Yosemite National Park
A few weeks back, Alex and I were making a list of things we want to do before leaving San Francisco. (For those of you that don’t know, SURPRISE! We are moving to New York in December!!) One road trip Alex really wanted to fit in was visiting Yosemite National Park. We had this conversation on a Tuesday and by Saturday afternoon, we were on our way!! The planning felt a bit rushed as I tend to like to take my time with doing research. But, we really wanted to visit before it got too cold and snowy. My parents visited Yosemite in September and were helpful in giving us recommendations as well.
The drive from San Francisco took four hours and we arrived at the park around 4:00pm where we drove straight to Bridalveil Falls. After a short walk, we came to the viewing area which was super crowded and we only spent a short period of time here as we wanted to be sure to catch the sunset at our next location.
We then drove to Tunnel View, a beautiful lookout point, where you can see El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Falls. Looking out into the vista was a perfect introduction to some of the major landmarks in Yosemite. The sun was starting to go down at this point and we sat for awhile enjoying the view.
On Sunday morning, our first full day in Yosemite, we started out early and arrived first thing at Washburn Point, a great stopping point to see Half Dome up close.
Another viewpoint just north of Washburn Point is Glacier Point. Due to the narrow and winding roads, this lookout is only accessible by car through November or before the first snowfall. Glacier Point provides amazing views of Yosemite Valley, Half Dome and Yosemite Falls.
Backtracking just a bit down Glacier Point Road is a small carpark for two popular trailheads - the Sentinel Dome Trail and the Taft Point Trail. We started hiking the Sentinel Dome Trail first which provides a reverse Tunnel View viewpoint of Yosemite Valley. From this trail you can see both El Capitan and Yosemite Falls. Sentinel Dome was made famous by Ansel Adams with his 1940’s photo of the Jeffrey Pine tree. The tree perished in 1977 and eventually fell over in 2003.
One of my favorite hikes we did while in Yosemite was the Taft Point Trail. After walking through the forest, we arrived at Taft Point and it is a pretty unique experience. There are no guardrails and you can peer right over the cliffs. It’s a bit scary as the drop-off is several thousand feet down to the bottom!!! I certainly kept a good distance away from the ledge. Several people have died from falling off the rocks!! The views were unbelievable and we could see for miles and miles.
Once we finished hiking at Taft Point, we drove down into Yosemite Valley. We stopped once more at Tunnel View as the sun was perfectly overhead and the valley just looked beautiful. This view really never does get old!
When we got down into the valley, we made our way to Lower Yosemite Falls. After parking, there is a short trail which leads to part of North America’s tallest waterfall measuring in at 2,425-feet! Due to limited time and not being peak waterfall season (the waterfall was dry!), we did not hike to the top of the falls and just admired the rock formations from below.
The last hike we did for the day was The Mist Trail. The Mist Trail trail extends for seven miles if you go all the way up to Nevada Falls, but as it was getting later on in the day, we just hiked the 3-mile roundtrip track to Vernal Falls. Despite it already being close to 3:00pm at this point, the trail was very busy with lots of hikers.
Before heading back to our hotel, we drove around the valley for awhile stopping at various points to take photos and enjoy the views. This place is magical and the fall colors really made everything pop.
El Capitan
For our last day in Yosemite National Park, my mom suggested we check out Mariposa Grove in the southern part of the park as the grove is home to over 500 giant sequoia trees. I read the national park idea is rooted in Mariposa Grove when President Lincoln signed legislation in 1864 protecting Mariposa Grove and Yosemite Valley for the benefit of future generations. Mariposa Grove actually had been closed the last three years due to a large restoration project. It just re-opened in June 2018. This was the perfect way to end our time in Yosemite National Park as it was so different from what we had seen the previous two days and the sequoia trees were a sight to behold!
Fallen Monarch
The Faithful Couple - after hundreds of years, these two tree trunks eventually fused together. See how they are separated at the top? AMAZING!
Clothespin Tree
California Tunnel Tree
Mariposa Tree
I’m so thankful we were able to make this trip happen before we leave California. It was a whirlwind couple of days, but such a gorgeous part of the country. This will be a trip I’ll be remembering for a long time.
Accommodation: Quality Inn Yosemite Valley Gateway
Food: 1850 Brewing Company
Documentaries: Valley Uprising (a really interesting documentary about the history of climbing in Yosemite) and Free Solo (This movie is out in theaters now and it's on my list to see. The movie follows free soloist climber Alex Honnold as he prepares to climb the 3,000-foot El Capitan without a rope!)
