Yosemite National Park

The eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park, one of America's most beautiful national parks, is about forty miles south of Bridgeport, just west of Lee Vining, California. The eastern entrance is via Tioga Pass, which has an elevation of 9,945 feet. As a result, the eastern entrance road, State Route 120, is closed each year usually from November through May, depending on the conditions. However, following winters of extreme snowfall, Tioga Pass has opened as late as July 8.

Yosemite National Park attracts more than 3.5 million visitor each year. It has spectacular granite cliffs carved by glaciers, clear streams, waterfalls, Giant Sequoia groves, wildlife, and tremendous biological diversity. Black bears, mule deers, marmots, bobcats, gray foxes, Mountain Kingsnake, Gilbert's Skink, Brown Creeper, Spotted Owls, Mountain Beavers and Sierra Nevada Big Horn Sheep can all be found in the park.

The eastern side of the park is less accessible and not as popular as the heavily traveled Yosemite Valley and Giant Sequoia Grove. Nevertheless, it has several outstanding areas to explore and is well worth a visit. Tuolumne Meadows, at an elevation of 8,619 feet, is a flat dome studded section of the Tuolumne River, which is home to the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center. Both the John Muir Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail run through the meadows. Backcountry hiking and rock climbing are popular. Other popular destinations on the eastern side of the park is the spectacular view of the granite walls of the Sierras at Olmstead Point and Tenaya Lake, which is framed by granite domes. Click on the link for great Yosemite National Park pictures.