“What are the best books about Yosemite National Park?” We looked at 126 of the top Yosemite books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 22 titles, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Yosemite” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 100+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

Top 22 Books About Yosemite National Park

22 .) Big Walls, Swift Water: Epic Stories from Yosemite Search and Rescue written by Charles R. “Butch” Farabee

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Yosemite Conservancy Store

The men and women of Yosemite Search and Rescue work around the clock, ready to respond at any hour in any weather. It’s not all helicopter heroics and plucking unlucky rock jocks off The Nose of El Capitan. It also means helping the teen with the busted ankle on the Mist Trail, finding the missing child in Tuolumne Meadows, and rescuing the newlywed clinging to a slick rock after her raft implodes.

21 .) Gloryland written by Shelton Johnson

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Yosemite Conservancy Store

Born on Emancipation Day, 1863, to a sharecropping family of black 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. Exiled for his own survival as a teenager, Elijah walks west to the Nebraska plains — and, like other rootless young African-American men of that era, joins up with the U.S. cavalry. The trajectory of Elijah’s army career parallels the nation’s imperial adventures in the late 19th century: subduing Native Americans in the West, quelling rebellion in the Philippines. Haunted by the terrors endured by black Americans and by his part in persecuting other people of color, Elijah is sustained only by visions, memories, prayers, and his questing spirit — which ultimately finds a home when his troop is posted to the newly created Yosemite National Park in 1903. Here, living with little beyond mountain light, running water, campfires, and stars, he becomes a man who owns himself completely, while knowing he’s left pieces of himself scattered along his life’s path like pebbles on a creek bed.

20 .) Historic Yosemite National Park: The Stories Behind One of America’s Great Treasures written by Tracy Salcedo Chourre

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• National Parked

The history of Yosemite National Park is as compelling as the waterfalls, monoliths, and peaks that have mesmerized visitors for more than a century. But what hikers see today in the iconic Yosemite Valley, as well as on the peaks in the high country and within the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, is a world away from the place Native Americans once called Ahwahnee, and from what gold-seekers and mountain men looked upon in the park’s earliest days. Historic Yosemite National Park is a vibrant collection of stories about different aspects of Yosemite National Park’s fascinating history, from the conservation works of pivotal characters such as writer John Muir and photographer Ansel Adams to the daring exploits of rock climbers and the natural forces that have shaped Yosemite’s stunning vistas. These stories reveal why Yosemite National Park has inspired humankind for centuries.

19 .) Legacy of the Yosemite Mafia: The Ranger Image and Noble Cause Corruption in the National Park Service written by Paul D Berkowitz

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Yosemite Conservancy Store

Calling upon his unique experiences as a criminal investigator in the National Park Service (NPS), Berkowitz proves how an over-emphasis on image (the “ranger image”) has led to an NPS culture that accepts misconduct. Citing verified news accounts, internal agency documents, and personal notes, this dramatic case study challenges conventional wisdom and official accounts of agency history. Agency culture set in motion nearly a half-century ago, beginning with a group of employees known as the Yosemite Mafia, includes a demonstrated bias against professional law enforcement and a reluctance to hold senior managers accountable. This book fills a gap in existing literature dealing with noble cause corruption and corrects popular assumptions about the NPS, its history, and its law enforcement responsibilities.

18 .) Meadow in the Sky: A History of Yosemite’s Tuolumne Meadows Region written by Elizabeth Stone O’Neill

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Yosemite Conservancy Store

17 .) One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome: Everything You Need to Know to Successfully Hike Yosemite’s Most Famous Landmark written by Rick Deutsch

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Yosemite Blog

The most popular route to Half Dome s summit is a grueling 16-mile round-trip trek with 10,800 feet in elevation gain and loss. Although the hike is non-technical, with hikers climbing fixed cables up the granite, many would-be hikers are hesitant about this potentially risky trip. How fit should you be? What preparations do you need to make? What should you bring? How should you pace yourself during the day? Author and seasoned Half Dome hiker Rick Deutsch provides the authoritative step-by-step guide to planning and completing this superb one-day hike with safety advice, insider information, detail, and reassurance found nowhere else.”

16 .) Railroads of the Yosemite Valley written by Hank Johnston

Lists It Appears On:

• Yosemite Blog
• Yosemite Conservancy Store

The intriguing story of four short-line railroads that operated in the Merced River Canyon to serve Yosemite National Park. Originally published in 1963, this volume assembles more than two hundred black-and-white photographs of railroads and trains, relating the importance of the rail lines in the visitors’ experiences of Yosemite. The rich history of Yosemite is brought to life through the photographs that tell a special relationship between individuals and machines.

