Yosemite National Park is a place of extraordinary natural beauty with renowned waterfalls, spectacular granite rock formations, and serene meadows. Although indigenous peoples already inhabited Yosemite, settlers of European descent found their way there beginning in 1851. To serve the steady growth of tourists and visitors, lodging and accommodations have always been central to the park's history. The popularity of postcards starting in the early 1900s and lasting several decades coincided with the growth of the park's hotels and camps, transportation, and entertainment. This book of vintage postcards illustrates and chronicles those places and events. It provides visitors with an understanding and appreciation for the unique and diverse places made available to tourists throughout Yosemite's history.

The history of Yosemite National Park is as compelling as the waterfalls, monoliths, and peaks that have mesmerized visitors for more than a century. But what hikers see today in the iconic Yosemite Valley, as well as on the peaks in the high country and within the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, is a world away from the place Native Americans once called Ahwahnee, and from what gold-seekers and mountain men looked upon in the park’s earliest days. Historic Yosemite National Park is a vibrant collection of stories about different aspects of Yosemite National Park’s fascinating history, from the conservation works of pivotal characters such as writer John Muir and photographer Ansel Adams to the daring exploits of rock climbers and the natural forces that have shaped Yosemite’s stunning vistas. These stories reveal why Yosemite National Park has inspired humankind for centuries.

This is a reprint of a time-tested history of Yosemite National Park by one of its most respected historians. It portrays in terms of human experience the growth of a distinct and unique conception of land management, and chronicles the thoughts and efforts of those who contributed to it. It tells of the obstacles overcome and of the pressures to break down the park concept and turn Yosemite to commercial and other ends that would deface its beauty and impair its significance. For these reasons, the book is more than a history. It traces the evolution of an idea.

They are all here, from 1856, when the the first rude hotel was built in Yosemite Valley, to the year 2000: Hutchings House, Leidig's, La Casa Nevada, the Stoneman House, Camp Curry, the Mountain House, the Ahwahnee, and many more. Included among the notables are Hutchings, James McCauley, Desmond, J. J. Cook, the Washburn brothers, and the Currys, A new, revised, and updated edition.