Memories of the Majestic Yosemite National Park

Dear Soul,

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.” – John Muir in “The Yosemite”, 1912

It’s been over a decade since we moved to San Francisco Bay area from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and I just realized I haven’t yet posted on Yosemite National Park. It’s likely because it being in our backyard, we visited it about a dozen times since 2013 (over half a dozen in the last two years) and I often forget how special it is. From John Muir to me, it inspired everyone in different ways every time with its new look in each season: spring, fall, summer and winter. We have seen and experienced the many facets: the gushing waterfalls (May-June) down to trickle (late summers), the river and meadows from frozen to flooded, chilling temps to sweating hot, biking to hiking on the valley floors, intense hiking like half dome and just wandering around, full of traffic to complete seclusion, white walls of snow replaced by white Dogwood blossom to vibrant all colors. This is by no way a detailed trip planner, but I will share my favorites in the park. 

Entrances to the park:

We entered the park mostly from West: from Big Oak Flat entrance (HWY 120) and Arch Rock entrance (HWY 140) and once from the South Entrance (HWY 41) mainly to see Mariposa Grove. In summer, there’s always lot of traffic closer to Yosemite entrance and we even had to wait over an hour  just to get to the entrance. It didn’t get any better once we got in, with bumper-to-bumper traffic going to valley and parking is hard to find as well. So, park entry is restricted by a reservation system during peak times. In other seasons, it isn’t bad and the drive is pretty too with fall colors or snow along the way.

Places to stay:

There are several options in/around the park that cater to all kinds and budgets for overnight guests. I highly recommend staying inside the park, within the valley. Other than camping options (that can be reserved at recreation.gov), there are other ways to stay inside the park like Curry village tents/cabins(our usual go to),  Housekeeping camp (rustic than curry village), Wawona(south), Yosemite valley lodge and expensive hotel The Ahwahnee (Queen Elizabeth II stayed here), which can be booked at https://www.travelyosemite.com/ We have also stayed earlier in Yosemite view lodge and Groveland (Airbnb with friends), outside the park and made day trips to Yosemite. So far, we stayed 1-2-3 nights in Yosemite, but we have also done a day trip once with guests which felt quite a long drive.

Places to eat:

Although there are plenty of places inside the park, we usually do Lunch picnic or at Base camp eatery near Yosemite falls and Breakfast/dinner at our cabin or Seven tents pavilion in Camp curry. There is also a microwave at the gift shop next to the pavilion to heat/prepare meals

Places we visited:

With Yosemite, the first thing that comes to my mind is its majestic Granite peaks (El Capitan and Half Dome) and gorgeous waterfalls, after that the beautiful meadows and many bridges on Merced River😊 Although there is so much more to explore, the valley is synonymous to Yosemite for us. It is beautiful with the Merced River (my moon river) flowing along, meadows surrounded by granite walls and waterfalls. There are walking/biking trails through out valley, highly recommend in peak times(summer) instead of driving or even taking valley shuttle, to enjoy the views.  Below are the attractions in the order of the driving in the valley:

Bridalveil Falls: These are the first waterfalls to see as we enter the valley. We got drenched at Bridalveil falls in May’23 (Epic waterfalls year) and still remember sliding down the snowy 0.2-mile trail slopes in Jan’13

Sentinel beach picnic area: We stopped here for lunch picnic and had a lot of fun playing in the shallow ice-cold glacier water.

Swinging bridge Picnic area: Another fun spot for lunch Picnic

Sentinel/Cook’s meadow and Yosemite Chapel: My Absolute favorite for views of waterfalls and half dome from the Sentinel bridge. With Yosemite Chapel in distance, it often reminded me of the West I watched on TV. We spend time walking on the icy river and playing in the sandbar.

Yosemite Falls: Top of the list and very accessible path to Lower Yosemite falls

Housekeeping camp: Camp fire by the Merced River was once in a lifetime experience for me. There was a bridge behind the campground with more beautiful views and we also saw a church service going on in amphitheater close by.

Camp curry/Curry village: Great alternative for tent camping if we don’t find spot in housekeeping camp, only thing there is no place to grill here, so we gather for breakfast/dinner in seven tents pavilion.

Vernal Falls: We can take the valley shuttle or bike to Happy isles, the trailhead to go to Vernal falls, Nevada Falls and John Muir trail to Half Dome. First time, we hiked up to the Vernal Falls footbridge (moderate, 400 Ft gain), and next time continued to the top of the falls (strenuous, 1000 ft gain); was quite an experience getting soaked head to toe on Mist trail (as name suggests). We also like to play at the Merced River access at the trailhead.

Half Dome: A day-long challenging hike with a steep ascent up the cables (permit required) and most  rewarding views 

Mirror lake: This is an easy 1-mile paved path to this seasonal lake with Tenaya creek along (for accessible drive) offering reflections of surrounding cliffs, so we always walk/bike here on the last day. We have seen it full, completely dry and then walked on the frozen lake and enjoyed breaking the ice.

Church Bowl Picnic area: We stopped here on our way back to a visit to the Ahwahnee (not a stay) for grilling and saw rock climbers here as well.

El Capitan Meadow: I am always in awe to watch rock climbers taking on the mighty El Capitan. At night, these climbers are often seen as a subtle point of light against the starry skies.

Finally, just outside the valley, we have also explored:

Glacier Point (via Glacier Point Road): End point of Four-mile trail from valley with fantastic views of the valley and Half dome. We had a lunch picnic at Taft Point/Sentinel dome trailhead and then hiked to Sentinel dome, stopping by the famous tunnel view going back into valley.

The Crane Flat Snow Play Area on Hwy 120: Perfect for snow play

This post was as special as Yosemite itself, since it gave me the chance to relive the memories from the park in the last decade and I look forward to creating many more with my beloved family and friends.