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20197
California

National Parks of the Sierra Nevada: Yosemite, King's Canyon and Sequoia

Discover three of the nation’s most treasured national parks, exploring waterfalls in King’s Canyon, the world’s largest trees in Sequoia and the many must-see sites of Yosemite.
Rating (5)
Program No. 20197RJ
Length
6 days
Starts at
1,449
California

National Parks of the Sierra Nevada: Yosemite, King's Canyon and Sequoia

Discover three of the nation’s most treasured national parks, exploring waterfalls in King’s Canyon, the world’s largest trees in Sequoia and the many must-see sites of Yosemite.
Length
6 days
Starts at
1,449
Program No. 20197 RJ

Your well-being is our #1 priority

To make your experience as safe as possible, we require all participants to be fully vaccinated. See our Safety Roadmap

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Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone? 800-454-5768
climate
Plan ahead.
What kind of weather can you expect? Take a look!
itinerary
Please Note:
The itinerary for this program is different on certain dates.
Select your type of room
Price will update based on selection
Prices displayed below are based on per person,doubleoccupancy.
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Aug 28 - Sep 2, 2022
Starting at
1,449
Itinerary Note

This program runs concurrently with another Road Scholar Program, Hiking Yosemite. These programs share some meals and evening programs. Yosemite National Park will be closing Glacier Point for a road rehabilitation project in 2022, no hikes or excursions to Glacier Point or its surrounding areas will be scheduled during this program.

Sep 11 - Sep 16, 2022
Starting at
1,449
Itinerary Note

This program runs concurrently with another Road Scholar Program, Hiking Yosemite. These programs share some meals and evening programs. Yosemite National Park will be closing Glacier Point for a road rehabilitation project in 2022, no hikes or excursions to Glacier Point or its surrounding areas will be scheduled during this program.

Sep 25 - Sep 30, 2022
Starting at
1,449
Itinerary Note

This program runs concurrently with another Road Scholar Program, Hiking Yosemite. These programs share some meals and evening programs. Yosemite National Park will be closing Glacier Point for a road rehabilitation project in 2022, no hikes or excursions to Glacier Point or its surrounding areas will be scheduled during this program.

Oct 9 - Oct 14, 2022
Starting at
1,449
Itinerary Note

This program runs concurrently with another Road Scholar Program, Hiking Yosemite. These programs share some meals and evening programs. Yosemite National Park will be closing Glacier Point for a road rehabilitation project in 2022, no hikes or excursions to Glacier Point or its surrounding areas will be scheduled during this program.

DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Aug 28 - Sep 2, 2022
Starting at
1,819
Itinerary Note

This program runs concurrently with another Road Scholar Program, Hiking Yosemite. These programs share some meals and evening programs. Yosemite National Park will be closing Glacier Point for a road rehabilitation project in 2022, no hikes or excursions to Glacier Point or its surrounding areas will be scheduled during this program.

Sep 11 - Sep 16, 2022
Starting at
1,819
Itinerary Note

This program runs concurrently with another Road Scholar Program, Hiking Yosemite. These programs share some meals and evening programs. Yosemite National Park will be closing Glacier Point for a road rehabilitation project in 2022, no hikes or excursions to Glacier Point or its surrounding areas will be scheduled during this program.

Sep 25 - Sep 30, 2022
Starting at
1,819
Itinerary Note

This program runs concurrently with another Road Scholar Program, Hiking Yosemite. These programs share some meals and evening programs. Yosemite National Park will be closing Glacier Point for a road rehabilitation project in 2022, no hikes or excursions to Glacier Point or its surrounding areas will be scheduled during this program.

Oct 9 - Oct 14, 2022
Starting at
1,819
Itinerary Note

This program runs concurrently with another Road Scholar Program, Hiking Yosemite. These programs share some meals and evening programs. Yosemite National Park will be closing Glacier Point for a road rehabilitation project in 2022, no hikes or excursions to Glacier Point or its surrounding areas will be scheduled during this program.

