Yosemite Park

The Valley's attractions : The Yosemite Valley is only a tiny fraction of Yosemite, but contains the most famous attractions: Half Dome (second best view at the end of a famous trail) Upper Yosemite Falls (among the tallest waterfalls in the world) El Capitan (single largest block of granite in the world) Mist Trail (Vernal & Nevada Falls) Glacier Point Mirror Lake to Snowcreek Falls to North Dome to Upper Falls Mariposa Grove (huge sequoias) Tenaya Lake to Clouds Rest to Half Dome to Yosemite Valley (Clouds Rest has one of the best views in the entire park) North Dome Tioga Road (Ten Lakes trailhead) to Yosemite Falls (18 kms) to Yosemite Valley (5.6 kms) via the Yosemite Creek trail

Photos Non-valley Attractions The rest of Yosemite is huge and contains truly spectacular wilderness. Epic hikes: Ten Lakes & May Lake Tenaya Lake to Clouds Rest to Yosemite Valley Mt Dana (the second highest peak in Yosemite) Mt Conness Mt Lyell (the highest peak in Yosemite) Tenaya Canyon Cathedral Lake Tuolumne Falls Waterwheel Falls Buena Vista Peak loop Trails from Tuolumne Meadows or Tenaya Lake Resources 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. Pictures of Yosemite Yosemite National Park Yosemite's web site Yosemite's Twitter blog Hikes in Yosemite Live webcams Campgrounds Camping reservations Bears and Lions Weather for Yosemite Valley (WRH) Weather for Yosemite High Country (WRH) Road and trail conditions Yosemite Valley attractions Directions from the Bay Area 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.