FAMILY TRAVEL

Yosemite: The Original Adventure Park

With Yosemite approaching its 125th anniversary of becoming a National Park, it's a perfect time to reflect on what Yosemite has meant for more than a centuries worth of visitors who have explored, made memories, and experienced the magic of Yosemite in all four seasons. Yosemite offers families an opportunity to disconnect from technology and reconnect with the essentials such as starry skies, pure mountain air, and birdsongs. See our top five family activities:

1. Junior Ranger and Little Cub Programs – Ranger led programs teach children about the importance of stewardship.
2. Historical Museums: The Mariposa Museum & History Center & California State Mining and Mineral Museum are two museum less than 10 miles apart that offer a range of unique displays from the California Gold Rush including a replica mine cavern, working stampmill and a 13lbs gold nugget.
3. Yosemite Kids – Several programs geared towards families within Yosemite
4. Yosemite Zipline and Adventure Ranch – Kids 8 and older can soar about the Sierra Foothills
5. Zephyr White Water Rafting – Have an unforgettable family adventure on a full day or half day trip down the “Wild and Scenic” Merced River.

 ADVENTURE

Go Wild in Yosemite National Park
Whether it's the release of the 2014 release of the movie Wild about a woman solo backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail or the recent first-ever free climb of the Dawn Wall at El Capitan, Yosemite has felt a resurgence as the epicenter for inspiration and adventure. Test your limits, find your inner strength, and discover landscapes that will take your breath away. Guided backpacking trips are offered through a variety of companies, including Yosemite Conservancy and the Yosemite Mountaineering School and Guide Service. Beyond backpacking, try Girls on Granite a beginning rock climbing course, rent equipment and learn important Leave No Trace camping techniques. Plenty of resources are available whether it's your first time car camping or your first ascent on El Cap, Yosemite has a breathtaking adventure waiting for you.

CULINARY

Chef's Holidays at The Ahwahnee
Yosemite's Chefs' Holidays® at The Ahwahnee®, held each year in January and February, feature some of the world's most innovative and acclaimed chefs. This Northern California cooking adventure provides a showcase for the range of styles, personalities and trends that characterize the American culinary scene. Each 3-4 four day session includes an intimate Meet the Chefs reception with wine and hors d'oeuvres, behind-the-scenes kitchen tours, cooking demonstrations with tastings, all culminating in an exquisite Chefs' Holiday Gala Dinner, prepared by the visiting chefs, in The Ahwahnee Dining Room. A range of lodging packages are available, as well as dinner only options. 

Mariposa Taps Liquid Gold at Area Breweries
California is fast becoming the next brewing hotspot with more than 500 microbrews, brewpubs and craft breweries already established in the state and more opening each year. While better known for Gold Rush-era history and culture, Mariposa, a town just on the western edge of Yosemite National Park, has caught the gold fever again a big way. Local breweries are gaining a following and even setting sights on regional distribution. Mariposa's first brewery, Prospector's Brewing Company was established in 2011 and has quickly grown to two separate tasting room locations. Visitors here will find a pub crawl can be done in Mariposa's Old Town, with full tasting flights at distinctive microbreweries and brewpubs that feature a broad range of regional Northern California microbrews – all with easy walking distance of several area hotels.

Farm-to-Table: Experience the Real Food Movement
Grass-fed and sustainable isn't a new trend in Adventure County, our ranchers have been doing it that way for generations. While in Yosemite National Park you can enjoy Open Space Meats, grown within the same county, at both The Ahwahnee and Yosemite Lodge at the Falls. Restaurants such as 1850 and the Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Resort offer diners a chance to enjoy a steak that was produced mere miles away on native grasses with plenty of sunshine. Local nonprofits such as the Sierra Foothill Conservancy work to preserve large tracts of land for traditional farming and sell the produce to support their conservation efforts. These types of programs support traditional ranching, preserve lands from development, and provide a healthy alternative to industrially-produced beef.