At a Glance

Breathe crystal-clear air in an in-depth exploration of all three of these iconic national parks. Enjoy field trips where you’ll experience the major attractions of King’s Canyon, Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks as you learn about animal life, astronomy, botany, geology, native plants, park issues and the influence of famed naturalist John Muir.
Activity Level
Let's Go!
Hikes anywhere from 2 to 6 miles a day. Elevations up to 8,100 feet.
Small Group
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.

Best of all, you’ll…

  • In Kings Canyon, be part of history at Muir's Rock, the place where John Muir frequently addressed the Sierra Club, and visit Roaring River Falls and Zumwalt Meadow, which showcase fabulous granite walls.
  • In Sequoia, experience Congress Loop to encounter the General Grant Tree, the largest tree by mass in the world, and take in the vast landscape of the Great Western Divide and the San Joaquin Valley.
  • In Yosemite, stop at Tunnel View for your breathtaking first glimpse of Half Dome, and stand before natural and man made marvels like El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall, Sentinel Bridge and Yosemite Falls.

General Notes

The Retreat Difference: This unique, often basic and no-frills experience at a Road Scholar Retreat includes opportunities for early morning exercise, interaction with the local community for insight into local life, an authentic farm-to-table or locally sourced meal, a live performance or event, and a value-priced single room.
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
The Wild Muir: Twenty-two of John Muir’s Greatest Adventures.
by Muir, John.
Short stories from John Muir that creates an understanding of John Muir.
My First Summer in the Sierra
by Muir, John.
The first of John Muir's books. This inspirational book allows the reader to understand John Muir's desire to protect and preserve Yosemite.
Flowering Shrubs of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada.
by Spencer, Shirley.
While the trees of Yosemite thrill visitors and the wildflowers often steal the show, every year the blue elderberry, the snowberry, the American dogwood, and dozens of other shrubs bloom in a glory all their own. This lovely volume, with inspired watercolors showing the fruit, flowers, and foliage of the plants, pays these shrubs full homage. Complete with useful information for plant identification, this book serves as a welcome and needed introduction to some of Yosemite's wildflowers.
. Gloryland: A Novel.
by Johnson, Shelton
This books is roughly based on the life of his great-grandfather who was a buffalo soldier and one of those who patrolled Yosemite NP around the turn of the century to protect it from poachers, loggers, miners, etc. Born on Emancipation Day, 1863, to a sharecropping family of African and Indian blood, Elijah Yancy never lived as a slave, but his self-image as a free person is at war with his surroundings: Spartanburg, South Carolina, in the Reconstructed South. Shelton Johnson is an interpretive ranger for Yosemite National Park. His area of expertise is the Buffalo Soldiers and their influence on the early history of Yosemite and the west.
High Odyssey: The First Solo Winter Assault of Mt. Whitney and the Muir Trail Area.
by Rose, Gene.
Anyone who loves mountains, and especially the Sierra Nevada, will find this a great addition to the library. It documents the little known winter solo ski trip over the entire John Muir trail, from Mt. Whitney to Yosemite, by Orland Bartholemew in 1928-29. The author expertly crafts the story from old notes and a diary.
The Geologic Story of Yosemite National Park.
by Huber, N. King.
Geologic History of Yosemite
An Illustrated Flora of Yosemite National Park
by Botti, Stephen J
An Illustrated Flora of Yosemite National Park. El Portal, California:
A Sierra Club Naturalist’s Guide to the Sierra Nevada.
by Whitney, Stephen
. Stephen Whitney has taken most of the University of California Press guides and books and done an excellent job of condensing a wide range of biotic and abiotic topics. I highly recommend this guide to anyone interested in the Sierra Nevada, whether a teacher, backpacker, student, or amateur naturalist.





Important registration tip:
If you want to attend the live lecture, please do not wait until the last minute to enroll.
If you enroll after a lecture is complete, we’ll send you a recording of the event.