About:
Yosemite is a family favorite the scenery will literally take your breath away. When driving towards the park you start to get the magnitude of what you are going to be experiencing. This park truly has it all, mountains, waterfalls, wildlife, meadows, and forests. It will awaken your senses. I strongly suggest you plan this visit out especially if you want to hike any of the trails. The weather here can be extreme and you never know exactly what you will be getting, think fire or snow.
My Adventure:
My husband and I arrived to see the sunrise in the park. We had our trails all planned out for the day and the route to our hotel for that night ready. As we start taking pictures and watching the sunrise we discover the trail we had planned for was closed due to the excessive snow they had that year. We decide to park to go to the lake in front of Upper Falls to eat our breakfast. It is here we meet a lovely young couple that suggest we do Upper Falls Hike. Happily, we head to that trail.
For this trip I did not bring my camelback or hiking poles as we started in Carmel by the Sea and only wanted to bring a carry on. That was a mistake. We filled the one backpack we had with all the water we had and snacks(fruit and trail mix). They headed on our way. The trail starts near Camp 4 along Valley Loop Trail.
*broke my sunglasses frame the day before
The beginning of the trail is not much to look at just a steady climb with lots of shade cover. This was early May, so I felt a little chilled. Though the start is rigorous. First stop was at Columbia Rock, great place to catch your breath and take a few photos. We continued many switchbacks and were rewarded all along the way with terrific views. We sat at the top for a rest after walking the steep side to get a closer look at the fall. It was running at the time. Then we finished by going West to Eagle Peak, the highest point on the north rim.
On the way back down I can say my knees were screaming at the end and we ran out of water so were getting pretty desperate to be done. In total the hike was 15 miles round trip: Columbia Rock 2 miles Round trip, Top of Yosemite Falls 7.2 miles round trip and then Eagle Peak 5.8 miles round trip. This was not the plan to do one of the hardest hikes as we were driving to our next destination that night. I am actually so glad we didn’t know as I am unsure I could have talked my husband into doing a hike that is like climbing up and down the empire state building… TWICE.
Check out the live Web Cam of Yosemite Falls now: https://yosemite.org/webcams/yosemite-falls/
- This is provided for you by the Yosemite Conservatory
Hikes I Recommend:
Easy Hike: Lower Yosemite Falls, the whole family can do this and it really has some great views of the water coming down at the bottom of the fall.
Moderate Hike: Sentinel Dome Trail the hike to it is worth it when you get the 360 views at the topare worth it(El Capitan, Yosemite falls, Valley Half Dome, Nevada Falls).
Hard Hikes: I can’t decide between the following
- Upper Yosemite Falls- strenuous, but well worth it. I would say this is the show piece of the park.
- Mist Trail to Vernal Falls: You will get wet, but you won’t care.
Lodging:
There are many great places to stay right in the National Park as well as you can book camp sites. You will need to make your reservations well in advance if looking to stay at The Ahwahnee, Yosemite Valley Lodge or the Wawona Hotel as they book up fast. I personally think the Yosemite Valley Lodge is the best of these three due to locations and it is the mid-tier between the other two.
Dining:
Base Camp Eatery
-Photo Courtesy of Yosemite National Park
There are many dining options within the park. Please click this link and have it with you as the park is spread out and knowing your closest food and drink options is very important:
https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/dining.htm
Tips for Visiting Yosemite:
- Check the park conditions everyday even the day of your trip.
- Check the road ways – Super important I did not do this and the road was closed we needed to get to our hotel so instead of a forty five minute drive we had to loop north around the park for a seven hour drive.
- If you start a hike and are out of water turn around right then do not keep hiking up. We ran into two people on our way down and asked us if you could drink from the stream. We gave them one water bottle explained what was ahead and they still kept hiking up.
- Get there for SUNRISE, its beautiful and there are very few cars.
- If you plan to hike consult know hike sites. I personally love https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/california/yosemite-national-park
- If you want to attempt Half Dome you will need a permit as only 300 hikers are allowed per day.
There is a preseason lottery: During the preseason lottery, 225 permits are available for each day. The application period for this lottery is from March 1 through March 31 (eastern time). Applicants will receive an email with lottery results in mid-April or can get results online or by calling Recreation.gov. We are planning on the Half Dome cables being up from May 26 through October 10, 2023, but these dates could change based on conditions.
On each preseason lottery application, an applicant can apply for up to six permits (six people) and for specific dates or a range of dates. Applications will only be successful if the number of permits requested is available on at least one of the requested dates. If enough permits are available for more than one of the requested dates, permits will be automatically awarded to the highest priority date, as entered by the applicant.
Or a Daily Lottery: Additional permits are available each day by lottery during the hiking season. These permits are available based on the estimated rate of under-use and cancellation of permits. The daily lotteries have an application period two days prior to the hiking date with a notification late that night. (So, to hike on Saturday, you would apply on Thursday and receive an email notification of results late on Thursday evening. Results are also available online, or by phone the next morning.) The application period is from midnight to 4 pm Pacific time. Daily lottery applications only allow a permit holder (no alternate).