'Yosemite's Gateway' Guidebook
City/town information
Whether you are on your way to Yosemite National Park or want to get away for a day but don't want to travel as far, Mariposa is such a unique and historic town worth the short 39 mile scenic drive.
"What is there to do in Mariposa?" After you’ve finished poking in the shops and galleries on the main street (make sure you walk down as far as 5th Street) and after you’ve tried a local wine tasting at Ciera Wine Cellars, wander off on the path alongside the creek and explore the side streets.
Check out the Mariposa Gold Rush History Center and Museum and the California State Mining Museum. And don’t miss a stop at the Mariposa County Courthouse, California’s oldest seat of justice that is still in use.
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Mariposa
Whether you are on your way to Yosemite National Park or want to get away for a day but don't want to travel as far, Mariposa is such a unique and historic town worth the short 39 mile scenic drive.
"What is there to do in Mariposa?" After you’ve finished poking in the shops and galleries on the main street (make sure you walk down as far as 5th Street) and after you’ve tried a local wine tasting at Ciera Wine Cellars, wander off on the path alongside the creek and explore the side streets.
Check out the Mariposa Gold Rush History Center and Museum and the California State Mining Museum. And don’t miss a stop at the Mariposa County Courthouse, California’s oldest seat of justice that is still in use.
In eastern California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, Yosemite National Park covers nearly 1,200 square miles of glacier-carved hills and valleys, rivers and lakes and soaring granite cliffs. Home to some of the most impressive and iconic natural landmarks on Earth, the park teems with superlatives: Yosemite Falls, at 2,425 feet, one of the world's tallest; El Capitan's sheer 3,000-foot walls topping one of the world's largest monoliths; and Mariposa Grove, hosting the world's most massive forms of life, 3,000-year-old sequoias stretching 200 feet upward from 25-foot-thick trunks.
Given its beauty, the park has inspired famous naturalists, photographers and athletes. Naturalist John Muir wrote extensively about his travels in Yosemite, campaigning for it to become a national park, as it did with his help in 1890. “No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life,” he wrote. Ansel Adams shot some of his most famous photos in the park, writing that “Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space.” His old photo studio is now a gallery and store in the park. More recently, the mind-boggling El Capitan rock-climbing exploits of Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold inspired the popular documentaries The Dawn Wall and Free Solo.
Distance: 82.5 Miles
Cost(s): $35/Vehicle for Day Use (subject to change) Bus options Available via Yarts.
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Yosemite Valley
In eastern California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, Yosemite National Park covers nearly 1,200 square miles of glacier-carved hills and valleys, rivers and lakes and soaring granite cliffs. Home to some of the most impressive and iconic natural landmarks on Earth, the park teems with superlatives: Yosemite Falls, at 2,425 feet, one of the world's tallest; El Capitan's sheer 3,000-foot walls topping one of the world's largest monoliths; and Mariposa Grove, hosting the world's most massive forms of life, 3,000-year-old sequoias stretching 200 feet upward from 25-foot-thick trunks.
Given its beauty, the park has inspired famous naturalists, photographers and athletes. Naturalist John Muir wrote extensively about his travels in Yosemite, campaigning for it to become a national park, as it did with his help in 1890. “No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life,” he wrote. Ansel Adams shot some of his most famous photos in the park, writing that “Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space.” His old photo studio is now a gallery and store in the park. More recently, the mind-boggling El Capitan rock-climbing exploits of Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold inspired the popular documentaries The Dawn Wall and Free Solo.
Distance: 82.5 Miles
Cost(s): $35/Vehicle for Day Use (subject to change) Bus options Available via Yarts.
Food scene
Type of Food: Classic American chophouse serving steak, seafood & prime rib.
The Branding Iron Restaurant, the oldest and most famous fine-dining venue in Merced. It has been under new ownership since 2022 and been highly reviewed since. Don't let the "fine-dining" scare you. The prices are very reasonable and worth every bite.
The Branding Iron Restaurant
640 16th StType of Food: Classic American chophouse serving steak, seafood & prime rib.
The Branding Iron Restaurant, the oldest and most famous fine-dining venue in Merced. It has been under new ownership since 2022 and been highly reviewed since. Don't let the "fine-dining" scare you. The prices are very reasonable and worth every bite.
I usually don't like to suggest franchise restaurants but The Black Bear Diner in Merced is one of the local favorite diners and for a very good reason. They're known for the customer service and great American diner food options. So if you are looking for a good breakfast spot, you just found it!
Black Bear Diner Merced
1435 V StreetI usually don't like to suggest franchise restaurants but The Black Bear Diner in Merced is one of the local favorite diners and for a very good reason. They're known for the customer service and great American diner food options. So if you are looking for a good breakfast spot, you just found it!