Yosemite National Park

A must-visit national park in California offers everyone some of the most spectacular examples of the beauty of the great state of California.With spectacular views from high and low, the elevational changes are awesome. There are hiking trails for all levels short and long. Redwood trees line some trails and specific areas offer sights for some of the oldest trees in California making everyone seem insignificant.With El Capitan and its unrivaled beauty and sheer size, an unforgettable image can be worth all your efforts. El Capitan is also a rock climber's biggest dream and attracts some of the world's best to tackle. Bring a pair of binoculars and you may spot some of the world's expert climbers perched or strapped in on the smooth faces.Yosemite is a very famous US National Park attracting visitors from around the world. The peak season are summer months. Reservations are required along with a limited number of parking available for many attractions. Off-seasonal visits are advisable if you want to avoid much of the tourist crowds. The NPS website is most useful in planning your trip and be sure to use their very useful App for additional information and maps.

This is my first visit at the park and I'm impressed! What an experience with magnificent views of this beautiful nature! Despite not being an outdoor person, I enjoyed this place very much. Too bad there were a couple of fires started on the day we visited. However, the sky was still very clear on the first day. The park is clean with trash containers available all over. The popular destinations provide restrooms with plumbing, otherwise most of the restrooms throughout the park are septic tank restrooms, which means no running water... so be prepared! This is a national park, we are in the forest, don't expect too much. I did include a picture where I thought that the restrooms were acceptable; which is within the curry village inside the "Deck" dining area. Free shuttles throughout the park that hits most of the popular destinations/trails. Plan your trip before your arrival is highly recommended, otherwise, you will be lost.... We planned for a three day two night trip, and that was enough for my two kids. We hit most of the popular destinations, will return for other destinations in the future. This is our second day(full day) itinerary on our way into the valley from Tioga Enteace (Hwy 120). We left our campsite around 09:30am, which is about 10-15 minutes away from Tioga entrance. Crane's flat to Bridalveil falls to Swinging Bridge/Sentinel beach Curry Village/Mirror Lakes to Yosemite Falls to Cooks meadows.We got a bonus view at our first stop into the Yosemite Valley at the crane's flat. We witnessed the helicopter landing and take off. Unfortunately, the helicopter was there to pickup the water containers which container over 300+ gallons of water to drop off to one of the local fire in nearby on 7/31/2024. Second stop is to Bridalveil falls. Parking it right at the start of the trails. Easy short hike. Our next stop was the swinging bridge and sentinel beach. Our kids enjoyed the little beach area by swinging bridge/sentinel beach and spent hours there. Although it's 80-90F outside, the water is always cold! Parking on the side of the road. Next stop is the mirror lakes. Mirror lakes were kind of dry, water is very shallow. It required a little bit of hiking versus the sentinel beach is just right off the main road entering the valley. Easy for small kids. Mirror lakes took about 30-45 minutes depends on your paces. Easier way is to take the shuttle and get off at bus stop #17 and start the hike there. We brought some snacks with us and had it enjoy it there. For future trip, I would pack a light snack with sandwiches for the family with a full bottle of water. By the time we finished our mirror lakes hike and returned to curry village, it was around 3-4pm in the afternoon. A cup of ice water was so refreshing and never tasted better! We ordered a pizza and enjoyed it inside the deck dining area. Ice cream was available, only 3.5 a scoop, I expected to be much pricier... I'm not complaining. Next stop we hit Yosemite valley. We wanted to visit the welcome center for souvenirs, however, they closed at 5pm and we kept missing the turn both days.... So our next destination was the Yosemite falls. We choose the lower falls, which is only a 15 minute hike. It was fair easy with a little up hill towards the end of the lower falls. You can capture both upper falls and lower falls at the start of the hike! Take your Kodak moments there! We wrapped up our day at Yosemite national park with our last stop at the cooks meadows on our way out. Parking available on the side of the road, there was this beautiful view with sun shining in. Bridalveil falls is visible from there! This included our day at the Yosemite National Parks around 6:30pm.

