Before the arrival of European settlers, Mariposa was a peaceful village belonging to the Southern Sierra Miwok indigenous people. In the mid-19th century, the area was swarmed by prospectors in search of gold, and the small mining camp of Agua Fria was established a few miles from Mariposa.

In the present day, Mariposa is the county seat for Mariposa County, a swath of land that contains parts of California’s Central Valley and a large chunk of Yosemite National Park. Much of the local economy is intertwined with this massive national park found minutes away to the east of Mariposa, making it a fantastic place to rent an RV. Aside from the many national parks and forests found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east, you can visit several cities quite easily when you book an RV in Mariposa. Sacramento, the capital city of California, is only a few hours’ drive north, while the San Francisco Bay area is a couple of hours west on the Pacific coast.