More than 3.6 million visitors venture into Yosemite National Park every year. Most of them head straight to Yosemite Valley, and for good reason. The narrow valley, bisected by the Merced River, is renowned for its towering granite walls and the rushing waterfalls that spill over them. There’s also a visitors center and access to some awe-inspiring viewpoints for those who don’t intend to hike or who have limited mobility.
But the 7.5-square-mile Yosemite Valley is just a tiny slice of the park, which sprawls across 1,169 square miles. Outside of the valley itself, there are many things to do in and around Yosemite National Park.
Near the southern entrance, Mariposa Grove is home to a majestic stand of sequoias. To the east, Tuolumne Meadows’ maze of high-country dells are ringed by dozens of snow-clad peaks, and to the northwest, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir covers a gorge that once rivaled Yosemite Valley in its beauty and grandeur.
We’ve rounded up some of our favorite stops outside of the valley, grouping them based on their proximity to the 5 park entrances. The newly updated AAA Yosemite National Park map makes for a terrific guide to the park, and it’s available for free at your local branch.