PHOTO ESSAY: The Splendors of Yosemite National Park

Established in 1890, Yosemite is the country’s third oldest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was here, back in 1903, that the idea of national parks was born. John Muir, the famous naturalist, guided President Teddy Roosevelt, a noted conservationist, through the Yosemite wilderness and it became the camping trip that changed the nation. There’s a plaque in the park to acknowledge this historic meeting of the minds.

The park’s nearly 800,000 glacially sculpted acres is a nature lover’s nirvana and a photographer’s dream. It’s world renowned for its dramatic waterfalls, formidable granite domes and craggy peaks, lush meadows, meandering rivers, ginormous trees and commanding views everywhere you look.

Yosemite is a soul-stirring park that offers new discoveries with each exploration. It’s hard to describe the profound effect that this place can have on visitors. Pictures, however, are worth a thousand words.

To lean more visit nps.gov/yose/.