Mariposa County : Home of Yose - Index

Mariposa County : Home of Yose - Mariposa County - Home of Yosemite :: Visitor Guide and Business Directory - Index

EL PORTAL
Once the terminus of the
Yosemite Valley Railroad, El Portal is
a community of employees for both
the Yosemite National Park and
Delaware North, the Park concessionaire.
Located along the Merced
River, El Portal started in part as
Hennessey's Farm, which was the
site of a number of summer gardens,
and orchards, which supplied fruits
and vegetables to the hotels in
Yosemite Valley as well as the mining
and lumber camps in the area.
Produce was carried on the backs of
mules as far away as Bodie on the
east side of the Sierra. In 1906, El
Portal became the end of the
Yosemite Valley Railroad where the
Del Portal Hotel was built to accommodate
visitors to Yosemite in style.
Passengers would leave the hotel
early in the next day after arrival for
a four-and-1/4-hour ride by wagon
and coach to Yosemite Valley over a
rough rocky road. After 1913, and
the advent of motor coaches, the
time to the valley was reduced to 1
hour and 1/4. El Portal continued to
be the site of hotels and stores associated
with the railroad until National
Lead Company purchased the town
upon the discovery of a large barium
deposit nearby. Across the river to
the east near the community store,
an 1800 ft. incline railroad brought
Sugar Pine logs from the forests to
the river for inclusion in trains, which
took logs to the mill at Merced Falls,
many miles to the west.
Today, El Portal is a bedroom
community with a school, store, post
office, community hall, gas station, a
number of Park administrative
offices, fire station and nearby the
maintenance facilities of Yosemite
National Park. Just a short distance
toward the boundary of Yosemite
National Park is Yosemite View
Lodge, a major resort on the river,
and five miles west of El Portal is
Cedar Lodge, another major resort.
FISH CAMP
This small village, located two
miles from the south entrance to
Yosemite National Park on Hwy 41,
started as a timber allotment during
the 1880's. Always known for the fine
trout fishing in Big Creek, which
divides the town, there are a large
number of vacation homes surrounded
by a huge Sugar Pine and Fir forest.A
few bed-and-breakfast establishments
are located here, including
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Yosemite Area Communities
Sadie and Susie in Yosemite Valley, 1900
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one that rents Ford Model T automobiles
for excursions into Yosemite
National Park. Fish Camp is the
home of the Tenaya Lodge, a 254room,
full-service hotel which offers
quality experience and a large
events facility. Because of the elevation,
Fish Camp receives abundant
snow in the winter. The village
boasts a general store and post
office.
WAWONA
This community features a number
of vacation rentals located on
private land inside Yosemite National
Park. Within the community is the
Yosemite / Mariposa Tourism Bureau ? www.homeofyosemite.com
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