A cinnamon phase black bear forages on the Merced River/Patrick Cone

Editor's note: The following is advertiser-supported content from Traveler's Essential Park Guide, Fall 2016.

Photographers know the golden hour as those fleeting minutes in the early morning and again in the early evening when the angle of sunshine creates softer, more vibrant lighting for photos. In Yosemite National Park, the golden hour is more like the golden season: autumn.

Fall, in Yosemite, represents the golden hour of seasons in the park. The sunlight highlights the cliffs, as it plays across the Yosemite Valley. Oaks and dogwoods add their own flaming colors to the scenery. The moldering leaves have a distinct seasonal fragrance, while deer, squirrels, and perhaps a black bear or two, feast on acorns.

Plus, in fall the park isn’t as crowded as it is during the high season of summer. The air is cooler and crisper, with warm days and chilly nights. It’s a near-idyllic time to explore the park on foot. And there is so much to see, so much to explore.

Once in the Yosemite Valley, head over to Happy Isles and check out the Nature Center before heading up the Merced River’s Mist Trail. Stone steps, following a route dating to the 1860s, lead you through the mist tossed off by Vernal Fall. Then head up to Nevada Fall and, finally, wander into the Little Yosemite Valley. Here you can hike for miles—deep into Sequoia National Park if you have the time—along the John Muir Trail. You can ascend Half Dome (with a permit), or loop back down to the valley via the John Muir Trail.

The park museum is a perfect stop down in the Valley. Through November 1 they are exhibiting more than two dozen Native American baskets made by Julia Parker. Ms. Parker dedicated her life to this art, making sure that American Indian culture and basket- weaving skills were passed down from the Native elders.

The placid Merced, colorful forests, and Half Dome in the distance help define fall in Yosemite/Yosemite Scenic Wonders

The Yosemite Museum houses one of the largest and most diverse collections of artifacts in the National Park System, with a large collection of Native American material.

Adjacent to the museum is the reconstructed Indian Village of the Ahwahnee. You can learn both the history of whites in the valley, and of the Native American tribes—the Miwoks and Paiutes—who occupied the valley before being forced out.

The Ansel Adams Gallery is a treat. Located in the heart of the Valley, not far from Upper and Lower Yosemite Fall, the historic gallery has been in the same family since 1902. If you’re familiar with Adams’ work, the gallery feels like entering a photographic cathedral. There are copies of his works to admire and purchase, a well-stocked book section and scores of prints from a wide range of artists.

But there’s so much more to Yosemite than its iconic Valley. Meander up the Tioga Road, which crosses nearly 60 miles from Crane Flat to the park’s Tioga Pass Entrance Station, above the town of Lee Vining. No car’s windshield is broad enough to capture the entire splendor of the high country along this route.

Take your time exploring this route. Pull over to spend some time scrambling across the granite domes, which are studded with conifers, plan a picnic on the shores of Tenaya Lake, walk the banks of the Tuolumne River, or spend an afternoon hiking down to Cathedral Lake.

At the southern end of Yosemite, at Wawona, head to the Pioneer Yosemite History Center. This collection of historic buildings (pulled from various locations elsewhere in the park), include a Wells Fargo office, blacksmith shop, ranger cabin, and an early jail. Enter the Artist Cabin for a history lesson on the artists who were drawn to Yosemite, and the impact their works had on the growing popularity of Yosemite.

Don’t miss the Glacier Point Road, a 16-mile trip to one of the world’s best viewpoints. While many aspire to stand atop Half Dome so they can gaze down into the Yosemite Valley, the view from Glacier Point (3,200 feet above Yosemite Valley) is even more stupendous, plus you can see Half Dome in the distance.

If you need a place to stay, a fine collection of handsome vacation homes is managed by Yosemite’s Scenic Wonders Vacation Rentals in Yosemite West not far south from Yosemite Valley.

Previous guests have rated these properties so high that TripAdvisor inducted them into its ranking hall of fame: Number 1 for five years in a row, for specialty lodging in Yosemite.

There are more than 100 properties, from retreats for a large family or group up to 16, or an intimate getaway for two. After a long day in Yosemite, you can kick back, relax, and get a good night’s sleep, ready for another day of wonder.