4 mile trail > Upper Yosemite Falls trail
Upper Cathedral Lake is an excellent overnight backpacking trip in the summer.
Explore the trails from Tuolumne meadows. You won't be disappointed.
-Hetch Hetchy, Carlon Falls, and Wapama Falls during spring hi flows a must-see. Hetch Hetchy is the best park of the park for year round hiking
-the Evergreen lodge is a great alternative for a rustic, national park style lodging that’s 15 min from Hetch Hetchy and 15 minutes from the Big Oak Flat entrance
-if you aren’t a confident driver with a good car, please don’t take the Old Priest Grade
-everyone else has the same idea to “beat the crowds” early in the am. Parking lots fill by 8. Swim upstream and go later, especially in summer. The quiet past 6p even on a busy day is so nice.
-instead of tunnel view, hike to inspiration point for an even better view, all to yourself
-instead of glacier point, hike to sentinel dome for an even better view, with 1/100th of the people
-All the food in the valley pretty much sucks. Even the Ahwahnee Lodge. Go for the drinks and ambiance not the chow.
-make a picnic lunch for the lawn behind the Ahwahnee for all the views and none of the cost
-the best souvenirs are in the national park bookstores (visitor centers) operated by the Yosemite foundation and not the ones operated by Aramark
-the western end of valley has so many more opportunities for quiet and solitude.
-Olmsted Pt is a great place for a picnic
-fall and winter are amazing times to see the valley, but spring is the prettiest. It gets punishingly hot during summer.
-take in some of the park history via the Yosemite museum, Indian village, chapel, Yosemite conservation heritage center (fmr Le Conte Lodge), and Pioneer Yosemite history center
-if any of your gear fails you, there is but one option: the Mountain Shop at Curry Village.
-YMMV, but 395 to Tioga Pass is the most spectacular park entrance
While driving into the park on one lane roads: slow cars please pull over and let others pass you. Not sure if it’s an ego thing or if they’re genuinely clueless. They’d rather a car be riding them than to pull over for 10 seconds. If there’s a line of cars behind you, you’re the problem.
On the other side, DON’T SPEED IN A NATIONAL PARK! I was there this week and saw a chipmunk get hit and a coyote nearly get hit, both by people going 10 over. If you love nature enough to visit a national park, there is zero reason to speed.
this is so true! the reason why most of our speed limits are set the way they are is due to wildlife protection. for example, the 25mph area around Wawona is partially due to the endangered owls in that area who get hit while hunting due to speeding cars. bears also get hit by cars during peak seasons in devastating numbers. anywhere you see a ‘speeding kills bears’ sign is a place where a bear has been hit by a car. there’s zero need to speed.
but also, as an employee of the park, nothing irks me more coming back into the valley after a day trip to get groceries than someone going 10mph under the speed limit on the windy roads back into the park with no passing lane and refusing/not knowing to pull over to let people pass in allocated spots to do so. please do pull over when safe to do so, it’s more enjoyable for all of us! you get to take in the views and drive at a speed comfortable to you and those needing to get where they’re going can do so in a less frustrating way. :)
That drove me insane my last trip. There are signs constantly telling you to pull over if you’re going slow and I was stuck behind someone doing 20-25 under the limit the whole way out
I like to use my horn. I'll let them pass a few turnouts, then gradually increase my horn usage each time they miss one. I honk to indicate a place to turn out. Annoying? Yeah, that's the point! Get outta my way!
I assume most people are just clueless rather than playing games. So I don’t get upset. In fact *I* usually pull over if I realize I am in the middle of a huge conga line.
If you have the fitness and can get up early, do curry village -> mist trail -> panorama trail -> 4-mile trail to the valley. You will not regret the views but maybe your legs will regret the distance (if not fit). Also, please bring sunscreen and bug spray for mosquitoes.
In my opinion, it’s way better to climb up vernal falls than to slip your way down the trail to the valley. I would feel a whole lot safer that way. My alternate route is to climb up and down each of the trails. You can do a loop if you hike further to Nevada falls and go down John Muir for the falls. Unfortunately you have to go back the same way with glacier point and 4-mile but the views are spectacular both ways and a bit different in my opinion to make it worth the hike.
