For two weeks in mid-February, photographers and tourists from across the world flock to this California national park to witness a stunning celestial illusion. Weather permitting, as the sun sets the Horsetail Fall waterfall is illuminated to the point that the streaming liquid looks like molten lava cascading down the face of El Capitan.

“Horsetail is so uniquely situated that I don’t know of any other waterfall on earth that gets that kind of light,” Michael Frye, who authored, “The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite,” told the Associated Press.

First captured in 1973 by photographer Galen Rowell, Horsetail Fall sits in a unique position that–with the right geometry, astronomy and physics—when the light is at the lowest optimal angle, the sun’s rays reflect off the granite behind the waterfall and cause this photograph-worthy phenomenon.

By Courtney Holden

“At the end of the day, if the visitors and users of wilderness aren’t willing to make sacrifices to preserve the wilderness character of these areas, then we just won’t have wilderness,” George Nickas, executive director of Wilderness Watch, told the Associated Press. “We’ll have some Disney-fied version of it.”

Just how to limit the number of visitors, if the number will even be limited at all, has yet to be decided. Suggestions include preventing everyone from ascending and taking out the cables hikers use to make it up the final 45-degree incline. According to the Stewardship Plan, allowing only 300 people per day past a checkpoint two miles from the top is the preferred option. Nickas and his cohorts believe that limiting access will both protect the area, as well as make it less crowded and safer for those who do head to the summit.

Others, of course, feel differently, believing that everyone inclined to trek to the top should be able. In their minds, Half Dome’s vistas over Little Yosemite Valley, El Capitan and the Valley Floor should be open to anyone willing. Many hikers even call the experience transcendent.

The Half Dome Trail Stewardship Plan opened for public review on January 24. Comments will be accepted through March 15, 2012. Visit Plan’s website to submit your thoughts electronically, or talk with a park staff member at the monthly Open House at the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center Auditorium on Wednesday, February 29, 2012, from 1-4 p.m.

Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

Thank you to Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty for allowing us to post this video on MyYosemitePark.com.

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Read the full story: Ansel Adams’s Lost Photos at Backpacker.com.

Of all of the stunning natural features that compose Yosemite’s landscape – including gushing waterfalls, skyscraping mountain peaks, alpine lakes, and giant sequoia groves – the park’s granite domes are among the most unique. Half Dome is the most famous, prompting curious visitors who stare up at the giant dome from the valley floor, or capture it in photos from Glacier Point, to ask: how were domes like this made?

Part of the answer lies with ancient glaciers. Toward the end of Earth’s last ice age (approximately 10,000 to 15,000 years ago), huge glaciers moved down from the Sierra Nevada high country, following river canyons and valleys. Along the way, the glaciers carried with them fields of debris that scoured and polished Yosemite’s granite rocks to a smooth surface, as seen on the rounded top of Half Dome and many other granite domes in the park today.

That still leaves the other half of the story. What the glaciers weren’t able to effect, erosion later did.

Once the last glaciers retreated, granite domes became exposed to the elements. Weathering causes sheets of exposed rock to slip away and fall due to cracks or joints in the rock, creating sheer faces like on the other side on Half Dome. This geologic process of weathering is called exfoliation, and it still continues through the park today. Sometimes weathering results in dramatic rockfalls in the Yosemite Valley.

Yosemite National Park is a four-seasons outdoor destination. You can come to watch waterfalls in spring, go hiking in the Sierra Nevada high country in summer, roast marshmallows over your campfire in fall, and go skiing and snowshoeing in winter. Timing your visit to coincide with one of the region’s many festivals will only enhance your Yosemite vacation.

There’s almost always something special going on in the park, with free ranger-guided walks and talks given year-round. Many of the park’s special events and educational programs are designed for entire families to enjoy, so bring your kids and the grandparents, too – everybody is welcome!

Annual Festivals
Every year on April 22, Earth Day is great time to visit Yosemite National Park, especially if waterfalls are just starting to hit their peak. You can volunteer to help with some easy environmental clean-up, then enjoy a free ranger-guided hike or eco-educational activity.

