Southern Yosemite is the valley's and Tuolumne's quiet country cousin. None of the world-famous routes are down here, but neither are the crowds. There are endless domes rising out of the wilderness of the Illilouette and other watersheds on both sides of the National Park's southern boundaries. Being a large area, the character of individual areas varies greatly from place to place. There are roadside crags in Wawona, and backcountry alpine climbs like those on the crest of the Clark Range that may take a full day to approach over wild terrain. This is a fine place for mountain exploration, and to find obscure but rewarding routes that may or may not have been touched by human hand.

I used the Spencers' "Southern Yosemite Rock Climbs" guide to define this area south of the valley, roughly from Wawona in the west, to the Clark Range in the east.

Most southern Yosemite rock climbs are approached from around Wawona and Glacier Point Roads. Some may be reached by longer hikes in from Yosemite Valley.