Just off of Hwy 41, near the small town of Fish Camp, Yosemite Trails Pack Station is located two miles outside Yosemite's south entrance. From this location my family has been herding cows and guiding trail rides for three generations now. Come enjoy 1 & 2 hour horseback rides through thick pine forests, past lush meadows and along meandering streams. For those of you looking for a bit more adventure, saddle up for an exclusive trail ride into Yosemite's Mariposa Grove. What better way to get a glimpse into Yosemite's past than to visit these 2,000 year old redwood trees the way John Muir did. On a summers evening, sit around a camp fire with the cowboys and treat yourself to an All You Can Eat Western Bar-B-Q or, if you are going to be in our neck of the woods during the winter months, come experience an authentic horse drawn sleigh ride.
And remember, regardless of your riding experience, catering to small groups and families with lots of individual attention is our specialty.
Newton Jasper Phillips left his home in Santa Barbara and homesteaded in the Bootjack district of Mariposa Co in 1900. In the early 1900s tourists were flocking to the Yosemite area, drawn to this unique landscape by the words of John Muir and Teddy Rooseveltand and guides were in demand. When Newt started packing into the back country of the Sierra Nevada’s is not certain, probably in the late teens, but by 1920 he was going strong. Every spring Newt would leave his homestead in Bootjack and drive his stock to a small set of corrals behind the pond in Fish Camp on property rented from Charlie Beery, the major land owner at that time. Fish Camp served as Newt's summer Head Quarters until the early 1930,s when he moved his operation to Jackass Meadow.
In 1916 a gentleman cowboy by the name of Fred Wass started working as a horse-packer and guide in Yosemite National Park. During the spring of 1934, Fred and his wife, Beryl, opened up the Fred Wass Pack Outfit on land previously used by Newt Phillips. Their Pack Station at Fish Camp started with 10 head of stock in 1935 gradually building up to 30 head. In 1937, Fred and Beryl, obtained a special use permit from the United States Forest Service
for 20 acres at Skidder Camp. Skidder Camp was an abandoned logging camp of the Sugar Pine Lumber Co., located
a little less than a mile down Big Sandy Road. (Now named Jackson/Big Sandy Road). In October of 1966, Mike and Sherry Knapp acquired the pack station and changed the name from Fish Camp Pack Station to Yosemite Trails Pack Station.