Summer officially kicks off on Memorial Day weekend in late May and ends with Labor Day weekend in early September. Both of these holiday weekends are time for the Strawberry Music Festivals, held at Camp Mather, just outside the Hetch Hetchy area of the park. Families gather for camp-outs, musical concerts, swimming, storytelling, and arts-and-crafts workshops. For more information and to buy tickets in advance, visit www.strawberrymusic.com or call (209) 984-8630.

In the park’s Sierra Nevada high country, Tuolumne Meadows blooms with wildflowers in summer. Then in mid-August, the Parsons Memorial Lodge hosts the park’s Tuolumne Meadows Poetry Festival, featuring author readings, workshops for writers and poets, and musical jams. All events are open to the public and free.

Winter is the most festive time in the Yosemite Valley. Although many park visitors don’t consider a park visit after the first snows fall, it’s a memorable season for a Yosemite vacation. Most wintertime activities revolve around the historic Ahwahnee hotel, which hosts the Vintners’ Holidays in November and early December, the Bracebridge Dinners in mid-December, the Chefs’ Holidays in January and February, and the Heritage Holidays in early March. All are celebrations of food and wine. The renowned Bracebridge Dinners include live entertainment in a dining hall styled to resemble a Renaissance-era English lord’s manor. The Heritage Holidays are a kicky homage to the Roaring Twenties in song, dance, and costumed revelry. Advance reservations are required for all, although some events are free to the public.

Other winter celebrations take place at the park’s Badger Pass ski area, including Nordic Holiday Races in early February and family-friendly Springfest, usually in late March.

Ranger-Guided Programs
No matter when you visit Yosemite National Park, you’ll discover an abundance of ranger-guided talks, walks and other free, family-friendly activities going on. Nothing else will top off your Yosemite vacation like gathering around a campfire to listen to a ranger talk about wild black bears, or joining a ranger-guided wildflower or snowshoe walk. After-dark stargazing and nature film showings, arts-and-crafts workshops and storytime hours for kids, and junior ranger programs are just a sampling of what the park freely offers to enrich your Yosemite experience.

You can spend some time exploring the Yosemite Valley, then head down to Wawona, where some of the park’s oldest structures have been preserved. Farther afield, the foothills of Sequoia National Park protect Native American archaeological sites, while to the north lies California’s fascinating Gold Country.

Native Americans in the Yosemite Valley
The Sierra Nevada mountains were originally inhabited by Native American tribes, who moved seasonally between villages in the foothills and higher-elevation summer camps in the valleys and highland meadows of Yosemite, where hunting and gathering took place. Some of the footpaths these indigenous peoples established, including trading routes across the Sierra Nevada, can still be hiked today.

In the Yosemite Valley, drop by the park visitor center and the Yosemite Museum to learn more about the culture and traditions of park’s indigenous peoples, including Miwok and Paiute tribespeople. Native American artwork on display includes intricate basketry and needlework. Out behind the museum is a reconstructed tribal village that commemorates the Ahwahneechee people, a band of Native Americans lead by Chief Tenaya who lived in Yosemite Valley until 1851. Some Native Americans and other famous people in Yosemite’s history lie buried across the street in the Yosemite Cemetery, which is certainly worth a quick look for history buffs.

Yosemite Pioneer History Center
About an hour’s drive south of the valley, the Wawona area of Yosemite National Park gathers together a well-preserved collection of buildings from different eras of the park’s history. Pick up a free, self-guided tour brochure near the entrance. Start your visit by strolling across the covered bridge dating from 1857 that was once part of the stagecoach route that delivered early tourists to Yosemite Valley. Other rustic cabins belonging to miners, homesteaders, artists, and early park rangers are open for inspection here, as is the bakery, jail, and Wells Fargo company office.

Mining Ghost Towns
Late-19th-century mining companies were the first to build a wagon road across Tioga Pass in Yosemite’s high country. Not many of these high Sierra mining efforts ended up being very lucrative. (Timber logging of giant sequoias farther south in what is today Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks and the Giant Sequoia National Monument similarly failed to turn a profit.) Nevertheless, some of the ghost towns that pioneer miners built still stand.

