3 Tuolumne
Meadows
Leave the crushing
crowds of Yosemite
Valley behind and escape
to the Sierra Nevada
high country along Tioga
Rd, which follows a
19th-century wagon road
and Native American
trading route. Warning!
Completely closed by
snow in winter, Tioga Rd
is usually open only fromTRIP HIGHLIGHTMay or June through
October.
About 45 miles from
Yosemite Valley, stop
at Olmsted Point.
Overlooking a lunar-type
landscape of glaciated
granite, gaze deeply
down Tenaya Canyon
to the backside of Half
Dome. A few miles
further east, a sandy
half-moon beach wraps
around Tenaya Lake,
tempting you to brave
some of the coldest
swimming in the park.
Sunbathers lie upon the
rocks that rim the lake’s
northern shore.
About a 90-minute
drive from Yosemite
Valley, TuolumneMeadows is the Sierra
Nevada’s largest
subalpine meadow, with
fields of wildflowers,
bubbling streams, ragged
granite peaks and
cooler temperatures at
an elevation of 8600ft.
Hikers and climbers
find a paradise of trails
and granite domes to
tackle, or unpack a picnic
basket by the stream-fed
meadows.54 p214
The Drive » From Tuolumne
Meadows, backtrack 50 miles
to Yosemite Valley, turning left
on El Portal Rd, then right on
Northside Dr and right again
on Wawona Rd. Follow narrow
Wawona Rd/Hwy 41 up out of
the valley. After 9 miles, turnHIKING HALF DOME & AROUND YOSEMITE VALLEY
Over 800 miles of hiking trails in Yosemite National Park fit hikers of all abilities.
Take an easy half-mile stroll on the valley floor or underneath giant sequoia
trees, or venture out all day on a quest for viewpoints, waterfalls and lakes in the
mountainous high country.
Some of the park’s most popular hikes start right in Yosemite Valley, including
to the top of Half Dome (17-mile round-trip), the most famous of all. It follows a
section of the John Muir Trail and is strenuous, difficult and best tackled in two
days with an overnight in Little Yosemite Valley. Reaching the top can only be done
in summer after park rangers have installed fixed cables; depending on snow
conditions, this may occur as early as late May or as late as July and the cables
usually come down in October. To limit the cables’ notorious human logjams, the
park now requires permits for day hikers, but the route is still nerve-wracking as
hikers must share the cables. Advance permits (%877-444-6777; http://www.recreation.gov)
go on sale by lottery in early spring, with a limited number available via another
lottery two days in advance. Permit regulations and prices keep changing; check
the park website (http://www.nps.gov/yose) for current details.
The less ambitious or physically fit will still have a ball following the Mist Trail as
far as Vernal Fall (3-mile round-trip), the top of Nevada Fall (6-mile round-trip) or
idyllic Little Yosemite Valley (8-mile round-trip). The Four Mile Trail (9-mile round-
trip) up to Glacier Point is a strenuous but satisfying climb to a glorious viewpoint.
If you’ve got the kids in tow, nice and easy valley walks include to Mirror Lake
(2-mile round-trip) and viewpoints at the base of thundering Yosemite Falls (1-mile
round-trip) and lacy Bridalveil Fall (0.5-mile round-trip).CENTRAL.CALIFORNIA19
(^) YOSEMITE, SEqUOIA & KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS