Yosemite at a Glance:
Park History

The first tourist party visited Yosemite Valley by 1855. Businessmen like James Hutchings soon realized that the prospects for a tourist trade in the valley were growing. Hutchings encouraged artists and writers to join him on camping trips into the place called Yo-Semite, and he published their accounts in Hutchings' California Magazine.

Geology
Waterfalls

Park History

Tourists began to arrive first by horseback and later by stagecoach. In 1855, 42 people visited Yosemite Valley. By 1857, the first hotel was built to accommodate a growing number of tourists. During 1867 over 600 people visited Yosemite.

With completion of the railroad to Stockton in 1877, travel to the foothills became easier, and visitation to Yosemite Valley more than doubled. As more accommodations and residences were built, orchards were planted, trees were milled, and livestock grazed the valley to support the growing number of visitors.