News Release

Yosemite National Park to Celebrate Earth Day on Saturday April 21, 2018

Date: April 16, 2018

Public invited to celebrate Earth Day, National Junior Ranger Day, National Park Week, Park Rx Day, and John Muir’s Birthday in Yosemite Valley     

Yosemite National Park will be hosting an Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 21, 2018 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm in front of the Valley Visitor Center. All activities are free for all ages and entrance to the park is free on Saturday.   

Join Park Rangers and our partners and learn how we are working to preserve and protect natural and cultural resources in Yosemite National Park. The park will also be celebrating National Junior Ranger Day, National Park Week, Park Rx Day, and John Muir’s Birthday. 

Some of the day’s highlights include:

• Enjoy a fun and interactive musical performance with Ranger Kate  
• Visit informative and interactive booths in Yosemite Village. Enjoy face painting and traditional tool demonstrations.
• Learn how you can reduce waste at the Yosemite Zero Landfill booth. Bring an empty single-use camp propane canister and trade it in for a refillable propane canister.
• Join a litter clean-up project at the Volunteers in Parks Booth
• Junior Rangers of all ages are welcome to explore the park on a special Ranger-guided Walk at 10:00 am and 1:00 pm.
• Connect with a Park Ranger and learn about bears and other wildlife that call Yosemite home.
• Visit the Happy Isles Art and Nature Center and share your love of Yosemite with an art project sponsored by Yosemite Conservancy
• Join a photo walk and explore Yosemite Valley through your camera’s lens with photographers from the Ansel Adams Gallery
• Experience how Shakespeare and Yosemite National Park come together through a free performance of UC Merced’s Shakespeare in Yosemite, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. For more information, visithttps://www.ucmerced.edu/Shakespeare
• And much more!

The weekend of April 21 and 22, 2018 will be very busy in Yosemite National Park. Visitors planning to join us are encouraged to plan their trips in advance. Parking areas throughout the park are expected to fill early in the day.

Visitor parking will be available at the Yosemite Village Parking Area and at Half Dome Village. Visitors are encouraged to park and utilize the free park shuttle to get to the Yosemite Valley Village and Visitor Center.

Public transportation is a wonderful way to visit Yosemite Valley. YARTS (Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System) buses run multiple times daily and provide visitors with a safe and convenient way to visit the park.YARTS buses will be Free on April 21 and April 22, 2018. For more information, visit https://yarts.com/news/free-yarts-yosemite-earth-day-weekend-april-21-22-2018/

For more information on Earth Day in Yosemite and helpful travel tips, visit the park’s website: www.nps.gov/yose

For updated 24-hour road and weather conditions for Yosemite National Park, please call 209-372-0200, press 1 and press 1 again.