America’s Best National Park

If you could only visit one U.S. national park, which one would you choose? Would it be Bryce Canyon in Utah, a wonderland of fascinating topography? Or the scenic Yellowstone, with Old Faithful and other geysers? Perhaps you would choose Shenandoah, with its hardwood forests and miles of the Appalachian Trail.

Then, of course, there’s Grand Canyon, Glacier, Glacier Bay and Grand Teton, and that’s just in the G’s. How about Death Valley, Everglades, Crater Lake or Carlsbad Caverns?

Visiting those national parks would be wonderful. But we’d like to make the case for Yosemite. How many national parks offer 800 miles of hiking trails? How many can boast one of the most popular rock-climbing sites in the U.S. (Half Dome), one of the country’s tallest waterfalls (Yosemite Falls) and some of the oldest trees in the world (sequoias)? How many national parks have a cartoon character named after them, for heaven sakes? Remember Yosemite Sam?

The diversity is one aspect that draws millions of people to Yosemite annually. The park covers nearly 1,200 square miles, roughly the size of Rhode Island, and reaches an elevation of 13,000 feet. The sights to see include hundreds of varieties of trees and plants, rushing streams, majestic mountains, green valleys, a variety of abundant and endangered wildlife and an almost unmatched serenity in the backcountry.

We hope you get to visit all 63 national parks in your lifetime. What an exciting, invigorating accomplishment that would be. But if you can only choose one, or only choose one this year, we highly recommend Yosemite. It’s only 155 miles from San Francisco. We can help you get there and enjoy the park roughly—hiking into the wilderness—or softly, staying in a luxury hotel and seeing the sights by car—or anything in between. If you’re ready to feed your soul and refresh your spirit, give us a call.