El Capitan, Yosemite National Park

An awesome and striking landmark in Yosemite National Park is El Capitan, the monolith of all monoliths. This granite wonder is there for visitors to view at any time of year, and Yosemite must be added to your vacation itinerary when touring the sights in California. Bring the whole family!

When coming to Yosemite National Park, one of the first places you must stop is the outlook over the Yosemite Valley so you can see El Capitan. This is one of the most renowned rock formations in the park, and a very popular stop.

If coming from Fresno on Highway 41, you will park in the parking lot right after driving through Wawona Tunnel. You will be awestruck by the beauty of this panorama. On the north side, there is El Capitan in all its splendor.

You'll notice that El Capitan has no cracks in its face. Not only does this make it a challenging climb for experts, but allows no exposure of this granite face to any erosion. El Capitan, 3,593 feet above the bottom of the valley, is perhaps the single largest tower of exposed granite in the world.

Look carefully, and you will see tiny specks on the granite face. These are rock climbers making their way to the top. Sometimes they take days to make the climb so at night they sleep on a bivouac that looks like a hammock and hangs from the walls of the cliff.

Don't miss this incredible feat of nature when visiting Yosemite.