Near Tioga Pass, it’s a short detour along a side road to Bennettsville, a silver mining ghost town dating from the 1880s. Unbelievably, some of these weathered mining shacks have survived over 120 years of harsh winters. Farther east, north of the small town of Lee Vining on the shores of Mono Lake, Bodie State Historic Park is one of California’s most atmospheric ghost towns. Between the 1860s and 1880s, an estimated $100 million dollars’ worth of gold and silver is said to have been extracted from these hills, until catastrophic fires ended most mining of the activity. Today, families can enjoy wandering around the ruins of Bodie, which are preserved in a photogenic state of “arrested decay,” according to state park rangers.

Visiting the Yosemite region during winter is an unforgettable experience. Meadows, forests, and Sierra Nevada peaks are all covered in powdery blankets of snow, while the valley becomes a winter wonderland.

Although some park roads are closed during winter, there’s still plenty to do. Family-friendly recreation includes ice skating, guided snowshoeing walks, cross-country ski trails, and a small downhill ski area at Badger Pass.

Elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada, you’ll find more opportunities for winter recreation, including in nearby national parks and at ski resorts around Lake Tahoe and at Mammoth Mountain east of Yosemite. Note that the road over Tioga Pass, which connects Yosemite with the eastern Sierra Nevada, is closed during winter.

Yosemite Valley
When winter arrives in the Yosemite Valley, its legendary beauty is only magnified by snow falling on photogenic granite rock formations such as Half Dome. Some of the valley’s waterfalls flow year-round, including Yosemite Falls, which sports a picturesque ice cone at its base in winter. Between December and April, Horsetail Fall is visible on the valley’s north side – if you visit in late February, the sunset glow makes it appear to be on fire.

Some hiking trails around the valley floor and out to Mirror Lake remain open in winter to both hardy hikers and snowshoers. At Curry Village, an ice-skating rink opens in winter for old-fashioned family fun. Guided sightseeing bus tours around the valley floor are available for those who would rather take it easy.

Badger Pass
Generations of families have learned to ski at Yosemite’s beloved Badger Pass, off Glacier Point Road. Take your pick of a small downhill skiing and snowboarding area equipped with chair lifts or a 90-mile network of cross-country ski trails. Friendly instructors and rental equipment are available near the inner-tubing bunny hill for kids. For backcountry enthusiasts, overnight accommodations are available for cross-country skiers at Glacier Point and Ostrander Lake. Free shuttle buses connect the Yosemite Valley with Badger Pass at least twice daily. You can also drive yourself, but only if your car is equipped with snow tires and you bring tire chains.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
More snow play awaits in these twin national parks, a half day’s drive south of Yosemite. Closest to Yosemite, the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon offers sledding, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, including rental equipment and ranger-guided walks. Open during winter, weather-permitting, the Generals Highway leads south through Sequoia National Park and the Giant Forest, another great place for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing among giant sequoia trees.

The nearby Wolverton area is packed with kids sledding and building snowmen. Expert backcountry skiers can take overnight trips to Pear Lake ski hut. Between the two national parks, Montecito Sequoia Lodge offers family-friendly winter sports of all kinds, including over 30 miles of groomed cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails. Rental equipment and ski lessons are also available at the lodge. Kids enjoy the downhill tubing area with a tow rope, as well as the ice-skating rink, snow-biking trails, and dog-sledding trips.

In the Yosemite Valley, Camp 4 is the unofficial home base for independent rock climbers in the park, especially during the spring and fall climbing seasons. There you’ll find climbers practicing their bouldering skills, as well as around Sentinel Rock and Cathedral Spires and Rocks. In summer, the focus of the action moves up to the Tuolumne Meadows area in the Sierra Nevada high country off Tioga Road. There the grassy meadows are surrounded by spectacular opportunities for dome climbs, including to worthwhile viewpoints of Tenaya Lake. More bouldering possibilities await at Tuolumne Meadows, especially in the area nicknamed The Knobs.

