Yosemite Valley Visitor Center

We got lost in the park with 3 kids and somehow walked to the visitor center literally wilted in the 100 degree heat! The park rangers were very helpful in directing us in the right direction with little to no information I could give them. They are very knowledgeable and know this park like the back of their hand! Thank you NPS rangers. Overall it was a wonderful experience! Totally recommend it as a vacation spot.

The Park can be THE BEST PARK, but the COVID rules with prior reservation make me LOST the entire Trip from Phoenix, I think about the COMUNICATTION FAIL,

Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals. The park has an elevation range from 2,127 to 13,114 feet (648 to 3,997 m) and contains five major vegetation zones: chaparral and oak woodland, lower montane forest, upper montane forest, subalpine zone, and alpine. Of California's 7,000 plant species, approximately 50% occur in the Sierra Nevada and more than 20% are within Yosemite. The park contains suitable habitat for more than 160 rare plants, with rare local geologic formations and unique soils characterizing the restricted ranges many of these plants occupy.

The geology of the Yosemite area is characterized by granitic rocks and remnants of older rock. About 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and then tilted to form its relatively gentle western slopes and the more dramatic eastern slopes. The uplift increased the steepness of stream and river beds, resulting in the formation of deep, narrow canyons. About one million years ago, snow and ice accumulated, forming glaciers at the higher alpine meadows that moved down the river valleys. Ice thickness in Yosemite Valley may have reached 4,000 feet (1,200 m) during the early glacial episode. The downslope movement of the ice masses cut and sculpted the U-shaped valley that attracts so many visitors to its scenic vistas today.

It's a zoo down there and the exhibits are closed (probably not their decision). Also the complete lack of signs to get here was pretty annoying. We saw a bear cub nearby as well and people were just stopping next to it to take pictures.

The store was very crowded and where the line was forming and how to follow it was unclear. They had lots of great supplies that were slightly pricey and it was a good place to grab real food.

The Yosemite Valley Visitors Center is a great place to grab last minute backpacking food, or car camping food and information about the park. I was surprised to see the selection of backpacking food available at the village store. I always go with everything I need, but it's nice to know that if I ever forgot something, most likely I'll find it there. The service is great, but employees weren't versed very well on merchandise. The only reason I gave them 4 stars is because the merchandise can be much better. The vendors need to be replaced I believe. Etsy has way better selection for T-shirt's and better quality for sure. I purchase all my goods on Etsy. I really want to buy merchandise at the store so the funds stay in Yosemite, but they need to upgrade the merchandise for sure. The quality is not the same from when I started going here 7 years ago. The store was also jam packed with people, which was concerning to me since we are still in a pandemic. I was wearing my mask luckily. I would say 5% of people were wearing masks. I always enjoy coming to the store and visitor's center for sure.

Everybody that works there are so pleasant and awesome they will help you with anything you ever need great bunch of people always smiling.

Even during covid they still had booths outside throught the park in case you were one of those that said no to the map at the entrance.the most amazing and friendly staff you have ever interacted with in your life. Thank you

The visitor center is closed due to pandemic but guide booth's are available out side of visitor center and you will get all required information.

Great starting place, get your passport stamp. The boys and I road our hover boards in from the parking lot. Ranger books for the kids were a great time filler. Visited in early April, amazing weather and few people. Don't forget, pack it in pack it out. Help keep this place clean and beautiful!

What can I say it's Yosemite. One of the more beautiful and breathtaking places in the world, it's hard to not like the visiting center.

I strongly recommend visiting Yosemite National Park! Absolutely breathtaking and had sooo much more things to see than I ever imaged! The people in the park & in town at Oakhurst (where we stayed at the Best Western & drove up the 41 to the park) were so friendly! I recommend staying at a hotel in Oakhurst (then driving up the 41 to the park) or even somewhere close in the park itself to see everything there is in the park (currently not everything is re-opened in the park due to Covid, but it is the nature that is most important to experience!). I recommend doing the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad tour since it is up & running, they offer box lunches, the people are so friendly & is super fun! Great for the whole family. With covid it's hard to find things that are open, safe to do & needed a trip away from the city for my mental health! To sum it up in one word; transformative!

WOW! What an amazing place! Something to see in every direction!
I cannot wait to go back and see more of its beauty! Thank you Mother Nature for being so good to us on our trip

Yosemite was amazing. Beautiful, fresh air, amazing scenery, and overall a great time. It can get a little crowded at points throughout the day, but if you go early enough you should be fine. I am glad I was able to enjoy the time there with family and friends. Be sure to stop and see the different sites, and take your time driving through there to pull off and see as much as possible. Sometimes if you pass a location there is no going back unless you want to drive around the big circle again. So be slow and enjoy.

There aren’t enough positive superlatives to describe this place. Amazing and wonderful would be a start. We visited in mid April and the scenery on our hikes with snow on the mountains and the waterfalls at their fullest did not disappoint! Park rangers were friendly and helpful. Plenty of parking available and a few places open for lunch. Great value at $35 for entry and this lasts the week. We stayed in nearby mariposa, as camping was fully booked in Yosemite. But the drive there and back was very scenic too.
We hiked the mist trail and valley loop, both well sign posted. Quite busy at times up to Vernal falls, especially on the steep steps. Would recommend walking poles and a light rain jacket for when you get to the top of the vernal falls. And lower Yosemite hike is easy and the waterfall is impressive!

Though most concession stores are closed, and many tourists are still entering each day into the park, the park continue to be epic, just get off the beaten path and you can absolutely find solitude!