Due to an influx of tourism, the park faces habitat loss and aesthetic disfiguring. It also loses a lot of its charm after the summer months, when the trails begin to look worn from constant use and the park staff hasn't yet been able to clean it after the enormous number of trampling people. Add to this controlled forest burning throughout the park, and you could have a smokey hike ahead of you.

Yosemite isn't the only spectacular national park in the United States. Also consider Yellowstone, which spans Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.