The Mariposa Museum and History Center is a gem of a place--and a great way to stave off the…read morepost-meal slumber after lunch at 1850! There is SO much information available, and it's stunningly coordinated and handpainted; an art installation on it's own. We learned so much about the local history and area, and it was neat to see it presented in a way that really brought the history to life. The staff were all very warm and welcoming. I would DEFINITELY come back because there's just no way to read everything in an hour. I highly recommend.

The Mariposa Museum & History Center was founded in 1957 and filled with exhibits featuring Native…read moreAmericans, Spanish settlements, the Gold Rush, Yosemite, and Mariposa history. I admired the cool artifacts outside. Inside were stories and more artifacts from the old days. Great place to learn about Mariposa's past.

We all really enjoyed it! I've never seen so many gorgeous minerals and rocks in one place! It's a…read morefairly quick trip but even my 7-year-old enjoyed it!

If you're interested in the history of mineral's & mining then this is the place!…read more Boasting California's official mineral collection containing over 13,000 objects from California and around the world. While taking a tour you will find many gems, mineral specimens, crystalline gold, mining artifacts and a mine tunnel you may walk through. This collection has been in Mariposa since 1983. Prior to that, San Francisco was its home for over 100 years. We spent most of the morning & afternoon exploring this spectacular place. Very informative about each specimen and the history surrounding it. The two rangers hosting this site are full of information and colorful stories. A must see! My only caveat is they don't allow anyone to take photographs inside for security reasons. I sure would have loved a close up picture or two... No worries, I still had fun. https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=588

Railtown State Historic Park is extremely cool and fun for all ages! We got to stand on the caboose…read morebuilt for Back To The Future III, viewed the train smoke stack from Little House on the Prairie train, coal powered steam engines, and we saw the Well from the olddddddd show Peticoat Junction: We also were able to see some old trains including ones with wooden grates in the front, and lots of train parts!! He enjoyed explaining things to me.. For a very small fee you can take a ride on a train. Walk around the grounds and see old engines, workshops with all sorts of parts, machines of all sorts. A map is providing for easy understanding of the grounds. It is a trek to get across the grounds and would be difficult for someone with mobility issues. Both of my children grew up coming to not only this park, but to Columbia also. Our family has made many trips here over the years. We love combining, education, history and adventure. They host Christmas events here like the Polar Express train ride to North Pole. This was such a spectacular event I brought my daughter to when she was little. We watched the movie the night before. When we arrived in our pajamas for our VIP seat, we stood in line where we were lovingly harassed by actors. We boarding the train after getting a golden ticket! We sat in the back car. Actors were dancing and singing and chasing hobos off the train while we enjoyed a ride and spilled hot cocoa out of polar express keepsake mugs. Arriving at North Pile and seeing the elves and Santa pushed it over the edge for my young daughter. She was beyonnnnnd excited!! Will I return: We always do. There's something incredibly nostalgic about this place!

This review is for the polar express train ride. Let's cut right to the sleigh bells: At a cool $85…read morea pop, this ride definitely costs more than a lump of coal. For my family of three, we signed up for the holiday hype, and while it wasn't exactly perfect, it was certainly an event to remember! Singing Christmas carols was an absolute delight! My personal highlight? The hot chocolate scene. The performers were fantastic, and the cocoa itself was surprisingly delicious & paired with a yummy snickerdoodle cookie. The trip to the North Pole, while blessedly short, felt truly magical. Watching all the kids scramble to one side of the train to catch a glimpse of Santa's HQ was a sight. Now, for the "improvements" section. The train apparently needs a gallon of WD-40. Parts of the ride were punctuated by a noise I can only describe as "ears-piercing squeaky"--a sound that could shatter a candy cane. Also, when the classic Polar Express story was being read, those of us in the back were left playing a fun game called "Can You Hear Me Now?" (Spoiler: We could not). Finally, the outside scenery was less "winter wonderland" and more "passing landscape." It would have been brilliant if they had just added a few festive Christmas decorations along the route. Just a few! We aren't asking for a full-scale holiday village, just something besides barren trees. While our ride came with a few minor mechanical and auditory "features," we still had a magical time. It wasn't perfect, but what ever is?

READ FOR PRO TIPS!!!…read more DO THE SCAVENGER HUNT! It's super fun (did it with our 9 & 10 year olds). It is normally $15 but you get a $5 discount if you ask for one. PLUS you get a free coupon per participant for ice cream at Happy Burger Diner and the ice cream scoop is HUGE!!! And 10% off your entire meal if you get anything else :) STAFF IS FRIENDLY They will hook you up! :) Enjoy!

Our family's first experience at this visitor center has been excellent. The gentleman working that…read moreday was super helpful, demonstrated excellent knowledge of the local businesses and professionals. He was also friendly and respectful. As we traveled the area this past Saturday, we had a few questions and decided to stop by this visitor center again. This ended up being our worst consumer experience in years. The woman at the counter seemed very easily irritated, wouldn't allow me to complete my sentences, and stated she didn't know how to get to Stanislaus National Forest. That's understandable, yet ironic since there was a giant map directly behind her labeled with that forest. In the end, she suggested we drive an hour to Bass Lake to speak to a forest ranger there (which would have been an hour in the wrong direction). I was almost in tears when we left. Terrible experience.

