Moon Travel Guides: Find Your Adventure Explore granite domes, thundering waterfalls, and towering trees: Moon Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon reveals the best of these stunning parks. Inside you'll find: Flexible, strategic itineraries, ranging from one day in each park to a week-long trip covering all three, including the best ways to avoid the crowds The top experiences and unique ideas for exploring each park: Ride the open-air tram through Yosemite Valley, or hike downhill from Glacier Point past roaring waterfalls. Drive the legendary Generals Highway, or take a scenic bike ride to pristine lakes (and yes, more waterfalls!). Go for a horse-drawn wagon ride on a pioneer history tour, or sign up for rock climbing lessons. Walk among the goliaths of Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, and stop at a historic lodge for dinner and a well-deserved drink Strategies for getting to Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon and traveling between them, including coverage of gateway cities and towns Honest advice on when to go, what to pack, and where to stay inside and outside the parks, including the best places to pitch a tent, park your RV, or relax at an upscale resort Expert tips from seasoned explorer and outdoor expert Ann Marie Brown for travelers looking to go hiking, biking, climbing, fishing, and more, plus essential and health and safety information Detailed hike descriptions with individual trail maps marked with duration, elevation change, and difficulty Up-to-date information on park fees, permits, and reservations Full-color, vibrant photos and detailed maps throughout Full coverage of all three national parks, with focused chapters on Yosemite Valley, Wawona and Glacier Point, Tioga Pass and Tuolumne Meadows, Hetch Hetchy, the Eastern Sierra, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon Recommendations for families, international visitors, travelers with disabilities, and traveling with pets Thorough background on the wildlife, terrain, culture, and history With Moon Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon's curated advice, myriad activities, and expert insight, you can explore the parks your way. Want to see more of California's greatest hits? Try Moon Death Valley National Park, Moon Palm Springs & Joshua Tree, or Moon Coastal California. Hitting the road? Try Moon California Road Trip. For full coverage of America's national parks, check out Moon USA National Parks: The Complete Guide to All 59 National Parks.

California residents Tom Stienstra and Ann Marie Brown extend travelers their firsthand advice on how to find the best places to camp and hike in this vast region, from the pristine meadows and towering granite formations of Yosemite Valley to the alpine waters of the Mammoth Lakes area. Along with their in-depth coverage, Stienstra and Brown offer "best-of" lists—including Best for Fishing, Best for Families, and Best Hikes with a View—ensuring that both outdoors beginners and experts will find the campgrounds and trails to match their skill levels and interests. Complete with clear directions to each location, detailed destination descriptions, difficulty and quality ratings for each hike, and helpful maps, Moon Yosemite & Mammoth Lakes Camping & Hiking provides campers and hikers with all the necessary tools to head outdoors.

Successfully hike Yosemite’s most famous landmark with the guide that helps you prepare and provides the details you need to know. Getting to the top of Yosemite National Park’s Half Dome in California is one of America’s epic day hikes. Starting in Yosemite Valley, you’ll ascend nearly one vertical mile past two impressive waterfalls, through fragrant pine, fir, and cedar forests, then 425 feet up sheer granite on the famed steel cables to the summit, where you’ll enjoy some of the grandest views of your life. If you do it right, you’ll be back down in the valley, celebrating your accomplishment, later that evening. While tremendously rewarding, this hike is also one of the park’s most strenuous. Here’s everything you need to know to successfully make the 15-plus-mile trek. This step-by-step guidebook by Rick Deutsch tells you exactly how to hit the trail with confidence. Inside you’ll find: Detailed, specific advice on the proper physical conditioning Trail-tested list of what to wear and bring on the hike Historical vignettes and 18 key points of interest along the trail, with GPS markers More than 100 photos so you know what to expect One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome, with its can-do approach, nuts-and-bolts advice, and practical tips, will leave you wondering why you’ve waited so long to embark on this truly special hiking adventure.

America's greatest photographer on his greatest subject--featuring the Yosemite Special Edition Prints, a collectible collection of photographs selected by Ansel Adams during his lifetime, yet never before published in book form. The photographs of Ansel Adams are among America's finest artistic treasures, and form the basis of his tremendous legacy of environmental activism. In the late 1950s, Adams selected eight photographs of Yosemite National Park to offer exclusively to park visitors as affordable souvenirs. He hoped that these images might inspire tourists to become activists by transmitting to them the same awe and respect for nature that Yosemite had instilled in him. Over the following decades, Adams added to this collection to create a stunning view of Yosemite in all its majesty. These photographs, the Yosemite Special Edition Prints, form the core of this essential volume. Adams' luminous images of Yosemite's unique rock formations, waterfalls, meadows, trees, and nature details are among the most distinctive of his career. Today, with America's public lands increasingly under threat, his creative vision remains as relevant and convincing as ever. Introduced by bestselling photographer Pete Souza, with an essay by Adams' darkroom assistant Alan Ross, Ansel Adams' Yosemite is a powerful continuation of Adams' artistic and environmental legacies, and a compelling statement during a precarious time for the American earth.