I am lucky enough to live 3 hours away from Yosemite so I have ad the pleasure of visiting many times in my life. It has always been lovely. However, I recently took a trip to see many other National Parks, some for the first time, and it gave me an even better perspective. Yosemite is definitely one of the best and most beautiful. There are gorgeous waterfalls and serene streams. You can bring your pup along for many of your adventures here which just isn't true of other parks and while I am on the topic of accessibility, they seem to have made it easier for people with disabilities and limitations to access the beauty of this park. When I was younger, I hiked half dome and camped inside the park which was fun but you can also choose to acquire some lovely accommodations elsewhere and make leisurely use of the beauty of the park during the day. There is something that feels less rushed and less crowded about Yosemite and it is just a gorgeous place to visit and explore.

We visited on a Tuesday and Wednesday in early June, when no reservation was required. You would think weekdays would be less crowded but there just isn't enough parking at features in the park, like the different falls, Glacier Point, Curry Village, Yosemite Village, Tunnel View, etc. You have to be patient to find parking. We came with our dog, and so used our own car to get around as opposed to guests who choose to take the free shuttle, which I would do if I was dogless. I would recommend arriving as early as you can and give yourself a better chance at accomplishing your itinerary. We arrived before noon both days and did not wait in a car line to enter the park, which was awesome. The rangers at the entrance were awesome, too. We got to see a few features that were closed when we came a year ago, which feels like a great accomplishment. We also saw a deer up close, and a baby woodpecker in a tree spoke directly to us! They have Peet's coffee in a couple of places, and a Starbucks in the Grand Lodge. We bought a post card at a shop and took it to the village post office to mail it to our cat/plant sitter back home. They have a few grocery stores due to campers needing food and supplies, but as far as restaurants go, I wouldn't say there are many choices, especially when you consider the need to find parking to get to those few restaurants. We have been here 4 times and always bring our own food and hydration. We love this park.

Visited in mid January, so still lots of snow. They do an amazing job of keeping the roads cleared. The shuttle buses were running as well. Unfortunately I was able to spend only about half a day there. Car issues. But I did hike the John Muir trail to Clark Point, then down to Vernal Falls, which was pretty spectacular. Nevada falls in the distance was pretty neat as well. There were plenty of signs warning folks about the snow and ice, and I realize that people have different levels of comfort in their hiking abilities, but please consider at least wearing boots and not trainers when you're in the snow.

On the recent trip to California we made the 2 Hour drive from San Francisco up to this fabulous national Monument.They were really are no words to describe the beauty of this national Park and to understand the history behind it is even more exciting. Teddy Roosevelt really was thinking all those years ago when he said hey let's preserve this national beauty for everyone. El Capitan stupendous the surrounding areas gorgeous beyond belief we walked for three hours all around the park as well as we could stopped off at a little picnic area put our feet in the water enjoy the sand with all of the other people enjoying a picnic. Met lots of interesting people that we're doing the same as we were walking around with their eyes towards the sky. If you're in the area you need to visit .

The best place to be: the great outdoors. All worries and troubles are tossed to the wayside. The breathtaking views are inspiring and unforgettable. I love Yosemite! Spring is the best time to come to see majestic waterfalls. Summer is the best time to swim in cool waters. Definitely make sure you have enough water if you go hiking. Don't feed the squirrels even if they follow you, resist because they're devious little creatures. I had eaten a can of tuna and there was no trash can in sight. I placed the empty can in the side pocket of my backpack. I step away and then look to see a squirrel ravaging and chewing a hole through the backpack to get a taste of tuna! I scared him away and am left with the lovely memory of this squirrel...and a hole in my backpack.

I love coming here!! It's Breathtaking!! No words to describe the magnificent of this beautiful Park!! If you haven't visit put it in your Bucket list!!

This is one of the most amazing national parks one will ever see. I've been here several times, and each time it never fails to take my breath away! During the busy travel seasons (aka weekends and the entirety of summer, and the horrendous Firefall period), bring a lot of patience with you and get into the valley early in the morning to find parking. In the late afternoon as you exit the valley, keep that patience with you and expect the possibility of traffic jams in the valley. Drive carefully, as bears have been killed by vehicles here. Pack some extra patience, as the visitors around you here may be tourists who have gone on vacation but have left their brains at home. If this is not your first visit, consider visiting other areas of Yosemite outside of the valley to avoid the horrendous masses of crowds and traffic. This place has so much to offer!

A review cannot do the breathtaking sights of Yosemite justice. Stand in the middle of the Stoneman meadow bridge, once at 10 am, and once at 11 pm. You'll know what I mean.Fun fact: Yosemite means the killers, a not very flattering name given to the natives by the nearby Miwok tribe.