Bracebridge Dinner at The Ahwahnee
Celebrate the yuletide season in elegance at The Ahwahnee. Celebrated annually since 1927, the Bracebridge Dinner transforms The Ahwahnee into an 18th century English manor for a feast of food, song and mirth. The most time-honored Yosemite tradition, the Bracebridge Dinner brings together more than 100 players to delight diners as they enjoy a meticulously prepared seven course feast. Multiple performances throughout December with lodging and dining packages available.

WELLNESS

Wellness in 2015 Begins at Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite
There is no better place than Yosemite for renewal of the mind, body and spirit. It has been a mecca of health and wellness enthusiasts since 19th century conservationist Galen Clark first entered the park with six months to live at the age of 39 and passed away more than 50 years later. In celebration of this healing environment, the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite is offering a Yosemite Wellness & Spa Retreat. The retreat promises to reveal a new degree of wellness with guest speakers, yoga, body and brain fitness classes, healthy meals, food, hiking excursions and cooking classes, as well as time for some spa treatments at the Ascent Spa, recognized by USA Today as one of the best spas in the world.

Escape the Fast-Paced World and Find Peace in Yosemite

John Muir's belief that by “going out, we are actually going in” is as true today as it was in his day. Perhaps even more so as the pressures of a technologically fast-paced world put new demands on the modern traveler. Yosemite offers an escape from these pressures through a range of activities designed to slow you down and connect with the environment. Whether it's a yoga trek with Balanced Rock Foundation, a high country summer camp geared towards grownups hosted by Yosemite Conservancy or just a weekend at one of the area's resort spas, you'll find plenty of time to disconnect with the modern world and reconnect with your senses.

ECOTOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL

A Legacy of Preservation
The very idea of National Parks was born in Yosemite more than 150 years ago. In 2014, Yosemite marked more than 150 years since the signing of the Yosemite Grant, an act that was the first of its kind in United States history. On Oct. 1, 2015 Yosemite will mark its 125th anniversary of becoming a National Park. Thanks to the visionary efforts of great environmentalists such as Galen Clark and John Muir, Yosemite was made a National Park in 1890. And, that legacy lives on today, as a multi-million dollar campaign is being launched to restore the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. The National Park Service will also be observing its Centennial Anniversary in 2015, making this the year to celebrate one of our greatest American ideals, the democratization of our national treasures.

Green Stay and Play at Yosemite
Preserving Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias was the catalyst for the National Park system in the United States. From its birth more than 150 years ago to today, Yosemite continues to be a leader in conservation, with GreenPath initiatives instituted by the park concessionaire, Delaware North Companies, which include green guides to the park, wildlife education, zero waste initiatives, availability of green energy sources and more. Staying and dining in the park is greener than ever with these initiatives. You can also support preservation of the park by joining any of the high-quality educational and experiential Yosemite Conservancy programs. The Conservancy was the first cooperative association in the United States and was established to fund the first museum in the park. With more than 40,000 private donors, the Conservancy provides millions in funding each year to support restoration projects, wildlife protection, trail repair, volunteerism, and much more. Each visitor who joins a Conservancy art workshop, outdoor adventure program or theater performance, is not only experiencing a edifying and enjoyable program, they are also giving back to the park.

ROMANCE

Give the Biggest Rock, Make Your Proposal in Yosemite
Yosemite National Park is famous for its breath-taking vistas, secluded forests and grand lodges. It defines romance in all four seasons. In winter, a day of ice skating beneath the sheer granite face of Half Dome, provides a beautiful setting for a romantic proposal, either on the ice or cozied up to the blazing bonfire, with a relaxing evening to follow at the grand Ahwahnee Hotel. Or plan a horse drawn sleigh ride through a snowy forest for the ultimate romantic gesture. In springtime, lovers can meander through fields of poppies or the swirling mists of Bridelveil Falls, for heart-melting proposals. The summer reveals plenty of backcountry or dayhike excursions for secluded romantic walks. Adventurous couples can have the majestic Cathedral Peak as the background for the big question, then can sleep under the infinite stars of Yosemite's legendary high country. In autumn, couples will fall in love all over again when Yosemite Valley blazes with leaves of red and gold. There is no more romantic moment then at daybreak when the sun crests over Half Dome flooding the meadows with golden sunlight or watching the sun dip from Sentinel Dome. 

