50 Yosemite Quotes Honoring The National Park
Published May 25, 2023
Take a moment and check out our awesome Yosemite quotes about one of America’s favorite National Parks!
Yosemite is recognized as one of the most picturesque natural spaces in the United States.
Learn more with our Yosemite quotes below.
What is Yosemite National Park?
Yosemite National Park is a Federally protected natural space in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.
People travel worldwide to glimpse the giant sequoia trees in the park.
Check out these interesting facts about Yosemite below:
- Yosemite is the nation’s third national park.
- The park supports over four hundred species of wildlife.
- Yosemite is home to one of the tallest waterfalls in the world.
Why is Yosemite such an iconic park?
People love Yosemite for a variety of reasons.
Yosemite is home to diverse flora and fauna and boasts world-renowned views and natural landscapes.
Many have worked to promote the preservation of Yosemite Park because of its natural beauty.
Many people view Yosemite as the national park that inspired the US government to pass policies protecting natural spaces.
The history of protecting national parks goes back to President Lincoln.
Yosemite became a national park over one hundred and twenty-five years ago!
The park has been inspiring visitors since October 1, 1890.
People like Ansel Adams photographed beautiful photos of the different forms of natural beauty in Yosemite.
John Muir also made his life’s work writing about Yosemite and capturing the beauty of the national park for readers across the nation.
Today people flock to Yosemite for its waterfalls, granite monoliths, ancient trees, deep valleys, flowing rivers, and vast wildlife.
Who originally inhabited Yosemite Valley?
Native people have been living and occupying Yosemite Valley for four thousand years.
They have rich creation stories that explain the events and how people began to develop civilizations in Yosemite Valley.
One of the oldest groups to occupy this space were the Southern and Central Miwok peoples.
Unfortunately, by the 1800s, thousands of non-indigenous people flocked to the valley in search of gold.
This cultural clash resulted in the deaths of thousands of native occupants of Yosemite Valley.
Today, the descendants of many of the original tribes live nearby and scattered across the world.
To learn more, check out our Yosemite quotes below!
Short Yosemite quotes about the wonders of nature
These short quotes capture the essence of Yosemite in a few words.
1. “Yosemite claimed me.” — Robert Redford
2. “I crave time in Yosemite like I crave food and water.” ― Tommy Caldwell
3. “I knew my destiny when I first experienced Yosemite.” — Ansel Adams
4. “No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite.” — John Muir
5. “When I was about fifteen, I went to work at Yosemite National Park.” — Robert Redford
6. “There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite.” — Theodore Roosevelt
7. “A perfect day would be to get into the car, drive out to Yosemite and go camping.” — Michael Steger
8. “Its natural beauty cleans and warms like a fire, and you will be willing to stay forever in one place like a tree.” — John Muir
9. “A lot of people think that when you have grand scenery, such as you have in Yosemite, that photography must be easy.” — Galen Rowell
10. “The great rocks of Yosemite, expressing qualities of timeless yet intimate grandeur, are the most compelling formations of their kind.” ― Ansel Adams
The best Yosemite quotes from John Muir
John Muir is recognized for advocating for preserving natural spaces.
11. “I must return to the mountains to Yosemite.” — John Muir
12. “But no temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite.” — John Muir
13. “Yosemite Park is a place of rest, a refuge from the roar and dust and weary.” — John Muir
14. “It is easier to feel than to realize or in any way explain Yosemite’s grandeur.” ― John Muir
15. “[Yosemite] is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter.” ― John Muir
16. “Its natural beauty cleans and warms like a fire, and you will be willing to stay forever in one place like a tree.” — John Muir
17. “Ink cannot tell the glow that lights me at this moment in turning to the mountains. I feel strong [enough] to leap Yosemite walls at a bound.” — John Muir
18. “A queer fellow and a jolly fellow is the grasshopper. Up the mountains he comes on excursions, how high I don’t know, but at least as far and high as Yosemite tourists.” ― John Muir
19. “Ever since the establishment of the Yosemite National Park, strife has been going on around its borders, and I suppose this will go on as part of the universal battle between right and wrong, however much of its boundaries may be shorn, or its wild beauty destroyed.” ― John Muir
20. “This natural beauty-hunger is made manifest in the little window-sill gardens of the poor, though perhaps only a geranium slip in a broken cup, as well as in the carefully tended rose and lily gardens of the rich, the thousands of spacious city parks and botanical gardens, and in our magnificent National parks – the Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia, etc.” — John Muir
The top Yosemite quotes about the beauty of national parks
National parks are some of the most beautiful spaces in the country, and they deserve our devotion.
