Visitor center · Yosemite National Park
Get wilderness permits, maps and useful advice before heading deeper.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
“Up ahead is Big Oak Flat Information Station, just inside the entrance and separate from the fee booths. This is a useful stop if you have questions about routes or want a map before a longer drive.”
Yosemite Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yosemite National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Yosemite audio tourRecorded for this place
Big Oak Flat Information Station“Up ahead is Big Oak Flat Information Station, just inside the entrance and separate from the fee booths. This is a useful stop if you have questions about routes or want a map before a longer drive.”
Plays as you drive up to Big Oak Flat Information Station in the Parkwolf Yosemite Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“We just drove through Yosemite and it made our trip listening to this app as we drove through. Like having a tour guide in the car with you.”
Guide
Big Oak Flat Information Station is a National Park Service visitor and wilderness center just inside the Big Oak Flat entrance. If you're coming in from the west, stop for a map or ask staff about routes and conditions before driving farther into Yosemite. After the entrance fee station, pull into the parking area on your right; the information building is just left of the restrooms.
The station has a Yosemite Conservancy bookstore and exhibits, making it a practical stop for maps, trip planning and park reading rather than a sightseeing destination. It has designated accessible parking, accessible information and restrooms, and exhibits indoors and on the deck.
Wildlife
732 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,747 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
332 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
11 sightingsPeregrine FalconMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
276 sightingsPikaMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
677 sightingsYellow-bellied MarmotMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yosemite. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyCarlon Falls Trail2.9 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.2 mi awayA shady river walk ends at a cascade tucked in the forest.
ModerateMerced Grove Trail3 mi · 2.5 hr · 3.2 mi awayA secluded sequoia grove rewards the steep uphill return.
ModerateTuolumne Grove Trail2.5 mi · 2 hr · 4.8 mi awayThe walk-through Dead Giant makes the steep return worthwhile.
Entrance station · 0.1 mi awayBig Oak Flat EntranceThe park’s colorful sign is just beyond the Highway 120 fee booths.
Campground · 0.5 mi awayHodgdon Meadow CampgroundA west-side base, with Yosemite Valley about 45 minutes away.Sight · 3.9 mi awayMerced GroveThe quiet sequoia grove saves its climb for the way back.
Sight · 4.1 mi awayCrane Flat Fire LookoutA 1931 fire tower and broad views, with a working helibase nearby.
Sight · 4.3 mi awayTuolumne GroveTwo dozen sequoias are worth the 500-foot climb back.Parkwolf’s Yosemite ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
