• View of the Golden Gate Bridge, taken from the Marin Headlands, looking across the bay back towards San Francisco, seen in the distance.

    Golden Gate

    National Recreation Area California

There are park alerts in effect.
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  • Tunnel to Marin Headlands Closed

    The tunnel on Bunker Road from Alexander Avenue in Sausalito towards the Marin Headlands is closed for construction. Please follow the detour signs to Conzelman Road (just above the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge) to go up over the hill. More »

  • Muir Beach (but not nearby Muir Woods) parking lot closed June-November 2013

    Muir Beach parking lot will be closed from June-November 2013 due to construction. Restrooms or nearby parking will not be available at Muir Beach during this period. Pacific Way is closed except to residents. Check back for updates or call (415)561-3054 More »

  • CAUTION: Post Storm Damage to Coastal Trail

    The Presidio Coastal Trail segment just north of the Pacific Overlook and adjacent to Lincoln Blvd remains CLOSED indefinitely. We have posted signage to alert bicyclists and hikers and with information for safe trail alternatives. More »

Buffalo Soldiers

photo of African-American soldiers on horseback in a grove of trees
Buffalo Soldiers in Yosemite
NPS
 
 

Before the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916, the U.S. Army was responsible for protecting our first national parks. Soldiers from the Presidio of San Francisco spent the summer months in Yosemite and Sequoia. Their tasks included blazing trails, constructing roads, creating maps, evicting grazing livestock, extinguishing fires, monitoring tourists, and keeping poachers and loggers at bay.

Among the units that patrolled the parks were Buffalo Soldiers of the 24th Infantry and 9th Cavalry. These African American troopers were in the Sierra parks in 1899, 1903, and 1904. They played a crucial role in events and achievements that shaped the parks as well as the entire national park system.

The stories of the Buffalo Soldiers span three different national parks. Learn more about their activities at each park.

 

Presidio of San Francisco

  • Learn about the history of the Buffalo Soldiers and their garrison duty at the Presidio.

Yosemite National Park

  • Learn more about the Buffalo Soldiers' summer duty in the Sierra.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park

  • Learn about the accomplishments of Col. Charles Young, Sequoia's acting superintendent in the summer of 1903.

Shadows in the Range of Light

  • Visit Yosemite Park Ranger Shelton Johnson's website.
 
Buffalo soldiers on horseback in Yosemite
9th Cavalry soldiers on the Fallen Monarch in Yosemite's Mariposa Grove; photo circa 1904.
Yosemite Research Library

Did You Know?

Photo of gull head showing red spot on the lower portion of the beak.

The red dot on an adult gull’s lower mandible (beak) serves as a target for chicks to peck to inform their parent that they need feeding.