Kevin Costner Explores the Story Behind Yosemite National Park in His Docuseries Yellowstone to Yosemite

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “There is a delight in the hardy life of the open. There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm."

Despite the supposed inability to put the "spirit of the wilderness" into words, actor Kevin Costner is attempting to do just that with his upcoming onscreen affiliation with U.S. National Parks.

After parting ways with the hit drama series, Yellowstone, Costner is not yet finished with the mysterious beauty of the land of the western United States, and his new project, Yellowstone to Yosemite with Kevin Costner, explores the origins of the century-old National Park system.

The three-part docuseries produced by Costner, follows the journey of the outdoorsman as he retraces the steps of President Theodore Roosevelt and environmentalist John Muir, who, in 1903, embarked on a three-day excursion across what is now Yosemite National Park. Along the way, the duo camped in areas including Mariposa Grove, Sentinel Dome and Yosemite Valley, experiencing and discussing the beauty of their surroundings and planning steps toward preserving the mysteries of wilderness.

This journey is now referred to as the Roosevelt-Muir expedition, and was a turning point for protection and promotion of preserving wildlife through the National Parks system. Because of this expedition, 150 National Forests were created along with 5 National Parks and the conservation of 230 million acres of land.

Costner explains this and more while follows the footsteps of the pioneers of preservation, discovering the abundant Indigenous American legacy, learning about the arrival of outsiders in 1850, and uncovering the struggle Muir had while he fought for better resource preservation and how he eventually became a wilderness crusader.

“Once in a while, you come across a story that has that truly special mix of elements," Costner elaborated in a release. "It’s stranger than fiction and happens against all odds. It results in something that legitimately changes the world for the good and, most importantly, it all really happened."

Yellowstone to Yosemite is the sequel to Costner's previous documentary, Yellowstone: One Fifty, released in 2022, which went into detail on the history behind Yellowstone National Park. As the exploration of the preservation western frontier continues, so will the preservation of the remarkable story of how national parks came to be and why they are so important.

"The story of President Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir’s camping trip through Yosemite is one of those truly special ones," Costner continues. "And I’m excited to dig into the next chapter of the preservation of the American frontier.”

The docuseries will be released on February 8 on Fox Nation with episodes being released weekly. The release of this series is meant to kick off the streaming platform's "America 250" campaign, which is a year-long commemoration of the United State's 250th anniversary in 2026.

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