Discovering Yosemite National Park With Your Kids

Yosemite National Park, one of America’s oldest and celebrated, is an incredible destination for all ages. From hiking to horseback riding to accessing deep layers of history, kids can dive in fully to experience the park on many levels. Looking for an unforgettable, even transformative place to strengthen family bonds and fill a vacation to the brim? You’d be hard-pressed finding a better one than this jewel of the Sierra Nevada. Absolutely pay your respects to Yosemite National Park’s most famous sites: the scenic wonders of Yosemite Valley, including El Capitan, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, and the other great cataracts. Silence the kids with awe in the Mariposa Grove—biggest collection of giant sequoias, the world’s heftiest tree, in the park. As crowded as some of these sites can be—particularly in the peak summer tourist season—their popularity is well-deserved: People of all ages sense their transcendent beauty, and appreciating them can trigger some educational pondering about the natural processes that have created and continue shaping the park’s landscape. But—don’t stop there! Yosemite is a multifaceted place, and you’d do well to expose the kids (and yourself) to its wonderful complexity. Explore, for example, some of the quieter stories of Yosemite—the human ones—that can be drowned out in the sheer geological and ecological grandeur. In the southern part of the park, not far from the Mariposa Grove, is Wawona, where the Sierra Nevada’s Euro-American history is strikingly displayed. Guide yourselves through the Pioneer Yosemite History Center here, where you and your children can wander the site of a 19th-century stage shop and a wonderful collection of historic cabins, a covered bridge, a blacksmith shop, and other structures. You can reach even deeper into the past and marvel at the region’s rich American Indian heritage at the Yosemite Museum, itself a historic building. It can be a humbling and rewarding lesson for your kids to realize that the giant trees, tumbling rivers, and granite heights of Yosemite played home to indigenous peoples like the Ahwahneechee for millennia—long before Europeans laid eyes on these now-iconic landmarks. The short and stirring hikes available in Yosemite Valley are an excellent introduction to the park’s trail system, but consider heading into wilder corners on longer and less-trafficked routes. Kids will relish the sense of adventure as you explore the enormous Yosemite backcountry—95 percent of the park, after all, is federally designated wilderness, and far from the hustle and bustle of Yosemite Village in flavor and atmosphere. Consider walking a few miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, for example: It’s always fun to be able to say you trekked a portion of one of America’s greatest long-distance footpaths. There are plenty of park activities specifically catered to children of different ages, such as the Wee Wild Ones and the Little Cubs and Junior Ranger programs. You can also find out about fun winter activities at any park visitor center or online. A uniquely memorable way to experience Yosemite with kids is to do a little volunteering. The Habitat Protectors of Yosemite program gives anyone the chance to participate in hands-on resource management and restoration—and you can simply show up at the designated time and place, without the need for registration. Spending a few hours, say, pulling exotic, invasive plants or fostering native seedlings alongside park staff introduces children to the concept of Yosemite National Park as a collection of living resources—and to the underlying vision and philosophy of the National Park Service. It’s also a great way to direct some of their boundless energy toward a productive end! Big, varied, drenched in enormous spans of both geological and human history, Yosemite National Park is an incomparable getaway for families. You’ll be having so much fun together you won’t realize how much you’re learning. Make Your Yosemite Reservations Today If you’re planning to go hiking in Yosemite this year, consider making your reservations with Yosemite’s Scenic Wonders. We offer Yosemite reservations within the gates of the park. With one of our cozy cabins, condominiums, or homes, your Yosemite accommodations will be just minutes from your favorite Yosemite hikes. Give us a call at 1-888-YOSEMITE (1-888-967-3648) to learn about our rentals and to make your Yosemite reservations today. Yosemite National Park Blog Scenic Wonders’ Yosemite blog provides the latest news related to Yosemite National Park.  By reading our blog, you’ll stay up to date on activities, accommodations, and more.