The Valley

Most people come to Yosemite to see this giant study in shadow and light. In spring, after the winter snow begins melting in the high country, waterfalls encircle Yosemite Valley, shimmering like a diamond necklace. There are wide, beautiful meadows, towering trees, and the ever-present sound of rushing water in the background. The great irony is that the original park boundaries, established in 1890, excluded the valley. In addition to the natural phenomena found throughout the valley, there are a number of historical attractions worth exploring as well.

Yosemite Valley contains three developed areas: Yosemite Village, Yosemite Lodge, and Curry Village. Except for the Ahwahnee Hotel -- which is about midway between Yosemite and Curry villages -- all the hotels, restaurants, and shops can be found in these areas. Curry Village (also called Camp Curry) and Yosemite Lodge offer the bulk of the park's overnight accommodations. Curry Village is near shuttle-bus stops nos. 13A, 13B, 14, 15, 20, and 21. Yosemite Lodge is served by stop no. 8. Both locations have restaurants and a small grocery. The lodge has a large public swimming pool, and Curry Village has an ice rink open in winter.

Yosemite Village is the largest developed region within the valley and is served by shuttle-bus stops nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, and 10. It is home to the park's largest visitor center and the headquarters for the National Park Service in Yosemite. The village also has a host of shops and services, including a grocery, restaurants, the valley's only medical clinic, a dentist, a post office, a beauty shop, and an ATM.

Check out the Yosemite Pioneer Cemetery, a peaceful graveyard in the shade of tall sequoias, with headstones dating back to the 1800s. There are about 36 marked graves, identifiable by horizontal slabs of rock, some etched with crude or faded writing. There are some Yosemite history notables buried here, such as James Lamon, an early settler who was known for his apple trees -- they still bear fruit -- and who died in 1875. Pick up the self-guiding booklet at the visitor center.

Next door, you'll find the Yosemite Museum and the Indian Cultural Exhibit. Both attractions are free and provide a historic picture of the park, before and after it was settled and secured as a national treasure. The museum entrance is marked by a crowd-pleaser: the cross section of a 1,000-year-old sequoia with memorable dates identified on the tree's rings. The tree section was cut in 1919 from a tree that fell in the Mariposa Grove south of the valley in Wawona. The Indian Cultural Exhibit strives to explain the life of the American Indians who once lived here, and members of regional tribes regularly speak or give demonstrations of traditional arts such as basket weaving. The Yosemite Museum Book Shop is next door and sells books and traditional Indian arts and crafts.

The village of the Ahwahneeche (a reproduction of a real Ahwahneeche village) is behind the museum and the Indian Cultural Exhibit. The village offers a free self-guided walking tour accessible from the back door of the visitor center. This exhibit guides visitors through the transformations of the Ahwahneeche, the tribe that inhabited Yosemite Valley until the mid-1850s. The village includes a ceremonial roundhouse that's still in use.

The Ansel Adams Gallery (tel. 209/372-4413; www.anseladams.com) sells prints and cards of images made by this famed photographer. The shop also serves as a small gallery for current artisans, with some of their works for sale.

Just a mile east of Yosemite Village on a narrow, dead-end road is the majestic old Ahwahnee Hotel. Take the shuttle bus to stop no. 3. It's definitely worth a visit for anyone interested in architecture and design.

The Yosemite Chapel is located on the south side of the Merced River, shuttle-bus stop no. 11. From the bus stop, walk across the bridge and to the left for just under a quarter mile. Schedules for the worship services held in the chapel are posted in Yosemite Today and are available by phone (tel. 209/372-4831).

The LeConte Memorial Lodge is an educational center and library at shuttle-bus stop no. 12. Built in 1903, in honor of a University of California geologist named Joseph LeConte, the Tudor-style granite building hosts a number of free educational programs and talks, which are listed in Yosemite Today.

Beyond Curry Village at the valley's far eastern end is the Happy Isles Nature Center, shuttle-bus stop no. 16. Summer hours are from 9am to 5pm daily; it is closed spring, fall, and winter. The nature center offers exhibits and books about the varied animal and plant life found in Yosemite; it's a super place for children to explore. The park's Little Cub and Junior Ranger programs, described in "Tips for Travelers with Children" in chapter 2, are held here as well. Happy Isles is named for three nearby inlets labeled by Yosemite's guardian in 1880.