21. “Just why is Yosemite climbing so different?” — Yvon Chouinard
22. “You’re headed toward Yosemite more than 4,000 feet of pounding the pedals. ” — Frosty Wooldridge
23. “Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space.” — Ansel Adams
24. “At that workshop in Yosemite in 1973, I decided I wanted to try and see if I could pursue this for myself, and I’m still trying.” — John Sexton
25. “Yosemite, along with all of creation, calls us to wake up, stand up, and stop the insane destruction of the earth before it’s too late.” ― John Dear
26. “Camping in Yosemite was like lying in a great solemn cathedral, far vaster and more beautiful than any built by the hand of man.” ― President Theodore Roosevelt
27. “In Yosemite, we see how everyone can inherit the earth. But that gift requires a change of heart, a new intention, a deliberate turning.” ― John Dear
28. “I began taking pictures in the natural world to be able to show people what I was experiencing when I climbed and explored in Yosemite in the High Sierra.” — Galen Rowell
29. “But my daily life very rarely took me to Point Lobos or Yosemite; it took me to shopping centers, and gas stations, and all the other unhealthy growth that flourished beside the highway.” — Lewis Baltz
30. “As to scenery (giving my own thought and feeling), while I know the standard claim is that Yosemite, Niagara Falls, the Upper Yellowstone and the like afford the greatest natural shows.” — Walt Whitman
The best Yosemite Sam quotes for the love of tarnation
Yosemite Sam is one of the most beloved cartoon characters to ever come out of Looney Tunes; here are some of the best quotes about him.
31. “This one’s for Yosemite Sam and the tourists at Disneyland.” — Prince
32. “You’re like Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, you’re just yellin’.” — The Beastie Boys, To The Five Boroughs
33. “Sam I Am, down with the program, green eggs and ham, Yosemite Sam.” — The Beastie Boys, Egg Man
34. “Yosemite Sam, old man be grand, loud as the southern band, pickups, and caravans.” — Snoop Dogg, Ghetto Symphony
35. “Just get involved; we could use a little peace, brought a piece that they can’t see, Yosemite Sam.” — Ngwato, Hail Mary
36. “Every itty little bitty drip till none nuh left at all, go tell flipitty lip philip fi mine how him a talk. No pity like Yosemite Sam.” — Damian Marley, Khaki Suit
37. “You might be a redneck if your kids are going hungry tonight because you just had to have those Yosemite Sam mudflaps.” — Jeff Foxworthy
38. “Farewell, Foghorn Leghorn, so long Yosemite Sam. They’re messing with our heroes, and we got to stop them now.” — Hank Williams, Jr, Coalition To Ban Coalitions
39. “My mama didn’t see it coming; my daddy was there. What’s my excuse? Cartoons were the root. Started with Yosemite Sam. With the gun in the palm of the hand, what couldn’t I demand?” — Pusha T
40. “I wonder how many men, hiding their youngness, rise as I do, Saturday mornings, filled with the hope that Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, and Daffy Duck will be there waiting as our one true always and forever salvation?” — Ray Bradbury
Yosemite National Park and valley quotes to get you back into nature
We all need some reminding to stay grounded, and these quotes encourage us to use nature to keep us healthy and happy.
41. “Yosemite Valley is like a tourist zoo. It’s shameful.” ― Michael Frome
42. “The future of Yosemite climbing lies not in Yosemite, but in using the new techniques in the great granite ranges of the world.” — Yvon Chouinard
43. “I am free to confess that I am disappointed with the Yosemite Valley. It seems only about one-half as grand as the American Fork Canyon.” — Heber J. Grant
44. “I used to take my mother to Yosemite. When I turned 14, I got my driver’s license, and that’s where she’d want to go, so I’d go take her there for two weeks.” — Dave Brubeck
45. “I went to Yosemite as an homage to Ansel Adams. I could never be Ansel Adams, but to know that’s there for us – there’s so much for us in this country.” ― Annie Leibovitz
More Yosemite Quotes
These quotes about Yosemite will make you think.
46. “Even if you don’t own a house or the latest computer on the market, you own Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and many other natural treasures.” — John Garamendi
47. “I can’t help thinking that if the American West were discovered today, the most glorious bits would be sold off to the highest bidder. Yosemite might be nothing but weekend homes for Internet tycoons.” ― Nicholas Kristof
48. “What they [Jim DeMint and the oil lobby] do care about is the precedent. If they open up ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), they’ll think they can do anything to the environment – anything at all. Drilling in Yosemite? In the Grand Canyon? What’s next?” — Barbara Boxer
49. “We’d take a busload at a time to places like Yosemite or the Marin Headlands above San Francisco, camp out, and gather under the trees to talk. The goal was to teach every employee in the company our business and environmental ethics and values.” — Yvon Chouinard
50. “Already renewable energy advocates are noting that the 42 miles of above-ground right-of-way between Yosemite and the city could be fitted with enough solar panels to generate at least 40 megawatts per year; a proposal the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has never seriously considered because they currently aren’t required to do so.” — Matt Gonzalez
Why should I visit Yosemite National Park?
Yosemite is one of the most breathtaking natural landscapes in the country.
It should be no surprise that over four million people visit Yosemite per year.
The park is one of California’s most compelling spaces, with roughly 1,200 square miles of sublime views.
While the park is enormous, most tourism occurs in an 8 square mile area, meaning you can take it all in without traveling too far.
Half Dome and El Capitan are two of the most well-known sites people flock to.
Yosemite is popular during certain months of the year, so visiting off-season offers opportunities to avoid crowds.
Yosemite offers some of the best hiking in the world.
Even experienced hikers rush to get a piece of the action.
What is your favorite thing about Yosemite National Park?
Do you have a favorite Yosemite quote?
Please be sure to let us know in the comments section below.
