The towns of El Portal west on SR140, Mariposa west on SR140, Groveland west on SR120, Fish Camp south on SR41, Lee Vining east on SR120 and Yosemite West midway between Yosemite Valley and Wawona are all within a few miles of the park border. Other nearby destinations include:
Devils Postpile National Monument
This monument is located south of Yosemite off of highway 395 and protects unusual geologic features while also providing an access point to the High Sierra wilderness.Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Located south of Yosemite, these two parks are managed as a single unit and protect vast groves of giant sequoia trees as well as a backpacker's wonderland of pristine areas in the High Sierra. Within Sequoia NP is Mount Whitney, the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet 4,421 m. There is no vehicle access to these parks via US Highway 395, though it's much easier to get a good view of Mt. Whitney this way. To enter, take State Highway 41 south exit to Fresno, then State Highway 180 in downtown Fresno to Kings or State Highway 198 via Visalia to Sequoia.Tuolumne County
California's historic gold mining country of the mid-1800's. Towns include Jamestown, Sonora, and Columbia. The latter was the first capital of the state. Take State Highway 120 west to State Highway 49 north turn at Parrott's Ferry Rd. [E-18] for Columbia.Mono County
includes the large Mono Lake and Bodie State Park, a well-preserved, gold-mining ghost town. In the wintertime, Bodie often has the lowest overnight temperatures in all of California.Manzanar National Historic Site
The most well-known and best preserved of the Japanese internment camps during World War II which operated from 1942-1945. Manzanar is located between the towns of Independence and Lone Pine off US Highway 395. A bit far from Yosemite, the park is still the closest major tourist location from the site, and the best chance many will ever have to visit Manzanar. No direct access from Sequoia/Kings Canyon Parks. About 120 mi 200 km from the Tioga Pass east exit, with a right turn going south on US Highway 395. This is one of the more isolated spots of California, and the climate can be quite extreme at times with heat, dust, and in the wintertime, cold elevation 3850 ft.