Yosemite Conservation Heritage Center — Attraction in Oakhurst

The Yosemite Conservation Heritage Center (YCHC) is a National Historic Landmark that was built by the Sierra Club in 1903. This beautiful rock building with its gable roof was dismantled at its original location near Curry Village in 1918 and rebuilt at its current location across from Housekeeping Camp. It was the first permanent visitor center in Yosemite Valley. These days, the YCHC is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 AM to 4 PM, May through September. A curator and Sierra Club volunteers welcome visitors with a friendly smile and answer questions about Yosemite, the Sierra Club and this historic building. The YCHC library includes books on natural and human history of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada for adults and children. Visitors find a great kids’ section with toys for various age ranges. Visitors are invited to relax for a while and enjoy the many displays, books and the pleasant ambience of the building. In 2023, visitors are invited to express their thoughts about nature and how they can make a change in their community by writing and drawing in colors on a paper leaf, then add their creation to the display in front of the fireplace mantel. A beautiful display of visitors’ thoughts and art has grown over the months. One beautiful installation is a large relief map that is more than 100 years old and shows the historic features of Yosemite Valley. This historic building is at Stop 12 of the Valley Shuttle and definitely well...

We had a terrible experience with the parks employee, she was rude and dismissive. She ultimately opened the door to “shoo” us away as you can see in picture.

We got to the Center 30 min before closing, our family loves history lessons and learning so we thought this would be the perfect place to visit. Unfortunately the employee was very rude and wanted to close early, I asked can we just look inside because you’re closing a half hour early.

She said she didnt care and we couldn’t come in because we didn’t have masks, no where in Yosemite do they require masks. But I agreed and pulled out all the masks she requested. Then she made another excuse quickly and said the air was too unhealthy inside…..at this point I asked for her name, she refused and started to shoo us away. I asked why are you acting this way, she said because of people like you who make demands…..which was so weird considering shes the one who would not let us see a part of the park she was closing early.

Needless to say it was quiet shocking and traumatic to have her act like this in front of our children, when I told her I was going to complain, She said “go for it, I retire in a week!” And laughed…….

I took the pic because she refused to give a name, but I’m guessing it was something along the lines of “Karen” by the way she...

The Yosemite Conservation Heritage Center is an education centre in the Yosemite Valley that is open daily 10am to 4pm daily from May to September. During the rest of the year, you can still enjoy the interesting exterior architecture.

The building is a Historic Landmark included on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built by the Sierra Club in 1903-04 and was originally called the Le Conte Memorial Lodge. The building was designed by John White and is of Tudor Revival and naturalistic style. Its stone appearance with centre peak resembles that of a mountain. It is quite attractive and easy to spend a few minutes enjoying if you are in the area.

There are a few parking spots in front of the Yosemite Conservation Heritage Centre. Alternatively, if you are using the Free Shuttle Service in the valley, this is stop #12 on the shuttle route...