Taft Point is a viewpoint in Yosemite National Park west of Glacier Point. It offers wide views of Yosemite Valley, Yosemite Falls and El Capitan. The main attraction of Taft Point is the giant fissures in the mile-high granite rock. The fissures are breaks and cracks in the mountain that drop directly down to the valley floor at some points.
The point is named after 27th President of the United States William Howard Taft, who, according to newspaper accounts, came across the point when he visited Yosemite for three days hosted by John Muir in October 1909. The two hiked from nearby Glacier Point down to the valley floor. President Taft planned the trip by horseback, but the horses brought for his use were all too small for his 300 plus pounds. His staff set luncheon for the president's party during the hike, including fried chicken. The lunch spot may have been near the flat ledge that has since become known as Taft Point.
Taft wrote of his hike, "While I am tired from the open air exercise, I feel greatly the better for it." He was sweat-drenched when he returned to the Sentinel Hotel in El Portal following the hike.