Amazing history. This place is still a working courthouse which was a surprise. Unfortunately it's…read morejust open during working hours (weekdays) and closes early 3pm so coming in Friday around 4:30 pm we missed getting to go inside to see but was an impressive site during the first rain of the season on Saturday morning when we took these pics.

Oldest courthouse west of the Mississippi. Stop in and look around; there's history on the hall…read morewalls downstairs, and a historical courtroom upstairs that is still in use. Read about the early California mining and property cases that were decided here. Walk around the grounds and take in the historical markers. The deputy guarding the door was friendly and informative. "Do you know about the history of the courthouse?"

This is a really cool place to spend the day with kids. The staff was very kind and helpful. They…read moreplayed a short film for us that explained how the fossils were found in the area. There are many fossils and replica of fossils. You guide yourself on a tour, they give you a booklet to use to guide yourself. Each station has information on the fossils, history,etc. There is an outdoor area with replicas of the homes of the native Yokuts tribe that was originally in the area. There is also an outdoor pond with plaques in front of each different plant that surrounds the pond. It was a really cool learning experience. You can pay a bit extra for fossil digging. There are 19 fossils to dig up, that can take about an hour. We spent about 3 hours there. They also have a cool little gifts shop area.

I don't know how many I've driven by this place along the 99, saying I (we) need to stop and check…read moreit out... finally! After moving out of state , made the stop. So many cool fossils!! Colombian mammoths, sloths, dire wolves, and, yes!! Even American camels.. they were here at one time. Saber tooth cats also roamed the area. Most of this and it's still an active recovery, was started with the expansion of the dump site and widening of highway 99. Once they started hitting the fossils in what used to be a ponded wetland, they've not stopped. Lots of interesting fossils and now they're adding a Mammoth Orange food site, from the golden days of traveling up and down the 99, stopping for a burger and soda coming back to life. It's all definitely worth a stop and enjoying the sight of see a huge full size Colombian Mammoth... a little secret.. they are much bigger than the more famous wooly mammoth. Stop by and enjoy.

Fresno Flats, Oakhurst: 2025 Dec 20 (5 of 5) Community…read moreHoliday Fair & Market In the little town of Oakhurst, where people are few but hearts are big, I noticed the folks here try and support each other in the little things they do. Today, a community holiday fair was held at Fresno Flats. I joined the lucky folks and did a walk-about. Holiday music fills the air on this gorgeous morning, while animals made their debut. I made friends with a couple of goats - actually, it was mama and her kid. As her kid nuzzled up to visitors and chewed on some treats, mama stood guard. I even managed to pet the kid and persuade it to eat out of my hand. Present were two food trucks. Chef Yuji and his lovely wife, Veronique are known to everyone in this little town. Their food truck emblazoned with Matsumoto Samurai's Kitchen parked in its usual spot, offering several Japanese delights to choose from. Their sushi is always fresh and delicious. The chefs take pride in what they serve. Of course, I couldn't walk away without getting my favourite. Poki Bowl: fresh tuna and salmon over sushi rice and two sides. I stopped by a stall manned by Stacy (she gave me permission to take her photo and post it on social media). Stacy said she makes all the natural products herself: soaps, candles, lip gloss, etc. The items looked clean and well packaged. I think they're perfect as stocking stuffers, or just a sweet gift to someone special. It looks like everyone there was having a lovely time: children dressed up and playing in the park, while adults chatted under the tent. There were folks in period costumes handing out candy canes, even Santa was on hand to 'ho-ho-ho' his way. Overall, this is a lovely place to spend a few hours.

What a fun place! Many relocated structure are on this property. Look for their monthly craft…read morefair/open houses. The museum is now open. Learn about mountain living in days of yore

We came took us an hour to visit this place and it said open and we get there it was close on a…read moreWednesday we came 40 min before closing it's disappointing I had my two girls and my 6 month baby and it was a waste of time and gas please call them before going to avoid any of this

Oh my gosh. Just beautiful. There are some trails that go up to the top of the hills. Sooooo…read more peaceful and there are signs that tell you the Indian names of the trees and English names and explanation of what the trees were used for. There is an Indian village half way the hill with some tee pees and a grinding hole. Nice collection of baskets and beads. Nice size gift shop. It's owned and operated by Mono people. I'll definitely go back again. Learn the TRUE history of this land. It's truly truly sad what happened to the Native people of this land. They had been living here peacefully n harmoniously with nature and their water was polluted , fish been killed , animals been killed and they were dislocated from their land because of lust and greed of gold miners and Spanish conquers and colonization. Their history is not even taught in school system and you never hear about it in medias.

I had expected a little more than we found there. The basket displays are remarkable, the dispaly…read morethat allows visitors to feel is interesting. The hand-made costumes are beautiful, but not typical of the region. The best thing was the live display of a man mKing rope from the natural fibers found in the park. He explained to onlookers as he worked. The space is quite close with little room to move around.

This is such a quaint museum right in the valley! It features treasured items and sometimes special…read moreexhibits. We love spending time in the museum as it highlights Yosemite's past and promising future. On our last visit, we had the opportunity to view art by Chiura Obata as well as from local high school students. It was fantastic to see the gallery curated so perfectly. I do wish it was bigger but nevertheless a wonderful gem!