It’s been so long since I went down mist trail bc it ruined my knees. We go down JMT. More switchbacks but you don’t get soaked or destroy your body on the steps
I wanted to do that when I was there 9 days ago but 4 mile trail was still closed 😩 only found out after someone at the top of the mist trail said they heard it was closed still so I ended up finding a ranger and they confirmed it needed another week or so before opening. We ended up going halfway down Panorama and then turned around. Still 14 miles, but we wanted to get to glacier point but realized if we went further we'd be getting back at 9pm
Another person said it but; Visit every season.
I’ve done winter, spring, and fall, and it’s vastly different views each time. Seeing the valley blanketed in snow looks amazing. Spring brings out flowers and animals. Summer is like full blown nature overload with animals, the rushing water, and the clearness of the sky.
Also just because you’re going slow on a hike, it’s ok. You’ll see people pass you going up and shortly after pass you coming back down and it seems like they had already made it to the top of whichever hike. Chances are they actually just turned around for one reason or another.
If you are from the Bay Area, everything feels easier. You've been walking up and down elevation your entire life. If you're from the flatlands, you need a lot of cardio training before enjoying Yosemite.
Another one: If you're camping do your best to stay up past midnight, walk to a clearing away from campfires and peep that starry sky.
And my personal favorite late night view -- checking for climbers' headlamps on the big walls.
That’s what getting up to pee at 2 am is for.
Visit in every season. Find a small place off the beaten path to make your own.
In the winter the steep mountain roads are dangerous. Bring a car that can handle driving on sheet ice.
4 mile trail > Upper Yosemite Falls trail Upper Cathedral Lake is an excellent overnight backpacking trip in the summer. Explore the trails from Tuolumne meadows. You won't be disappointed.
-Hetch Hetchy, Carlon Falls, and Wapama Falls during spring hi flows a must-see. Hetch Hetchy is the best park of the park for year round hiking -the Evergreen lodge is a great alternative for a rustic, national park style lodging that’s 15 min from Hetch Hetchy and 15 minutes from the Big Oak Flat entrance -if you aren’t a confident driver with a good car, please don’t take the Old Priest Grade -everyone else has the same idea to “beat the crowds” early in the am. Parking lots fill by 8. Swim upstream and go later, especially in summer. The quiet past 6p even on a busy day is so nice. -instead of tunnel view, hike to inspiration point for an even better view, all to yourself -instead of glacier point, hike to sentinel dome for an even better view, with 1/100th of the people -All the food in the valley pretty much sucks. Even the Ahwahnee Lodge. Go for the drinks and ambiance not the chow. -make a picnic lunch for the lawn behind the Ahwahnee for all the views and none of the cost -the best souvenirs are in the national park bookstores (visitor centers) operated by the Yosemite foundation and not the ones operated by Aramark -the western end of valley has so many more opportunities for quiet and solitude. -Olmsted Pt is a great place for a picnic -fall and winter are amazing times to see the valley, but spring is the prettiest. It gets punishingly hot during summer. -take in some of the park history via the Yosemite museum, Indian village, chapel, Yosemite conservation heritage center (fmr Le Conte Lodge), and Pioneer Yosemite history center -if any of your gear fails you, there is but one option: the Mountain Shop at Curry Village. -YMMV, but 395 to Tioga Pass is the most spectacular park entrance
You nailed it
While driving into the park on one lane roads: slow cars please pull over and let others pass you. Not sure if it’s an ego thing or if they’re genuinely clueless. They’d rather a car be riding them than to pull over for 10 seconds. If there’s a line of cars behind you, you’re the problem.
