| Yosemite is the most famous of the California parks. It is about 3.5 hours by car from San Francisco. It can be reached from San Francisco either from 120 or from 140. 120 is narrow and winding, 140 is faster but a little longer. Yosemite is a large park, although the main tourist sights are concentrated within the Yosemite Valley. A paved road circles around the valley. Most tourists simply drive around the road and take pictures of what they can see from the road. More adventurous tourists may want to hike up to some of those sights, and beyond, but the hikes are not trivial. Outside the Valley there are many other attractions: although they are not as popular, and they often require a lot more hiking, and the only road to get there (highway 120) is closed in winter till mid May, they are no less spectacular than the Valley. the |
The Valley's attractions: The Yosemite Valley is only a tiny fraction of Yosemite, but contains the most famous attractions:
Glacier PointThe most popular trailhead is near the Swinging Bridge (shuttle bus stop #7). The trail to Glacier Point is called "four mile trail" and begins at the westermost corner of the Yosemite Valley. It is, actually, about 7.5kms long (about 2h 30'). A further 2 kms take you to Sentinel Dome via the Pohono trail (1 hour roundtrip). Retracing your steps to the Pohono trail, and taking it west, you walk above Sentinel Fall but you won't see it. To descend a different way, one can walk back the Pohono trail to Glacier Point and use the Panorama Trail via Illilouet Falls (3.3kms, 1 hour) to the trail junction (6.4kms, 2 hours) to the Nevada Falls (8.2kms, 2h 30') to Happy Isles (about 13kms from Glacier Point to Happy Isles, about 3h 30' total).The grand total is you hike the four-mile trail, the Sentinel Dome trail, and the Panorama trail is about 24 kms and estimate 7 hours at a brisk pace. Topo Zone of Sentinel Fall There is also a shuttle bus that departs the Yosemite Valley for Glacier Point at 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m (from Yosemite Lodge) for $15 one-way. Upper FallsThe Upper Falls are the second tallest falls in the US.The trailhead is at the northern parking lot of the Sunnyside Campground. This is a strenuous, brutal trail for a round-trip distance of 11 kms. It ascends about 800 meters. Make sure you turn right at the fork: the left trail goes to El Capitan, the right trail goes to Upper Falls. At the end of the Upper Falls trail, look for the steps that go down to the top of the waterfall. Then walk back up and look for the bridge that takes you to the other side of the waterfall. You can walk up about 30 minutes to a fantastic overlook. |
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Non-valley Attractions: The rest of Yosemite is huge and contains truly spectacular wilderness. Epic hikes:
Trails from Tuolumne Meadows or Tenaya LakeResources: Yosemite is one of the least friendly parks in the world. It is terribly difficult to get any kind of information, and almost impossible to speak to a human being. In most cases, the only way to get even the simpler piece of information is to drive to the park.
Directions: Take the I-580 EAST towards (I-880)/STOCKTON Take I-205 E towards TRACY/STOCKTON. You will be forced to take the I-5 NORTH exit Pay close attention because you have to exit almost immediately to direction CA-120 RAMP towards MANTECA/SONORA Now you are on 120, a road with traffic lights (ignore any exit called Yosemite Ave) At some point you will be forced to take the CA-99 NORTH Pay close attention because you have to exit almost immediately to direction CA-120 East towards Yosemite Turn RIGHT onto CA-120 East This will take you to Escalante and then Oakdale. Oakdale is a good place to get gasoline. When you enter Oakdale, pay close attention because you have to turn LEFT at the main intersection towards SR-120/108 About 20 minutes after leaving Oakdale, pay close attention again because you have to turn right into 120 East (this is where 108 and 120 split, with 108 going to Sonora and 120 going to Yosemite). If you miss this turn, you'll end up in Sonora. After you make this RIGHT turn, the road is much faster. In less than 15 minutes you will pass the town of Moccasin. If you are driving a small car and you are not using A/C, turn RIGHT into Old Priest Rd, which is a significant shortcut (but extremely steep). Overheating is very common on this road for bad USA-made cars running A/C. At the top continue straight onto 120 to Groveland, which is the last main town before Yosemite (and the last decent restaurants) Twenty minutes later you will pass the last gas station on your right. Ten minutes later you will pass the last motel (Yosemite Gateway) on your right. And one minute later you will see the sign "Yosemite National Park" and the entrance station. |