I LOVE PBS - "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" - a Ken Burns documentary about how the parks came to be. Hours of film of the people involved. John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt, Ansel Adams...

https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-national-parks/

The National Parks: America's Best Idea is a six-episode series produced by Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan and written by Dayton Duncan. Filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature's most spectacular locales – from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska.

Great day hikes in Yosemite!

Yosemite Falls Trail

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/yosemitefallstrail.htm

This trail starts near Camp 4 (Sunnyside Campground), along the Valley Loop Trail, and immediately begins its climb, switchback after switchback, through oak woodland.

A steep climb is well rewarded with close-up views of Upper Yosemite Fall and distant views of Half Dome and other Sierra mountain peaks. Along the hike, enjoy a bird's eye view of Yosemite Valley's meadows and the meandering Merced River.

Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall Trails

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/vernalnevadatrail.htm

be aware that the Mist Trail is Slippery When Wet... And it's always wet!

Since Trump cut off funding for PBS and NPR it's up to you and me to make sure that this American Treasure Doesn't Vanish...

https://donate.kvie.org/node/619

When I went there in 1973 there was a double decker outdoor top bus that drove around the park that took you every place you wanted to go... What a fabulous ride that was... Zooming around Yosemite on top of a bus... That was a real "E-ticket" if you ask me! 

The next year we went to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. It's a easy hike from the parking lot to the campground because it's entirely level... We were walking around the edge of a lake and a lake is by definition is completely flat... The big advantage to Hetch Hetchy is that there are very few people in comparison to Yosemite... We did see a bear... And we just walked backwards slowly... Let him Do whatever he wanted...  

And then we went hiking in the mountains Upstream and that was one time that I actually climbed up a "chimney" - granite rocks have a tendency to split and form a crack... And it's possible to behave like Spider-Man and just go right up... And then later in the afternoon I went down to the side of the river to admire the Beautiful Bubbling Waters and slipped right in... Could have died... but didn't... Always wondered about that... 

On a personal note: I don't care if a park is a National Park, State Park, County Park or a City Park... (all the underlined words are links to more information about that subject)

Some of the most amazing places are in California Parks and I'm thinking of Bumpass Hell in Lassen... And swimming in the Chico Creek in Bidwell Park... Mount Shasta... It appears to me to be haunted... Maybe by Aliens and UFOs... Maybe by Sacred American Indian Spirits... I Don't know but I DID FEEL something at Mount Shasta, something very special... The Hot Springs at Sykes camp in Big Sur... The Redwood Forests... The Pacific Coast Beaches... 

And some places aren't parks at all... Like the rest stops on Highway 101 and Highway 5... North of Arcata, California on Highway 101 there's a spot that looks like the planet Endor from the Star Wars movie... 

And the rest stop as soon as you get over the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County... Pull in there for a great view of the city of San Francisco and Oakland... And the Bay... 

And there is the Giant Dipper roller coaster at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk... An Old Fashioned white wooden roller coaster that's been delighting people for Generations...