 
|
| Visitor Information for Yosemite National Park and surrounding region |
|
The Yosemite Region includes Yosemite National Park and nearby mountains and foothills of the
Sierra Nevada mountains. The foothills area includes the southern part of the Mother Lode,
where there is significant Gold Rush history in towns such as
Murphys where some of the richest placer gold was
found, and nearby
Vallecito, now home to many wineries. Also in the foothills is Columbia, now the best-preserved Gold Rush town as a State Historic Park, Sonora, once the business center of what was known as the Southern Mines, and Jamestown, where the first gold discovery was made in the area in Woods Creek. Nearby Sonora is East Sonora, now a shopping area, but which previously included the logging town of Standard and which still has a sawmill. Knights Ferry, on the way in from the Valley, has a tiny historic town, a historic covered bridge, and a recreation area with river rafting. Groveland, on the way to Yosemite, is a bit higher up but was still a significant gold mining area. |
Moccasin, also part of the Gold Rush, is now part of
the Hetch Hetchy water system that takes water from the
Hetch Hetchy reservoir to San Francisco. Yosemite National Park includes Yosemite Valley and other areas including Crane Flat, Wawona, White Wolf, and Tuolumne Meadows. Toward the north of Yosemite Park are forested mountains, including most immediately the towns of Twain Harte and Mi Wuk Village. Nearby is the town of Tuolumne, once a Gold Rush town, later a logging town with a sawmill, and finally today the site of an Indian casino. Higher up Highway 108 from Mi Wuk Village is the Pinecrest area, which includes Pinecrest Lake and the Dodge Ridge ski area. And still higher up (and accessible only by snowmobile in the winter) are Donnell, a vista point overlooking the Donnell Reservoir, Dardanelle, which has a resort, and the pack station and resort of Kennedy Meadows. These last three areas all have federal campgrounds. Also of interest are two regional web sites, Gold Country South, and Yosemite North. |