granite domes with commanding vistas of the high country.

While Tuolumne (too-ALL-uh-me) is the cornerstone of a vast playground for hikers, rafters, and backpackers, it’s also a great spot for visitors who simply want to take in the scenery. The meadow’s small visitor center, housed in a historic cabin, features exhibits that focus on the area's geology, wildflowers, and wildlife.

Want to picnic? In summer, visit the highest elevation convenience shop in the state: the remarkable Tuolumne Meadows Store, with groceries, bug repellent, clothing items, maps, and guidebooks housed in a seasonal canvas tent. Under the same tent is the Tuolumne Meadows Grill, serving hearty breakfasts and lunches, including unforgettable buckwheat pancakes. Ice cream cones are big sellers on warm afternoons.

Nearby, the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge offers tent-style overnight accommodations and sit-down meals, and Tuolumne Meadows Campground has more than 300 campsites, half of which are reservable and the other half available on a first-come, first-serve basis from approximately July through late September.