Yosemite National Park, California.
“Not just a great valley, but a shrine to human foresight, the strength of granite, the power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra.” The opening quote on the Yosemite National Park website tells you all you need to know about why you should visit.
Probably the most iconic feature in the park is Half Dome. Millions of people visit each year to capture a view of this unusual granite dome. Thousands apply for permits to hike the cable line. It’s a 10- to 12-hour hike and it’s not for the unfit. Needless to say, we let other people take on this approximately 15-mile (24 km) hike that requires a Half Dome permit different from the park’s entry permit. Caution should tell you to start at or before sunrise, and if, by 3:30 PM, you haven’t reached the top, you need to head back anyway.
I’m told (again, this is beyond my ability,) that the last 400 feet (122 m) to the summit is achieved without climbing gear with the help of cables placed by the park service in the summer months. If you are up to this challenge, you can find out all the details on the Yosemite NP website here.
If you are not up to the challenge of the Half Dome Hike but like to climb, there are plenty of options available. At one photo stop, we spotted these climbers on a relatively shallow section of a granite rockface.
You don’t have to be a climber to enjoy hiking in the park. Hikers should look for the 15-page trail description and distance guide that you can download from their website here.
There are lots of places along the highways in Yosemite to capture views of the park. Check out the Tioga Road from Crane Flat to Tioga Pass. This 46-mile (62 km) drive is one of the more popular.
We entered the park at the eastern entrance near Tuolumne Meadows and eventually exited the park at Mariposa Grove. From there we had hoped to visit Sequoia and Kings Canyon, but both were closed due to wildfires in the area.
Regular readers may recall seeing this cell phone photo published in a Cellpic Sunday post in July 2022. The park road, which you can see running along the ridge in the distance provides views of Yosemite Valley from both sides of the Merced River many miles below.
There is so much to see that we could have spent more than a single day there. We stayed on the main roadways, though there are plenty of roads that are open for exploration. We will have to save those explorations for another trip. Yosemite is a busy park in the summer and reservations are required in advance. I’m posting this in Autumn 2022 so you can start planning and reserving campsites or lodging in the area in plenty of time for next summer’s tourist season.
There are plenty of waterfalls in the park, but many are created by mountain runoff. To capture waterfalls, it is best to visit while snow runoff fills the falls.
For complete details on the park and to find out details on how to schedule an entry reservation, check out the National Park’s Yosemite website here. You can pixel peep at these images in 2K HD on my Flickr site by just clicking on an image. If you click here to visit the album, you’ll be able to view the entire gallery that contains a few extra images not posted here.
John Steiner
A lovely place to visit 🙂
Breathtaking place, John!
Indeed!
We were blown away by Yosemite when we visited many years ago but stories of large crowds have made us wary of returning. But you seem to have got some great photos regardless so maybe we need to consider a second visit. My old photos are pre-digital 35mm slides and not in great condition.
We arrived after the Labor Day holiday so the big summer vacation crowd is much reduced, Sarah.
Something to bear in mind, thanks
Your shots along Tioga Road are some of my favorites, John. I recognize the opening shot of Half Dome from Olmstead Point just up from Tuolumne Meadows where we camped many years as a kid, then as an adult. (I’ve visited the park 26 times). My daughters and brother did the Half Dome climb (never would I ever), it was a 12-hour ordeal but worth it–of course, they were much younger than I. We spent time at Tenaya Lake’s beaches as well as the lakes on the eastern entrance–Ellery and Tioga–great fishing too! Thank you for the trip down memory lane!
I am happy to bring you great memories. I can tell you know far more about the park than we do. This was our first visit.
Yosemite was my happy place for so many years. Now there are many NPs close to us to explore! Have a great week, JOhn!
It really does take one’s breath away with its beauty. Your photos captured it well.
Thank you. We had a wonderful visit with many photo opportunities.
Gorgeous!
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Thanks!
What an incredible place!
Indeed!
Yosemite is a beautiful NP. It’s good that they are monitoring the traffic flow. I do have a picture of bumper to bumper traffic in the valley. So glad you made it to Tuolumne Meadows. I haven’t been there in so long. When you’re in the area again, please visit Sequoia/Kings Canyon NPs. They are my favorite. The large sequoias were spared from the fire.
They are on our list to visit the next time we head west. Thanks, Anne!
😊
What amazing landscapes! I really like the picture of the Climbers
Thanks, my friend! It’s hard to take a bad photo in that park, it is so beautiful.
Beautiful photos!!
Thanks, Nora!
Yosemite looks like one of those places that will have you hooked from the moment you set foot there!
Just reading the comments from others who have visited, you can tell there are many people who are regular visitors.
Yosemite is one of my favorite places! Glacier Point at sunset is a religious experience.
I will keep that in mind for the next time we visit the park!
The iconic Half-Dome, Wow… Climbing without climbing gears, that is scary. Great phots, John!
Thanks. Yosemite is a photographer’s dream.
Thank your for replying while your are traveling!