15 .) Rock Climbing Yosemite Valley written by Erik Sloan, Lucas Barth

Lists It Appears On:

• Mountain Project
• REI

Over 400 pages of awesome topo maps and photos – You won’t run out of world class climbs to check out for years! Info on dozens of new and previously unpublished climbs – They are just as good as the classics, but crowd-free! Over 100 of the best Yosemite climbing photos – Picture yourself there and get stoked! Completely new maps and topos – Spend your time climbing, not finding your way to the crag or looking for your route. Rest day beta – Inside tips on what to do and where to kick back when you’re too beat to climb.

14 .) Seed of the Future: Yosemite and the Evolution of the National Park Idea written by Dayton Duncan

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Yosemite Conservancy Store

It’s now a given that Americans—and people the world over—would seek to preserve their sacred, special places. One hundred fifty years ago, however, it was definitely not a foregone conclusion that the awe-inspiring granite cliffs, astounding waterfalls, and sublime sequoias of Yosemite would be protected. This idea of preservation was the national park idea; an idea that started from a seed, a seed that was planted in Yosemite. It was through the efforts of people like James Mason Hutchings, Galen Clark, Frederick Law Olmsted, John Muir, and Theodore Roosevelt among others that the world learned of Yosemite, flocked to it, nearly destroyed it, and ultimately saved it. These fascinating characters and their remarkable stories are skillfully woven together in this beautiful volume, created expressly to capture the wonder of Yosemite and to inspire future generations to do their part for wild places.

13 .) The Mountains of California written by John Muir

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Yosemite Conservancy Store

John Muir’s ebullient spirit and love of nature infuse these accounts of visiting Yosemite Valley, Kings Canyon, sequoia groves, and Mount Whitney. Blending keen observations of flora, geography, and geology, the natural forces that shape the landscape, and the changing seasons, Muir paints a timeless portrait of the wilderness he called “the Range of Light, the most divinely beautiful of all the mountain chains I have ever seen.” Also included are visits to two famous Cascades peaks, Mount Shasta and Mount St. Helens

12 .) The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite written by Michael Frye

Lists It Appears On:

• National Parked
• Yosemite Blog

This comprehensive handbook is designed for all photographers , from beginners to experts.Frye’s tips and directions are illustrated with full-color reproductions of his own work. An indispensable and handy resource for anyone who wants to take better pictures in Yosemite and elsewhere.

11 .) The Wild Muir: Twenty-Two of John Muir’s Greatest Adventures written by Lee Stetson

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Lasting Adventures

Here is an entertaining collection of John Muir’s most exciting adventures, representing some of his finest writing. Each included adventure has been selected to show the extent to which Muir courted and faced danger, i.e. lived “wildly, ” throughout his life. From the famous avalanche ride off the rim of Yosemite Valley to his night spent riding out a windstorm at the top of a tree to death-defying falls on Alaskan glaciers, the renowned outdoorsman’s exploits are related in passages that are by turns exhilarating, unnerving, dizzying and outrageous.

10 .) The Yosemite Grant written by Hank Johnston

Lists It Appears On:

• Lasting Adventures
• Yosemite Conservancy Store

This book is a comprehensive, well-illustrated history of the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. Focused on the history behind the breathtaking landscape, it contains detailed information supplemented by a comprehensive index and bibliography. The story of Yosemite is told through a chronological narrative that gives in-depth treatment to the people, institutions, and events that shaped the park’s rich heritage.

9 .) Top Trails: Yosemite: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone written by Jeffrey P. Schaffer

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• National Parked

effrey Schaffer has selected 46 “must-do” Yosemite hikes. Whether you’re looking for a scenic stroll, a full-day adventure, or even a spectacular backpacking trip, you’ll find it here. And with at-a-glance information for each hike, visitors can determine which hikes are most suitable to their skills, schedules, and preferences. Books in the affordable and easy-to-use Top Trails series feature elevation profiles, detailed maps, driving directions, and “don’t get lost” trail milestones. Innovative trail-feature charts give information on which trails are child-friendly; which allow horses; where to see giant sequoias, waterfalls, lakes, wildflowers, and autumn colors; which trips have the best photo opportunities; and which have camping, running, or biking opportunities.

