Yosemite National Park

“The snow is melting into music” – John Muir

Upper Yosemite Fall trail – about half way, just after sunrise (on the way up the trail).

Upper Yosemite Fall trail – about half way, in the afternoon (on the way back down the trail).

Yosemite National Park – You HAVE to Go

Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of sequoia trees, inspired the national park idea. Google Maps even has its own special icon for Yosemite National Park – as compared to every other national park just having a regular typed out “national park” in green letters.

There’s no way to truly appreciate all of Yosemite in one trip, even if you spend a month here. The winter has snow skiing and snowboarding. Spring has better waterfalls (some waterfalls only exist in the spring), but at the same time a good chunk of trails and roads are closed in both the winter and spring because of all the snow. The entire park is open during the summer, but that’s also when the most people visit Yosemite – so the park is PACKED (Am I kidding myself? Yosemite is always packed). The closer autumn gets to winter the more likely the first snow comes and shuts down half the park again.

Of the 5 park entrances, our favorite is the Arch Rock Entrance near El Portal. It has less traffic than most of the other entrances, is the closest entrance to the valley (the valley is the best part of all Yosemite!), and if you have a camper or RV you can camp for free right beside the Merced River in any of the various pull offs (excluding a few spots that indicate no overnight camping). We picked a spot just 5 miles from the park entrance. Some people will park overnight directly outside park entrance – this area was packed with over a dozen camper vans every-time we drove into the Valley around 6am to see the sunrise. We were glad we picked the spot we did – less people since we were further away from the entrance.

Do you like waterfalls and giant granite cliffs? Then do EVERYTHING in Yosemite Valley. Take Tioga Road up higher to do a few hikes with breath taking views of the valley, and check out Tuolumne Meadows while you’re up there. If you have the time, make the trip up to Hetch Hetchy too.

Do you like BIG TREES: Yosemite’s BIG sequoia trees cannot be missed! The Mariposa Grove is the most well known, for good reasons – go and you will not be disappointed. The Tuolumne Grove has a tree you can walk through (you used to be able to drive through it before they turned the road into a hiking path). The Merced Grove has the least amount of people, if you’re looking for something with less foot traffic.

Can you see me by the Grizzly Tree?
Clothespin Tree – I’m in the middle

Fun Facts

Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in North America – no other waterfall even comes close.
Yosemite is one of the few places in the U.S. where you can see a rainbow at night (in the mist of a few waterfalls under the moonlight).
Only a small portion of the park is actually visited by those exploring the park; most of it is untouched by humans.
El Capitan is the largest exposed granite monolith in the world, around 3200 feet of sheer granite wall. It’s a world renowned destination for rock climbers and base jumpers.
Yosemite was the first place that the federal government secured land to protect its natural beauty and preserve it for people to enjoy. It started the idea of the national park system – even though it is technically the 3rd national park to be officially deemed a national park.
The Hetch Hetchy reservoir on the north side of the park provides San Francisco with most of its water supply and power.

Must Do’s

Stop at every meadow in the valley
Bridalveil Fall trail
Lower Yosemite Fall trail
Mirror Lake trail
Four Mile trail (Glacier Point)
Vernal and Nevada Falls trail (Mist Trail)
Upper Yosemite Falls trail
Half Dome trail
Tunnel View
Inspiration Point trail
Mariposa Grove
Tuolumne Grove
Hetch Hetchy
Tioga Road to Tuolumne Meadow

Nevada Fall from the south side at the top

Nevada Fall from the north side at the top

If we had to do it all in just one day:

Every pullout and overlook your heart could ever desire
In the Valley:
- Bridalveil Fall trail (0.5 miles round trip)
- Lower Yosemite Fall htrail (1.1 miles round trip)
- Vernal and Nevada Falls trail via the Mist Trail (5.4 miles roundtrip) [The Vernal Fall footbridge trail is only 1.6 miles round trip if you need something less strenuous]
- Tunnel View overlook
- Drive to Glacier Point (closed in the winter and spring)
If coming in from the north: Tuolumne Grove & Hetch Hetchy
If coming in from the south: Mariposa Grove
If coming in from the east: Tuolumne Meadow & Tuolumne Grove
If coming in from the central western entrance: Tuolumne Grove and spend more time in the valley.

Tips

If you want to get a decent parking spot (or find a parking spot at all in some cases), go in before sunrise or right before sunset.
Bring a poncho or waterproof coat if you plan to hike the Mist Trail with Vernal and Nevada Falls. You will get cold and wet.
Want some inspiration while planning your trip? Watch Free Solo (movie about a rock climber who free climbs El Capitan).
If you want to camp inside Yosemite National Park, you’ll either need to have your parents make reservations for you before you’re born – or – find one of the few tent campgrounds that are first come first serve before the sun comes up.

The river just before it falls off the cliff on the right into Yosemite Upper Fall.

Right where Yosemite Upper Fall falls off the cliff.

Looking down towards Lower Yosemite Fall from Upper Yosemite Fall
Upper Yosemite Fall before it falls off the cliff
El Capitan
Hetch Hetchy

Amenities

Gas – It’s about $1 more expensive in the park (and just outside the park) so fill up before you come. We saw signs for $4.79/gallon this visit.
Cell Service – Surprisingly most of Yosemite Valley has great cell service (4 bars LTE Verizon in some spots), some trails like the Mist Trail and Mariposa Grove have a little cell service as well but you shouldn’t count on cell service for the majority of the park.
Dog Friendly [YES] – Dogs can walk on a leash on any paved road (bicycle or car) and a few select trails that do not specifically say no dogs.
Max Vehicle Length – Several roads worth driving have a max vehicle length of 25 feet, check the map.
Groceries – The Village Store in Yosemite Village has more than I would have ever expected, it’s a full size small town grocery store. And the prices are about the same as any typical California grocery store too.
Free Camping Within 20 Miles of the park [YES] see www.freecampsites.net
Activities: Hiking, Rock Climbing, Wildlife Viewing, Kayaking, Camping
Our total cost (outside gas and food): $6.00 – we bought some postcards in the visitor center. (Our National Park Pass gets us in for free. Yes we did buy the park pass for $80 ten months ago, but it paid for itself in 3 uses.)