Yosemite National Park

We reached the south entrance to Yosemite about 9:30 am and was informed that Mariposa Grove, the largest grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite, was closed for restoration. That was not overly disappointing since our next destination is Sequoia National Park where there will be plenty of Giant Sequoias. The main attraction at Yosemite National Park is Yosemite Valley that was carved out by a glacier and surrounded by high granite walls. From the south the valley is entered thru a tunnel known as Wawona Tunnel. Locals refer to it as the mile long tunnel but it is slightly less than a mile at 4233 feet.

Before reaching the tunnel we took a right turn at Glacier Point Road and climbed our way up for 16 miles to Glacier Point overlooking the valley. We may have been naive in our assumption that the crowds would be moderate due to it being on a Thursday before summer vacation time. When we reached Glacier Point at 10 am the parking lot was almost full and there was a line to use the restroom. When we left an hour later a line of cars had backed up looking for a place to park. Imagine what it must be like in July.

Once in the parking lot we noted the elevation to be 7145 feet and the temperature 47 degrees. The Yosemite Valley floor is approximately 4000 feet so the elevation of Glacier Point above the valley is over 3000 feet. Here is a composite photo showing what the valley looked like below

Yosemite Valley from Glacier Point

The water fall to the left is Yosemite Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in North America, dropping 2425 feet down into the valley.

Yosemite Falls

A prominent feature that makes up part of the wall around the valley is referred to as Half Dome. The large rock in the right hand side of the valley photo protruding up above the skyline is Half Dome and measures 8842 feet above sea level.

Half Dome

To the right of Half Dome is Nevada Falls dropping 597 feet.

Nevada Falls

Once we felt like we had spent enough time at Glacier Point we headed back down to the tunnel and entered the valley. The crowds were intense but we did manage to find a few places to park and take photos.

The tunnel entering the valley

Me at the tunnel view parking lot with Bridalviel Falls in the background

A close up of Bridalviel Falls

Yosemite Falls viewed from the valley

The Yosemite Valley is 7.5 miles long and the road winds around to various attractions. We pulled off at one location and took the following photo of two large Sequoias.

Parked between two Sequoias

Near the end of the valley was a place to buy food and we drove around a large parking lot desperately looking for a place to park but finally admitted defeat and continued around the loop road. We ended up fasting until we got back to Oakhurst.