Yosemite Transportation Office

Yosemite Transportation Office

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

The Yosemite Transportation Office was constructed in Yosemite Valley in 1910 by the Yosemite Valley Railroad Company as a transportation terminal and telecommunications hub.

Starting in 1907, Yosemite-bound tourists could ride the railroad from Merced to El Portal, just outside the park, eliminating the bumpy, dusty, two-day stage ride. However, the final fourteen-mile leg of the journey from El Portal to Yosemite Valley was still made by stage, and later by autos.

Upon arrival at this terminal in Yosemite Valley, passengers could book a stay in a hotel and make transportation arrangements with travel agents, who lived in the building’s back rooms. Despite its rustic design, the office provided modern conveniences. Visitors could make telephone calls or send telegrams to anywhere in the world. By 1914, automobiles were common in Yosemite, and in that year, horse-drawn stage service was discontinued. However, annual visitation to the park in 1915 doubled to 31,000. Consequently, stage operation was renewed but only for one additional year. In 1916, the era of stage travel ended and another began. The National Park Service, a federal agency created to preserve and manage our country's national parks, was established.

The reliance on transportation companies for park access diminished greatly when the All-Year Highway (now California Highway 140) opened in 1927, and personal cars soon became the dominant means of transportation in Yosemite.