John Muir Trail Virtual Visit

Stretching approximately 214 miles from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney in eastern California, the John Muir Trail (JMT) was the first long-distance trail on the West Coast and arguably the first of its kind in the United States. The trail showcases superlative High Sierra scenery and required extraordinary skill and effort to locate, design, and construct. While much of the route traced routes formerly used by Native Americans, prospectors, and sheepherders, these discontinuous and often indistinct vernacular paths were linked together and significantly improved to accommodate recreational travelers. As the product of ongoing cooperation between volunteer organizations and state, local, and federal authorities, the JMT serves as an enduring testament to the Sierra Club’s role in protecting, promoting, and providing access to California’s mountainous regions. National Park Service (NPS) support for the JMT was closely aligned with the agency’s efforts to expand Sequoia National Park and secure national park status for the Kings River watershed. It also demonstrated the NPS’s commitment to wilderness preservation and backcountry recreation at a time when it was widely thought to over-emphasize automobile-oriented development. The John Muir Trail holds significance for the history of twentieth century photography as one of the springboards for Ansel Adams’s illustrious career. A majority of the route was incorporated into the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail in 1968, constituting a key component of the route from Mexico to Canada.

Project Information

Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) undertook Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) documentation of the John Muir Trail in 2018-2020. The Federal Land Transportation Program provided substantial financial support. Additional funding was provided by a grant from the Sierra Club Foundation. HALS historian Timothy Davis, PhD, served as project leader and principal historian. Davis authored the historical context section and developed the physical description in collaboration with alpine biologist and guidebook author Elizabeth Wenk, PhD, who was primarily responsible for the natural history aspects. Wenk also provided historical insights and extensive cartographic assistance with the HALS drawing component. HDP Architect Jason W. McNatt produced a series of drawings/maps in collaboration with Davis and Wenk. Due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on research and travel, developments after the trail's official completion in 1938 were not covered in as much detail as earlier eras and there was no formal photography component. James Stein, GISP, of the NPS's Cultural Resources GIS Facility worked with the HALS team to develop the associated web features.

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  StoryMap

  StoryMap about John Muir Trail

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  StoryMap Virtual Tour

  StoryMap Virtual Tour of John Muir Trail

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  HALS Documentation

  Archival Documentation at the Library of Congress