Download Press Kit
For Media Assistance, please contact Katie Kirkland, Communications and Tourism Manager

Northern California's Story Ideas for the San Francisco Bay Area's "Front Door" to Yosemite National Park

October 29, 2025
Families are challenged to see Yosemite in a different light.  Why see only 5%?
 
95% of all visitors to Yosemite National Park experience only 5% of the park.  Why not spread out and see the “other” side?   To see and do more on a Yosemite vacation, travel the Gold Country's Highway 49 through Groveland, and use the Highway 120 entrance to Yosemite.  It is the most direct route from the San Francisco Bay Area.  Tuolumne County has miles of mountain bike trails, natural swimming holes and fishing spots, historic gold rush-era towns like Jamestown and hands-on state parks like Railtown 1987 with real steam locomotive train rides, and Columbia Historic State Park, for a step back in time, gold panning and stage coach ride.  YARTS, the public transportation system for Yosemite National Park makes it easy to see the park without the hassle of driving and parking.  
 

First New Resort in Yosemite area in 25 years opens June 2016 in Tuolumne County

Rush Creek Lodge, a “destination within a destination” resort will be the closest accommodations to a park entrance, at just ½ mile from the Highway 120 entrance, and the first new lodging in 25 years.  The resort features a grand main lodge, restaurant and tavern, swimming pool and hot tubs with poolside bar, 143 guest rooms, suites and hillside villas, and a full service recreation department.  Guided excursions, wellness programs and a complimentary “Recreation Concierge” are available to guests for places close by and off the beaten path.   Nearby sister property, historic Evergreen Lodge has offered the same standards of hospitality, social responsibility and environmental performance for almost 100 years.  www.rushcreeklodge.com Direct  209-379-2373.

 
Yosemite Gold Country's Summer Vacationland Decks the Halls – and Streets --each Holiday season.   Want to add some old fashioned holiday activities to celebrate the season?  Choose from more than 80 events, festivals, parades, musical performances, lamplight tours, a Polar Express train ride on a real steam engine train, and even candy cane making classes – all during Tuolumne County's ChristmasLand festivities from November 13 to December 20, just 2 ½ hours from the Bay  Area.  Fifth generation candy makers teach their craft, while other community sing-alongs and Christmas Parades have been performing annually for more than 30 years.   The county's Christmas vibe is a living painting reminiscent Norman Rockwell. For a complete calendar listing, go to www.YosemiteGoldCountry.com; 209-533-4420.

First New Resort in Yosemite area in 25 years opens June 2016 in Tuolumne County

Rush Creek Lodge, a “destination within a destination” resort will be the closest accommodations to a park entrance, at just ½ mile from the Highway 120 entrance, and the first new lodging in 25 years.  The resort features a grand main lodge, restaurant and tavern, swimming pool and hot tubs with poolside bar, 143 guest rooms, suites and hillside villas, and a full service recreation department.  Guided excursions, wellness programs and a complimentary “Recreation Concierge” are available to guests for places close by and off the beaten path.   Nearby sister property, historic Evergreen Lodge has offered the same standards of hospitality, social responsibility and environmental performance for almost 100 years.  www.rushcreeklodge.com Direct  209-379-2373.