8 .) Two Bear Cubs: A Miwok Legend from California’s Yosemite Valley written by Robert D. San Souci

Lists It Appears On:

• Go Explore Nature
• Goodreads

Here is a delightful retelling of an authentic Southern Sierra Miwok legend concerning the origin of Yosemite Valley’s El Capitan rock. Mother Grizzly Bear thinks that her two playful cubs are wrestling and having fun along the Merced River in Yosemite Valley while she is checking her fish traps. When she returns to join her sons, however, she discovers the cubs are nowhere to be found.

7 .) Yosemite and the High Sierra written by Ansel Adams

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• National Parks Traveler

Yosemite National Park and the High Sierra were the places closest to Ansel Adams’ heart, and this magnificent new collection presents the finest selction of his photographs and writings yet published on this “vast edifice of stone and space.” Inspired by their grandeur, their wildness, and their primeval mystery, Adams’ photos came to represent America’s National Parks. During his lifetime Adams published seven books of images from this region; this new book brings the best of these early volumes together into a single work. His writings – alive with anecdote and insight – provide a backdrop for these stirring images, and an introduction by John Szarkowski, the most distinguished photography critic and curator of his time, provides testimony to the enduring impact of Adams’ Yosemite vision. Yosemite and the High Sierra represents Adams’ legacy at its most distilled and timeless.

6 .) Yosemite in the Fifties: The Iron Age written by Dean Fidelman

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• National Parks Traveler

Companion to the classic Yosemite in the Sixties, this book uses the words of the climbers of the time and artfully restored photographs to chronicle the historic first ascents of Yosemite’s “mile-high” granite walls, the legendary personalities who risked their lives to climb them, and how their endeavors initiated the birth of adventure sports. Better than half a century after the first ascent of El Capitan, the deeds of Yosemite’s 1950s-era Iron Age are no longer viewed as climbs or mere adventures. Rather, they are assaults on the human barrier, pushing that much higher. Yosemite in the Fifties gives the stage almost entirely over to the original source material, the first-person narratives, archive photos (artfully restored), and memorabilia particular to the seminal ascents of the era. These words, images, and design, when cast from critical angles, all reach across generations to resurrect vanished worlds. Yosemite in The Fifties is fashioned not so much as a book but as a wormhole back to an enchanted time in the history of exploration, and a classic era of Americana now lost in time.

5 .) Yosemite National Park written by Laurel Marie Sobol

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Nature Outside

Nature in all it’s glory, Yosemite a place of wonder and beauty, where ancient times of human civilization and animals, plants, and pure heavenliness.

4 .) Your Yosemite: A Threatened Public Treasure written by Robert O. Binnewies

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Yosemite Conservancy Store

Mention of Yosemite conjures images of mighty waterfalls and soaring granite cliffs. Millions of people have visited Yosemite; millions more have seen images captured by Ansel Adams and other renowned artists. Indigenous peoples knew of Yosemite for thousands of years before it was “discovered” and invaded during the California Gold Rush. Since that time, its stewards have struggled to find an incisive balance that allows for use, but prevents abuse. In this riveting book, former Yosemite National Park Superintendent Robert Binnewies tells not only the history of Yosemite but also the story of the collision between commercialism and preservation. Your Yosemite urges its owners, all United States citizens, to be ever watchful of Yosemite’s well-being.

3 .) The Yosemite written by John Muir

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Lasting Adventures
• Yosemite Conservancy Store

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts – the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

2 .) Spectacular Yosemite written by Quang-Tuan Luong

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• National Parked
• National Parks Traveler
• Yosemite Blog

Breathtaking photography captures the landscapes and wildlife of one of America’s most beautiful and popular national parks. Located in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range, Yosemite National Park encompasses 1,170 square miles of awe-inspiring natural splendor. It is best known for its waterfalls and the 3,000-foot vertical rock face of El Capitan, but within its borders grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, and vast wilderness also exist. “Spectacular Yosemite” captures this incredibly unique park in more than 150 photographs, celebrating one of America’s most renowned natural treasures. This unique, oversize volume offers a guided tour through its stunning photography.

1 .) Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite written by Michael P. Ghiglieri and Charles R. Farabee

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Lasting Adventures
• Mountain Project
• National Parks Traveler
• Yosemite Blog

Gripping accounts of all known fatal mishaps in America’s first protected land of scenic wonders

The 100+ Additional Best Yosemite Books

10 Best Yosemite Book Sources/Lists