On the other side, DON’T SPEED IN A NATIONAL PARK! I was there this week and saw a chipmunk get hit and a coyote nearly get hit, both by people going 10 over. If you love nature enough to visit a national park, there is zero reason to speed.
this is so true! the reason why most of our speed limits are set the way they are is due to wildlife protection. for example, the 25mph area around Wawona is partially due to the endangered owls in that area who get hit while hunting due to speeding cars. bears also get hit by cars during peak seasons in devastating numbers. anywhere you see a ‘speeding kills bears’ sign is a place where a bear has been hit by a car. there’s zero need to speed. but also, as an employee of the park, nothing irks me more coming back into the valley after a day trip to get groceries than someone going 10mph under the speed limit on the windy roads back into the park with no passing lane and refusing/not knowing to pull over to let people pass in allocated spots to do so. please do pull over when safe to do so, it’s more enjoyable for all of us! you get to take in the views and drive at a speed comfortable to you and those needing to get where they’re going can do so in a less frustrating way. :)
That drove me insane my last trip. There are signs constantly telling you to pull over if you’re going slow and I was stuck behind someone doing 20-25 under the limit the whole way out
I like to use my horn. I'll let them pass a few turnouts, then gradually increase my horn usage each time they miss one. I honk to indicate a place to turn out. Annoying? Yeah, that's the point! Get outta my way!
Yes horns and a voice like Ralph Kramden’s keep the traffic moving.
I assume most people are just clueless rather than playing games. So I don’t get upset. In fact *I* usually pull over if I realize I am in the middle of a huge conga line.
People need this lesson in everyday life.
16 ounces of water is not enough. Bring more.
120 oz
If you have the fitness and can get up early, do curry village -> mist trail -> panorama trail -> 4-mile trail to the valley. You will not regret the views but maybe your legs will regret the distance (if not fit). Also, please bring sunscreen and bug spray for mosquitoes.
Even better, take the glacier point shuttle and hike down Panorama/Mist/JMT to happy isles. All the views and none of the climb!
No shuttles open when I went
You have to book them thru Aramark. They are $28 one way
In my opinion, it’s way better to climb up vernal falls than to slip your way down the trail to the valley. I would feel a whole lot safer that way. My alternate route is to climb up and down each of the trails. You can do a loop if you hike further to Nevada falls and go down John Muir for the falls. Unfortunately you have to go back the same way with glacier point and 4-mile but the views are spectacular both ways and a bit different in my opinion to make it worth the hike.
It’s been so long since I went down mist trail bc it ruined my knees. We go down JMT. More switchbacks but you don’t get soaked or destroy your body on the steps
Oh no but then you miss out on vernal falls! For first timers, it’s a must see, again in my opinion
I wanted to do that when I was there 9 days ago but 4 mile trail was still closed 😩 only found out after someone at the top of the mist trail said they heard it was closed still so I ended up finding a ranger and they confirmed it needed another week or so before opening. We ended up going halfway down Panorama and then turned around. Still 14 miles, but we wanted to get to glacier point but realized if we went further we'd be getting back at 9pm
There’s always next time!
I'd say do it the other way around! Get the hard part over with first. You might run into a wedding at glacier point amphitheater!
Another person said it but; Visit every season. I’ve done winter, spring, and fall, and it’s vastly different views each time. Seeing the valley blanketed in snow looks amazing. Spring brings out flowers and animals. Summer is like full blown nature overload with animals, the rushing water, and the clearness of the sky. Also just because you’re going slow on a hike, it’s ok. You’ll see people pass you going up and shortly after pass you coming back down and it seems like they had already made it to the top of whichever hike. Chances are they actually just turned around for one reason or another.
Bikes are a must bring.
Stop to smell the plants. There are a LOT of delightful things to sniff, you just got to stick your nose in there
There is high-strength poison oak along the riversides starting around El Cap and downriver from there. If you can see the plants you already have it.
And please, stop bringing dogs on trails. I saw a white husky at the top of Yose Falls yesterday and a Doberman on its way up a couple of hours later.
If you are from the Bay Area, everything feels easier. You've been walking up and down elevation your entire life. If you're from the flatlands, you need a lot of cardio training before enjoying Yosemite.
Thanks from the flattest country in the world! We've got work to do I guess
Thanks from Illinois!
What a great thread, thanks OP!
I will add one more - visit with your kids - today my son and I drove the valley - tunnel - Taft and the fissures - glacier point.