Yosemite West is a community of 100+ private residences and vacation homes, centrally located in Yosemite National Park.  You can drive up Highway 41 through Fresno and Madera counties to enter the Park through the South Entrance, which is the best way to go if you want to see the Mariposa Grove, the Wawona area, and Glacier Point on the way to Yosemite Valley. Highway 41 becomes the Wawona Road when it enters Yosemite.

Yosemite West is located near the Chinquapin junction, midway between Wawona, Glacier Point, and the Yosemite Valley.  During the winter months, Badger Pass skiing is just minutes away.  In fact, Yosemite West provides the closest place to stay for skiers in all of Yosemite. There is a private road entrance to allow easy access from the Wawona Road. 

Guests to Yosemite National Park are amazed by the beauty, and grandeur of its scenery.  But after a long day in the park, many look for a quiet area to reflect on the day’s adventures. Motels and campgrounds, crowded with other vacationers, make this difficult.  Yosemite West, provides the beauty and quiet of a private home in the woods, surrounded by tall pines and cedar trees.  Here, you can relax without leaving the park, have a quiet dinner without the restaurant clamor, or just watch a video, play cards or read a book.  There is room for you to stretch out and relax. 
 

This family oriented environment is unique in Yosemite.  Unlike other communities in the park, this area was designed with all utilities underground.  There are no power poles or telephone lines to detract from the serenity of living in a forest.  Views from your windows are filled with evergreens, oaks and manzanita. Deer, squirrels, and other animals frequent the area, so it is common to see them from your window. 

With an approximate altitude of 5,500 feet, Yosemite West is higher than most other accommodations.  During the summer, this affords a cooler environment by 10 – 20 degrees than the Valley; a welcome break from hot summer nights in the park.    It is truly a home away from home..

Yosemite West has an unique history. Part of the territory of the Miwok Indian Nation, it was a favorite area for hunters and foragers who sought food and game along Henness Ridge.  Rich in Chinquapin (a native chestnut bush with small sweet nuts), elderberry and other edibles, the area abounds with game, even to this day.
In later years, Yosemite Lumber Company began logging this area.  As early as 1912 the cutting of timber in the Chinquapin area was started and logs were hauled to Merced Falls. In fact, the remains of the longest Incline rail systems ever build are located at Camp One resort, just a short distance away.  It was used to lower logs to the Merced River from this logging area.  The lumber company is gone now and trees have fully returned with most 80 or more feet tall, surrounding most homes on the hill. The old Shay logging train grades have been replace with paved roads and underground utilities, giving it a pleasant rural atmosphere.