Yosemite National Park Exhibits and Historical Landmarks

Yosemite National Park is rich in cultural history. Visit some of these locations and learn about Yosemite's past.

Yosemite Museum-Yosemite Valley
Open All Year at least 9:00 am - 4:00 pm (closed for lunch)
Next to the Visitor Center in Yosemite Valley.

Exhibits

Native Miwok Indian Exhibit
Displays interpret the cultural history of Yosemite’s native Miwok and Paiute people from 1850 to the present. Demonstrations of basket-weaving, beadwork, and/or traditional games are presented. The Indian Village of Ahwahnee is a reconstructed Miwok village. Cultural demonstrations are offered during the summer. During summer, the Museum Gallery displays paintings from the collection of the Yosemite Museum.

Mariposa Grove Museum-Wawona
Mariposa Grove Museum offers giant sequoia displays, books, maps, and information. The museum is accessibly only by foot or by going on the 1-hour tram tour of the Grove. (Open May through September)

Yosemite Valley Historical Landmarks

LeConte Memorial Lodge
Yosemite's first public visitor center and a National Historic Landmark, is operated by the Sierra Club from May through September and features a children's corner, library, and a variety of environmental education and evening programs.

Yosemite Cemetery
The historic Yosemite Cemetery is located across the street and just west of the Yosemite Museum. People buried here include Native Americans, casual park visitors, and people who played important roles in the development of what is now Yosemite National Park. A Guide to the Yosemite Cemetery is available at the Valley Visitor Center.

Ansel Adams Gallery
The Ansel Adams Gallery offers work of Ansel Adams, contemporary photographers and other fine artists. In addition, a wide selection of handcrafts, books, gifts, and photography supplies is available. The Gallery, formerly known as Best's Studio, has been operating in the park since 1902.

The Ahwahnee
The Ahwahnee, a famous hotel and National Historic Landmark, is popular even for those not staying there. Completed in 1927, it was built in a rustic style with American Indian motif. Historic paintings of Yosemite, stunning stained-glass windows, and woven tapestries grace the walls. The Great Lounge and Dining Room are architectural examples of rustic elegance.

Tuolumne Meadows Historical Landmarks

Parsons Memorial Lodge
Parsons Memorial Lodge and Soda Springs is a good place to discover the natural and human history of Tuolumne Meadows and hike to the place where John Muir and Robert Underwood Johnson conceived the idea of establishing Yosemite National Park. This area is an easy 1-mile (30 minute) walk from Lembert Dome parking area or from the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center. (Open late June through early September.)

Wawona/Mariposa Grove Historical Landmarks

Pioneer Yosemite History Center
Visit the Pioneer Yosemite History Center to see horse-drawn wagons, walk across a covered bridge, and visit historic buildings out of Yosemite's past. A visit to the Center will explain how Yosemite was the inspiration for national parks across America and throughout the world. The Center is always open, and explanatory signs and brochures are available.

Wawona Cemetery
The diminutive Wawona Cemetery is in a lesser-known, tucked-away corner of Wawona. Ask at the Wawona Information Station for location.

Wawona Hotel
Wawona was once an Indian encampment and, later, was the site of a hotel built in 1856 by Galen Clark. It served as a stop for visitors between Yosemite Valley and Mariposa. In 1864, when Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Groves were set aside for protection. Clark became the first guardian of the area. In 1875, the year the original Wawona road opened, the Washburn brothers purchased the area and built the Wawona Hotel that is still in operation today.