California's Best Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

1 Tunnel View
Arriving in Yosemite
National Park (% 20
9-372-0200; http://www.nps.
gov/yose; 7-day pass per
car $20; c) at the Arch
Rock entrance station,
follow Hwy 140 east.
Pull over at Tunnel View
for your first look into
Yosemite Valley, which
has inspired painters,
poets, naturalists and
adventurers for centuries.
On the right, Bridalveil
Fall swells with snowmelt
in late spring, but by
late summer, it’s a mere
whisper, often lifted
and blown aloft by the
wind. Spread below you
are the pine forests and
meadows of the valley

floor, with the sheer

face of El Capitan rising

on the left, and in the

distance straight ahead,

iconic granite Half Dome.

The Drive » Merge carefully

onto Wawona Rd, which

continues downhill into Yosemite

Valley, full of confusingly

intersecting one-way roads.

Drive east along the Merced

River on Southside Dr past the

Bridalveil Fall turnoff. Almost 6

miles from Tunnel View, turn left

and drive across Sentinel Bridge

to Yosemite Village’s day-use

parking lots. Ride free shuttle

buses that circle the valley.

2 Yosemite Valley

From the bottom looking

up, this dramatic valley

cut by the meandering

Merced River is song-

inspiring, and not

just for birds: rippling

meadow grasses; tall

pines; cool, impassive

pools reflecting

granite monoliths; and

cascading, glacier-cold

whitewater ribbons. At

busy Yosemite Village,

start inside the Yosemite

Valley Visitor Center

(h9am-6pm late Jun-early

Sep, shorter off-peak hr;

c), with its thought-

provoking history and

nature displays and free

Spirit of Yosemite film

screenings. At the nearby

Yosemite Museum

(h9am-5pm), Western

landscape paintings

are hung beside Native

American baskets and

beaded clothing.

The valley’s famous

waterfalls are thunderous

cataracts in May, but

mere trickles by late July.

Triple-tiered Yosemite

Falls is North America’s

tallest, while Bridalveil

Fall is hardly less

impressive. A strenuous,

often slippery staircase

beside Vernal Fall leads

you, gasping, right to the

top edge of the waterfall,

where rainbows pop

in clouds of mist. Keep

hiking up the same Mist

Trail to the top of Nevada

Fall for a heady 5.5-mile

round-trip trek.

In midsummer, you

can rent a raft at Curry

Village and float down

the Merced River. The

serene stretch between

Stoneman Bridge and

Sentinel Beach is gentle

enough for kids. Or

take the whole family to

see the stuffed wildlife

mounts at the hands-on

Nature Center at Happy

Isles (h10am-4pm late

May-Sep; c), east of Curry

Village.

54 p214

The Drive » From Yosemite

Village, drive west on Northside

Dr, passing Yosemite Falls and

El Capitan. After 6 miles, turn

right onto Big Oak Flat Rd/Hwy

120. For almost 10 miles, the
     road curves above the valley into
     the forest. Near Crane Flat gas
     station, turn right to follow Tioga
     Rd/Hwy 120 east (open summer
     and fall only). Continuing
     straight ahead, Big Oak Flat Rd/
     Hwy 120 west exits the park,
     leading past the turnoff to Hetch
     Hetchy (p214) and Evergreen
     Lodge.

TRIP HIGHLIGHT

k

Eastern Sierra

Scenic Byway

From Yosemite’s
Tuolumne Meadows,
roll over high-elevation
Tioga Pass and downhill
towards Mono Lake, a
20-mile trip.

p

Highway
99 Through
Central Valley

En route between
Yosemite and Kings
Canyon National
Parks, you’ll intersect
sun-baked historic Hwy
99, just northwest of
Reedley.

LINK

YOUR

TRIP

CENTRAL.CALIFORNIA.

19

.YOSEMITE, SEqUOIA & KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS