Yosemite National Park

Overview: Yosemite is the 3rd oldest national park in the United States (Established October 1, 1890), and one of the favorite parks in the world. It covers 1,189 square miles in the western Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. With over 800 miles of trails, it's a nature-lover''s dream. Most visitors spend all of their time in Yosemite Valley, where the most popular sights are, but there are several more amazing areas to discover if you have the time. The park's elevation ranges from 2000ft to 13,114ft (600m to 4,000m), stretching from Giant Sequoia groves housing 200ft trees over 2,000 years old, to breath-taking valleys carved by glaciers, and home to the highest waterfall in America, to high meadows filled with rivers, lakes, and wildflowers. Over 3.5 million people from around the world visit Yosemite each year. The park offers lodging reservations up to 1 year in advance, which are usually booked only a few minutes after the phone lines open up each day.