Pack a lunch, lace up your boots, and head out to discover the best hiking trails in NorCal with Moon Northern California Hiking. A Hike for Everyone: Pick the right hike for you, from breathtaking coastal walks to challenging backcountry treks, with options ranging from easy day hikes to multi-day backpacking trips Best Hikes Lists: Choose from strategic lists like the best hikes for majestic redwoods, bird-watching, refreshing swimming holes, wheelchair accessibility and more Essential Planning Details: Each hike is marked with round-trip distance and hiking time and rated for scenic beauty and trail difficulty Maps and Directions: Find easy-to-use maps, driving directions to each trailhead, and details on where to park Skip the Crowds: Have the trail to yourself with Moon Northern California Hiking's many off-the-radar hikes Expert Advice: Seasoned hikers Tom Stienstra and Ann Marie Brown offer their experienced insight and honest opinions on each trail Tips and Tools: Advice on gear, first aid, ethical hiking, and camping permits, plus background information on climate, landscape, and wildlife Whether you're a veteran or a first-time hiker, Moon's comprehensive coverage and honest expertise will have you gearing up for your next adventure. Exploring more of the Golden State? Try Moon California Hiking. Hitting the road? Check out Moon California Road Trip.

Pack a lunch, lace up your boots, and head out to discover the best hiking trails in the Golden State with Moon California Hiking. A Hike for Everyone: Pick the right hike for you, from breathtaking coastal walks to challenging backcountry treks, with options ranging from easy day hikes to multi-day backpacking trips Best Hikes Lists: Choose from strategic lists of the best hikes for kids, bird-watching, redwoods, vivid fall colors, waterfalls, wheelchair-accessibility, and more Essential Planning Details: Each hike is marked with round-trip distance and estimated hiking time, as well as rated for scenic beauty and trail difficulty Maps and Directions: Find easy-to-use maps, driving directions to each trailhead, and details on where to park Skip the Crowds: Have the trail to yourself with recommended off-the-radar hikes Expert Advice: Seasoned hikers Tom Stienstra and Ann Marie Brown offer their trusted insight and honest opinions on each trail Tips and Tools: Advice on gear, first aid, camping permits, and ethical hiking, plus background information on climate, landscape, and wildlife Whether you're a veteran or a first-time hiker, Moon's comprehensive coverage and honest expertise will have you gearing up for your next adventure. Exploring more of the Golden State? Try Moon California Camping. Hitting the road? Check out Moon California Road Trip.

In the classic nature work, The Yosemite, the great American naturalist, John Muir, describes the Yosemite valley's geography and the myriad types of trees, flowers, birds, and other animals that can be found there. The Yosemite is among the finest examples of John Muir nature writings.The Yosemite is a classic nature/outdoor adventure text and a fine example of John Muir nature writings. In this volume, Muir describes the Yosemite valley's geography and the various types of trees, flowers and animals that can be found there. John Muir (April 21, 1838 - December 24, 1914) was a Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is a prominent American conservation organization. The 211-mile (340 km) John Muir Trail, a hiking trail in the Sierra Nevada, was named in his honor.[2] Other such places include Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, John Muir College, Mount Muir, Camp Muir and Muir Glacier. In Scotland, the John Muir Way, a 130 mile long distance route, was named in honor of him. In his later life, Muir devoted most of his time to the preservation of the Western forests. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite National Park. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings inspired readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. He is today referred to as the "Father of the National Parks" and the National Park Service has produced a short documentary about his life. Muir has been considered 'an inspiration to both Scots and Americans'. Muir's biographer, Steven J. Holmes, believes that Muir has become "one of the patron saints of twentieth-century American environmental activity," both political and recreational. As a result, his writings are commonly discussed in books and journals, and he is often quoted by nature photographers such as Ansel Adams. "Muir has profoundly shaped the very categories through which Americans understand and envision their relationships with the natural world," writes Holmes. Muir was noted for being an ecological thinker, political spokesman, and religious prophet, whose writings became a personal guide into nature for countless individuals, making his name "almost ubiquitous" in the modern environmental consciousness. According to author William Anderson, Muir exemplified "the archetype of our oneness with the earth", [ while biographer Donald Worster says he believed his mission was "...saving the American soul from total surrender to materialism." 403 On April 21, 2013, the first ever John Muir Day was celebrated in Scotland, which marked the 175th anniversary of his birth, paying homage to the conservationist. Muir was born in the small house at left. His father bought the adjacent building in 1842, and made it the family home.