Couples Take Romance and Adventure to New Heights in Yosemite National Park
Adventurous couples can find the perfect honeymoon in Yosemite/Mariposa County. Plan a day of heart-stopping whitewater rafting on Class 4 rapids on the Merced River or sail through the Sierra foothills on a zipline at the Yosemite Zipline and Adventure Ranch. In the park, the adventurous couple can spend a night under the blanket of stars at the High Sierra Camps or on a backpacking trip just for two. Once you are tired of roughing it, retire to one of the many luxury lodges to nurse sore feet and enjoy a relaxing spa day for two. Or find a charming B&B or cozy vacation rental that caters to those who are seeking R&R and solitude.

FESTIVALS

Storytelling Festival- March
The Annual Mariposa Storytelling Festival brings you the best storytelling performances every 2nd weekend in March! Nationally recognized storytellers converge in the historic town of Mariposa to celebrate the simple yet powerful act of storytelling. Children's session and breakout workshops round out a full weekend's worth of performances from folk tales and ghost stories to musical storytelling and plenty of humor!

Mariposa Butterfly Festival – May
Mariposa is Spanish for Butterfly and was named for a phenomenon that left early missionaries to the area awestruck as legions of delicate butterflies alighted by the dozens around them. The butterflies were just passing through but Mariposa still celebrates it's namesake every first weekend in May with a parade, butterfly hat costume contest, dozens of vendor booths, and a release of thousands of butterflies raised by local school children. The event also focuses on conservation efforts as traditionally ubiquitous monarch butterflies are facing increasing pressures with the disappearance of their only source of food, native milkweed. Free milkweed seeds are available to all participants at the Butterfly Festival to inspire all visitors to plant milkweeds in their gardens.

CoyoteFest – September
Ahhhhoooohhh!!! Tap into your inner animal spirit at the Annual Coulterville CoyoteFest. A real old-time affair when the normally near ghost town of Coulterville, California bursts to life with festivities and family fun. A parade down Coulterville's historic Main Street, a car show, cowboy shoot-outs, a hoosegow, music belted out by the Copper Holdings Company Band, and the Who-Nu band, historic tours, booths galore, as well as the nationally acclaimed Coyote Howl. Experience Americana at it's finest at this one-of-a-kind event.

LODGING

Many Accommodations of all Types to Choose From When Visiting Yosemite

With 500 lodging properties in the region, including traditional hotels and motels, numerous rustic resorts, four diamond-rated luxury, quaint bed and breakfast inns and many vacation rental homes, guests will rest assured that their lodging needs and desires can be met.

• Hotels and Motels - Whether you prefer modern creature comfort or relaxed country charm, Mariposa County offers accommodations for every style and budget.
• Bed and Breakfast Inns - Enjoy your adventures in Historic Mariposa County and Yosemite and then relax in the secluded comfort and unmatched pride of hospitality of one of the many quaint B&Bs in the area.  There are many to choose from with convenient locations and comfortable facilities, all of which are within easy reach of Yosemite. 
• Vacation Rentals - Enjoy the comforts of home and the majesty of Yosemite National Park in a vacation home rental. Visitors can choose from an intimate log cabin for a romantic get-a-way, or bring the entire family to stay in a spacious home. 
• Cabins- Cabins are a great way to stay in the Yosemite and Mariposa area if you have a family or large group.  Many cabins offer all the facilities and comfort you need to make your stay an enjoyable.

To see the broad range of accommodations throughout Mariposa County and Yosemite National Park, visit www.yosemitexperience.com