Win a Free Trip to Yosemite

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Madera County, home to Yosemite National Park, officially invites YOU to take a journey; beginning in tranquil farmlands and ending at the tallest waterfall in North America. This adventure is sure to be wild!

While Yosemite is a HUGE draw to the area there is so much more to do there. And one fun way to get it all in is by participating in an epic road trip while collect trading cards. After you collect the cards enter to win a Yosemite Adventure Vacation at Visit Yosemite Madera! Talk about a win win. Not only will you get amazing adventures on this road side scavenger hunt, you may just be returning to do everything you didn’t have time for the first time

The Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County

The Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County is located outside of Fresno in Madera County, and is the site of one of the largest middle- Pleistocene fossil excavations in North America. This is the perfect first stop on your fun filled scavenger hunt. It provides both education and entertainment for the whole family. Here you will see Columbian Mammoths, Short-faced Bears, Giant Sloths, Saber-toothed Cats, and watch them come to life in your imagination with the help of fossils, videos, and well put together displays as well as hands on excavation you yourself can do. It’s here that you begin to realize, Madera County is the gateway to so much more.

While visiting make sure to grab your first collectable card, Mr. Mead the Saber-Toothed Cat, for the Madera County scavenger hunt before continuing on your way.

Madera Wine Trail

The Madera Wine Trail, in the heart of California, is one of the oldest wine-grape growing regions in the state. The Award winning Ficklin Port comes from this comfortable countryside, as does wine from nine incredible small-batch wineries along the trail. Yes, wine country in central California is the laid- back experience you’ve been craving.

Find your next trading card, HONEY, buzzing around these wineries before continuing on your journey: Fasi Estate Winery, Ficklin Vineyards, Quady Winery, Westbrook Wine Farm Vineyard and Winery, Idle Hour Winery, San Joaquin Wine Company, Papagni Wines, Toca Madera Winery or Birdstone Winery.

Your journey takes you upward as you climb through the historic foothills of California’s Gold Country onward to the High Sierra.

Fresno Flats Historical Village and Park

Discover the quaint town of Oakhurst. Here you can be enlightened at the Fresno Flats Historical Village & Park, with art galleries, theatres and small-business-shopping. Also be sure to visit the museum, which is a great way to capture and better understand the history of the area. “Fresno Flats Historic Village and Park is working hard to preserve that history and the structures associated with it. The Taylor Log Cabin, built in 1869, epitomizes our beginnings. The cabin was home to early pioneers, William and Margaret Taylor and their son, Boot Taylor, who would later become one of the Sierra National Forest’s first rangers. Built in the once common “Two-Pen Dog Trot” architectural design, it is now the only cabin of its kind surviving in California.” (The park is closed January-February for exhibit changes)

Coarsegold Historic Village

Find the newest member of the “welcoming committee” with Nugget the California Ebony Tarantula (one of which we saw on our trip to the area) trading card.

The Coarsegold Historic Village provides a variety of different Shops and Events year round. Whether you are looking for an amazing meal at The Wild Fig, or you are in for the whole weekend to visit the Tarantula Festival, you will inevitably have a good time while you are there.

You can find Nugget’s trading card in the Coarsegold Historic Village at Zanders Coffee, Industrial Gypsy Rock Shop, Wild Fig Kitchen, Yosemite Drug, or Yours Mine and Ours Antiques. Shop, eat and enjoy at this location.

Yosemite Visitor Center: Oakhurst

With so much to do and see in area: Yosemite, wine tasting, fossil digging, fishing, Bass Lake, history, etc. it’s a great idea to check into the Visitor Center in Oakhurst to grab maps, ask questions and plan your itinerary. Grab “Sierra” the black bear trading card at the Visitor Center.

While in Oakhurst be sure to go to:

Yosemite Gateway Art Center– Find tons of amazing art pieces from local artists in the area. Discover new perspectives at the five galleries of the Yosemite Gateway Art Center. Access artwork from many local, world-renowned artists that call this region home. The trading card for Art E. Fox, the Sierra Nevada Red Fox, is at home at the Art Center, along with exhibits like the annual Yosemite Renaissance and Sierra Art Trails.

Yosemite Axe Throwing– No trading cards, just a great place to have fun! Smells delicious and it’s the only axe throwing company in the world that uses 100% deceased trees for targets! It’s quite an experience!

Moving on….

Bass Lake

Regardless of what season you visit, Bass Lake is ready for you! This sapphire blue lake is jaw-droppingly gorgeous in every season. With nesting bald eagles, historic establishments, movie memorabilia, and time-honored-cheeseburger traditions, Bass Lake is the quintessential sunshine state experience. Explore by foot or mountain bike the many trails, or have fun doing one of the many fun water activities when weather permits. Take in an extraordinary meal overlooking the lake at Ducey’s on the Lake at The Pine’s Resort. And, during the winter the landscape transforms to a wonderland for skiing, ice skating, and more. There is no bad time to enjoy Bass Lake.

You can grab Blake the Bald Eagle at: The Fork’s Resort (at the registration desk April-Sept), Miller’s Landing Resort (registration desk April- Sept), or at the Pines Resort registration desk.

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad

One of the best experiences our family has had in the area was taking the 1 hour logger train ride through the forest as we learned about the areas amazing history and enjoyed the spectacular fall colors. Though it is closed for the winter season this is a must do when it is open April-November.

The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad is a fun-filled excursion for the entire family, located only 10 minutes from the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park off of Highway 41. The historic railroad offers train rides, gold panning, an on-site rail museum, as well as great boxed lunches or hot cocoa where you can enjoy a picnic.

Pick up Ricky the Raccoon at: 56001 Hwy 41 in Fish Camp

Enter Yosemite

Mariposa Grove

Galen the Great Horned Owl protects Mariposa Grove, home of the Giant Sequoias. Landmarks to see: the Grizzly Giant and California Tunnel Tree. The giant sequoias are something you must experience in person to truly understand and appreciate.

Galen can be found at the Yosemite Conservancy at the Mariposa Grove’s Welcome Plaza Depot- during the winter check for Galen at the Visitor Center in Oakhurst.

Tunnel View

One of the greatest moments of this whole road trip will be driving through the tunnel into the Yosemite Valley. The magnificence of the landscape cannot be written; it must be seen and felt and lived. The valley floor is simply picturesque. It is truly a remarkable thing to behold. Until you have seen the face of El Capitan looming over waterfalls and monoliths with half dome in the background, you cannot appreciate what exactly Yosemite is and why it is written about and visitors flock there from around the world.

Grab a photo at the tunnel view before continuing on. Also be on the look out for Sandy, the squirrel, here as well as at the Ansel Adams Gallery in the village. Visiting in the fall allows one to enjoy the magnificent colors of the park as well as the emptiness of it all. Summer is far more crowded, and the off season is fantastic to enjoy it almost all by yourself.

For my top list of things to do in the valley check this out.

Madera County invites visitors to journey from the Fossil Discovery Center to the Madera Wine Trail and onward into the High Sierras. Along the way, discover incredible dining, talented tradespersons, four seasons of water sports at Bass Lake, the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad and mighty adventures right up to massive Giant Sequoia trees. Its museums, wine country, new attractions, sustainable transportation options, and golden memories at the doorstep of a national treasure. Madera County is the gateway to so much more than Yosemite National Park.

Plan it now to experience it all for yourself, and who knows, you might be the lucky winner!

For more info and to enter go to the Visit Yosemite Madera website here