"One of the World's Most Beautiful Places" Yosemite National Park by AKtravelers

I have been to Yosemite at least six times and it never fails to awe me. Amazingly, I also find something new to entrance me each time. I know that the next time I return, another corner of the park will capture my imagination -- it's no accident that this unique place spawned John Muir and the modern environmental movement.
Most people visit the glacier-created Yosemite Valley, with its famous named granite monoliths watching over the tiny Merced River. In fact, paying respects to El Capitan and Half Dome are obligatory parts of any Yousemite experience. That being said, Toualame Meadows, Tiaga Pass, Mariposa Grove, Glacier Point and any of the number of backcountry locations are also worthy of time.
The valley is not wilderness. Far from it!! It's crowded with people and tour buses and lodging facilities. For some people, this detracts from the experience, as it spoils their expectations of natural solitude. If you come to Yosemite for solitude, there are plenty of places to find it -- but not the valley. Banish that expectation now and you'll have a better time.

Mariposa Grove is one of the few places on earth where the Giant Sequoias have continued to grow for the last 2500 years. There are other places in California that also have the big redwoods, such as Sequoia National park and Kings Canyon National Park, but if you're trying to pack a lot of things into a whirlwind tour of the U.S. West, this is the grove you should see.
How can one not marvel atthese trees? They are just as fascinating dead as alive (not that I recommend driving them toward extinction), as you can judge the full breath of their trunks by looking at their base. They have no natural predators, but their gigantic size and shallow root system can sometimes undermine them during strong storms. But even in death, their formidble defenses are still evident. They are so invulnerable to bacteria and insects that they hardly decay at all. The downed tree in this photo fell 300 years ago!

Nevada Falls cools the descent from Half Dome

With tons of backcountry and a variety of elevations, Yosemite has hiking trails for all levels of fitness. There's enough wilderness for multi-night backpacks and there are short paved hikes to waterfalls. My favorite hike (indeed, one of my favorites of all time) is the 4800-foot climb out of the valley to the top of Half Dome (see my travelogue for details). Just awesome!!
If you're so inclined, you can also rock climb. I'm not so inclined, but I enjoy watching climbers scale the faces of El capitan and other monoliths.