Guided Climbs, Lessons, and Equipment Rental
You don’t have to tackle extremely challenging climbs just to get a taste of what makes rock climbing in Yosemite National Park so awesome. Run by the park’s concessionaire, the Yosemite Mountaineering School (YMS) was established in 1969 during the early record-breaking heyday of rock climbing in the park.

Today, expert YMS guides give group rock-climbing lessons at all skill levels, and also lead private guided climbs. Families or groups of friends can arrange private rock-climbing lessons, while women can sign up for “Girls on Granite” climbing weekends. Experienced rock climbers looking to enhance their skills should consider advanced crack and big-wall climbing workshops and seminars, as well as self-rescue and ice-climbing classes.

Reservations are recommended for all YMS lessons, classes, and seminars, which can book up weeks in advance during the peak summer season. In spring and fall, YMS is based at Curry Village in the Yosemite Valley. In summer, YMS moves up to Tuolumne Meadows in the high country. YMS rents and sells camping and climbing gear at its various locations around the park. For more information, visit DNC’s website (www.yosemitepark.com) or call (209) 372-8344.

Rock Climbing on Your Own
If you’re heading out to climb without a guide, check in first with the wilderness information center in Yosemite Valley. Ask about which climbing areas may currently be closed due to nesting peregrine falcons, and whether or not you’ll need a wilderness permit (required for any overnight camping or bivouacking trips). Helpful rangers can also give you advice about current safety conditions, fixed ropes and bolted routes, and environmental minimum-impact regulations, including proper storage and disposal of food, trash, and yes, human waste.

Nothing beats sleeping under the stars in Yosemite National Park, especially if you’re looking for a little family togetherness. Developed campgrounds scattered throughout the park are a perfect place to introduce your kids to the joys of tent camping, or alternatively to park your RV for a few nights or a week.

In Yosemite Valley, historic Curry Village is a concessionaire-run lodging option with safari tents and wooden cabins, if you’d rather not bring your own camping gear. In the Sierra Nevada high country off Tioga Road, take your pick of tent lodges at Tuolumne Meadows or White Wolf, which also has rustic cabins for rent. At the backcountry High Sierra Camps, clean beds and square meals are available to hikers after a long, satisfying day spent on the trail. Otherwise, all backcountry camping in the park requires a wilderness permit.

The Basics
Some park campgrounds are available by reservation, while others are first-come, first served, especially during the off-season (fall through spring). During the busiest months in the park (May through September), campgrounds fill up every night – either make campsite reservations up to five months in advance, or show up early in the morning to check for last-minute availability or to secure a first-come, first-served site. For reservations, call (877) 444-6777 or (518) 885-3639, or visit www.recreation.gov. Overnight camping fees range from $5 to $20 per site. Even when the national park campgrounds are full, you may still be able to find developed campsites in nearby national parks and national forest lands around the Yosemite region.

The following are some of our favorite campgrounds in and around Yosemite National Park:

Yosemite National Park Campgrounds
Yosemite National Park offers over a dozen developed campgrounds. In the Yosemite Valley, Upper Pines is open year-round, while Lower Pines and North Pines are typically closed from October or November through March. RVs and trailers are allowed at these valley campgrounds, but not at Camp 4, a favorite of rock climbers, where shared tent sites cost just $5 per person.

During summer, several grassy campgrounds open in the Sierra Nevada high country, all accessible off Tioga Road. Opening times vary from year to year, depending on the weather, but most campgrounds are open from early July through early September. Many are first-come, first-served, although 50 percent of the sites at Tuolumne Meadows are reservable in advance.

Also open during summer, usually from early July until early September, shady Bridalveil Creek is a first-come, first-served campground in the forests off Glacier Point Road. Near the park’s southern entrance, the roadside Wawona Campground is open year-round, as is Hodgdon Meadow, near the park’s northwestern entrance, off Big Oak Flat Road (Highway 120).

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park Campgrounds
A half-day’s drive south of Yosemite, these two national parks together offer 14 developed campgrounds with over 800 campsites. Overnight fees range from $10 to $20 per site. Some are reservable in advance either by phone or online, while others are first-come, first-served. A few are open year-round.