Yosemite Mariposa County has reason to party in 2026: seven anniversaries land in the same year, headlined by the 100th birthday of Highway 140 — the "All-Year Highway" that first made driving to Yosemite possible in any season.
When it opened in 1926, Highway 140 was a big deal. Following a lower-elevation route along the Merced River, it was the first road into the park that winter couldn't reliably close, ending Yosemite's dependence on the railroad and kicking off the automobile era. The effect was immediate: park visitation nearly doubled between 1926 and 1927. A century later the drive is still one of the best approaches to the valley, running through Cathey's Valley, historic downtown Mariposa and the Wild & Scenic Merced River Canyon before climbing into Yosemite itself. A centennial celebration was held in September at the Mariposa Museum & History Center.
The highway shares its centennial with two other Yosemite landmarks. The Yosemite Museum, opened in 1926 as the first structure in the national park system built specifically as a museum, began as an effort to properly conserve a growing collection of Indigenous basketry funded by the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial and built by the Yosemite Museum Association — today's Yosemite Conservancy, the National Park Service's first non-profit cooperating partner. It now stewards more than 5 million objects, and marks the milestone with a special exhibit, A Century of Heritage. The Ahwahnee Hotel also traces its cornerstone to 1926; commissioned by the Park Service to pull in winter visitors, the rustic-architecture icon has since hosted presidents, royalty and artists.
Smaller businesses add depth to the anniversary list. Yosemite Resorts hits 50 years of family-run hospitality near the Arch Rock entrance, spanning Yosemite View Lodge, Yosemite Cedar Lodge, Indian Flat Campground and Merced River vacation rentals. The Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Resort turns 30, Coulterville's Coyote Fest turns 40, and the River Rock Inn in Mariposa clocks a double: 135 years since its 1891 construction and 85 years since its 1941 expansion.
"These anniversaries remind us that Yosemite Mariposa County has always been more than a way station on the road to the park," said Jonathan Farrington, executive director of the local tourism bureau.
Why it matters for travellers: the gateway towns along Highway 140 — Mariposa especially — offer lodging, museums and small-town character that make a Yosemite trip workable year-round, not just in the crowded summer months. If you've been putting off a winter visit, the road that started it all is still doing its job.
