|
Please make a tax deductible donation to support the educational efforts of the LeConte Memorial Lodge:
LeConte Remains Open in 2013 - In consideration of rock-fall hazard, the number of evening programs will be reduced. LeConte Memorial Lodge - First Permanent Visitor Center in Yosemite Valley & Home of the Sierra Club in Yosemite National Park (PDF) by Bonnie Gisel - from Yosemite Guide, May-June, 2012 Huell Howser's California Gold television series
visits LeConte Memorial Lodge!
impressions from a visitor
"In a little Lodge in the woods, there dwells books and books of knowledge.
In this Lodge built of stones, the knowledge is passed on. The knowledge in
the Lodge is passed on and on and on. Saving the trees and water, the
stones and sky and earth. And the knowledge in this Lodge helps more and
more and more. This Lodge of knowledge and help is known and beloved as
LeConte."
The LeConte Memorial Lodge, a National Historic Landmark, was built by the Sierra Club in 1903-04. The unique structure honors eminent University of California geologist Joseph LeConte, an early Director of the Sierra Club who died in the Valley in 1901. The Sierra Club provided the Valley's first public information center, first at a small cottage in the old Yosemite Village, and then at the LeConte Memorial Lodge. The Sierra Club has operated the rough hewn granite and wood Tudor-style as a public Memorial since 1904 presenting and promoting the conservation ethic through public programs, educational displays and a library. Although styled a Lodge by its founders in the traditional meaning of the term as a gathering place (similar to the Elks Lodge or Masonic Lodge), this small stone building has never been used for overnight accommodations, but rather it is a public building used as a library and education center. About 16,000 visitors per year enjoy this important historical structure due to the efforts of the Sierra Club. For over 100 years, a Curator and Sierra Club volunteers have served as summer caretakers providing information to National Park visitors about Yosemite, the Sierra Nevada, and the National Park Idea.
We celebrated our Centennial in 2004. Our focus for the future is on expanding and re-invigorating the ongoing purpose of LeConte Memorial Lodge to inform and engage visitors to Yosemite with the vision of caring about the world that was inspired by the Sierra Club's early leaders. Just as Joseph LeConte, John Muir, and other early Club leaders who are so closely associated with Yosemite believed, we celebrate the beauty of Yosemite while recognizing that the whole Earth deserves our stewardship. Two of our Centennial Celebration activities included our "Wilderness Quilt Project" and our ongoing Words for Wilderness program. Please joins us in our newest project - Walk in Green Shoes! Would you like to assist as a volunteer in the LeConte Memorial Lodge Program? Benefits include free admission and camping in Yosemite National Park, and the opportunity to actively contribute to the Sierra Club's LeConte Memorial Lodge educational program. Volunteers assist in greeting visitors and working with them on the LeConte Lodge Centennial Wilderness Quilt Project, keeping the Lodge orderly and clean, and in assisting evening presenters. For more information, see our page about Volunteering. Due to the almost "fairy tale" appearance of the Memorial, we are sometimes asked for permission to hold weddings in the building. Such requests cannot be honored, since the Memorial is actively operated as a visitor and education center with numerous activities every day. For information about weddings elsewhere in Yosemite, contact the National Park Service for a Wedding Permit.
LeConte Memorial Lodge is located at Bus Stop #12, across from the Housekeeping Camp, in Yosemite Valley.
For more information, during the summer contact Sierra Club LeConte Memorial Lodge Curator, P.O. Box 755, Yosemite, CA 95389, (209) 372-4542; e-mail: leconte.curator@sierraclub.org. During the winter, contact LeConte Lodge Committee Chair, Harold Wood, P.O. Box 3543, Visalia, CA 93278; phone: (559) 697-3525; e-mail: harold.wood@sierraclub.org (e-mail preferred). Please make a tax deductible donation to support the educational efforts of the LeConte Memorial Lodge:
Credits: Words for Wilderness and LeConte Centennial emblems by George Pettit Other photos by Harold Wood Website maintained by Sierra Club volunteer Harold Wood Up to Top |
||||
A 
GPS
Coordinates: N 37° 44.400 W 119° 34.76