Yosemite was the hardest park for me to get into on this journey and due to that I have only 1 night here in the park. The park also has an entry system that if you want to enter the park are not staying in a campground/lodge then you will need to book a time to enter. They are checking and turned many people away during my wait to get into the park at 10:00am. The good news was the wait was not that long but there are signs on the road in that indicate the wait of 15, 30, and even 60 minutes to get to the entry booth. There were two electronic billboard signs on the road into the park which stated you needed a reservation, they are serious. Due to the reservation system to enter and how hard it is to get a reservation to camp it is a shame but this park could become an “instagram” park. If you are able to stay in the park for a longer period of time then there are plenty of hiking trails for you to explore. The park has a shuttle system to try and eliminate the crowded parking areas at the more well known attractions. The shuttle system has two routes a purple that runs just around the visitor center, curry village and the campgrounds. The green line runs the same as the purple but also will take you as far as El Capitan picnic area and bridge. The shuttles have 18 stops, see shuttle stops section. The shuttle runs from 7:00am until 10:00pm so you can surely get on the shuttle and enjoy some worry free movement in the park. The park has many paved trails for bike riding and walking in the village area for everyone convince.
Lower Yosemite Fall Trail – The trail head is at the bus stop for the Lower Yosemite Fall Trail. The trail is paved and is a loop trail that goes over water a few times during the loop. The trail takes you to the bottom of the Lower Yosemite Fall and allows you to get some photos of this but be aware it is crowded. One person taking photos next to me said to her friend, “I will have to photoshop 1,800 people out of this photo.” It is a bit of a tall tale but you get the point. Walking the trail you also get a chance to see both the upper and lower falls but that is closer to the trail head by the bathrooms, then at the lower fall viewing area. Please remember that if you want a photo be ready as there are many others who want a photo similar to yours or who are waiting for you to take your photo. Don’t get ready then comb your hair etc. Get in and get out. The overall length of the trail is about 1.1 miles and it does have a bit of an elevation gain of 50 feet.
Sentinel Bridge Trail – The trail head is at the Visitor Parking area near the restrooms. The trail is only .3 miles each way but does take you through the trees and is a paved trail. This trail will also take you to Cook’s Meadow and its loop trail.
Cook’s Meadow Loop – The trail can be picked up at the Lower Yosemite Fall bus stop, or if you can find parking at the pullout, or you can take the Sentinel Bridge Trail as all will get you to Cook’s Meadow. The loop trail is 1 mile and is mostly level as most meadows are. The name Cook’s Meadow came from a man who had a hotel in the area and used the meadow for the sheep and cows to feed. The meadow also was used to plant crops supporting the hotel. These two things, the animals and crops destroyed the natural plants in the meadow but the good news is now the natural plants are back! The loop also allows you some good views of the two falls, and also some mountains in the area.
Mirror Lake Trail – Mirror Lake has a shuttle stop if you are so inclined to take the shuttle to the hike. I went from the campground so out of the campground I went and turned left over the water. You can walk in the road after you pass the North Pine Campground as no cars are to be driving past the North Pine campground except for shuttle buses. The path is actually on the side of the street and is well worn, and there is even a sign showing the path and distance to Mirror Lake. When you arrive just before the bus you will cross the street and head to the left of the bus stop and onto the trail. The trail used to be a paved trail but now it is dirt and large rocks, and in some places it is still paved. The elevation gain is minimal, 100 feet and the round trip from the bus stop trail head is 2 miles. The lake is not much of a lake any longer but there is a sign on the trail that says Mirror Lake signaling you have arrived at the lake. If you are so inclined to hike further there is a 5 mile loop around the lake however I was not so inclined. If you wanted you could walk in the road all the way to the lake as many people did do just that after the bus stop. The hike was a nice hike from the campground but I was disappointed in the lake when I arrived and I was not the only one disappointed.
Upper Pines Campground – The campground is nice and the spots all have picnic tables, fire rings, and bear boxes. The parking area for your car/trailer is well defined and the spots are good sized. The campground like the park is full so it does look like the Boy Scout Jamboree is happening. There are restrooms in each loop with a dish washing sink. The restrooms have hand dryers and running water but no soap. The campground does have a bus stop and the bus is running about every 30 minutes so you can park and not have to drive anyplace for the rest of your time in the park, a big bonus. Fires are allowed when I was there but only from 6pm until 10 pm. There are bears in the area so you are instructed to put everything in the bear box or in your trunk. I asked if I could leave everything in Dundee and was told as long as it is not in the windows, since bears know what coolers and food looks like. Well the sun screens are coming in more handy. A downside to the campground is that the restrooms are fairly small for the number of sites that will be using the restrooms.
El Capitan – The iconic mountain in Yosemite is El Capitan. There is a picnic area and a bus stop supporting the trail to El Capitan. I chose the bus to travel to the area, see shuttle buses. Upon exiting the bus at El Capitan I saw a few climbers coming down a trail and so I went up to check out what was happening. There were a couple of climbers on the rocks but it was not El Capitan however it was not something that I was going to do in my lifetime. I watched and everyone looked to have fun. I however wanted to check out the Capitan so I followed the parking lot road back to the main road. I crossed the street at a path, not labeled but well worn and off I went. After a few hundred yards you come to a T and off to the right I went. Another 100 yards a group of hikers from my bus let me know that a bear was down about 50 yards on the right. I continued on my journey knowing I had my bear spay to help if the bear attached me, but it was doubtful. As it turned out I got to a great viewing area of El Capitan and no bear. The viewing area was by the river and there were people looking up towards the mountain and pointing. I knew the pointing was to point out people who had taken it upon themselves to get a permit and climb to the top of El Capitan. I took a few photos and then was able to see these two red dots on one part of the rock face. It was amazing to see how small these people looked compared to the mountain also it showed how high they were up in the air. After watching them for sometime, I went back to the path and started my little hike back to the bus stop. As luck would have it I noticed the bear in the woods running in the opposite direction of me so all was good. I did turn back to view El Capitan and noticed a climber or two had set up a tent on the side to get out of the light mist that had started or just to rest. The rock climbers have a much less fear of heights that I do and are much stronger than I am in my advanced age.
El Capitan to Yosemite Village Trail – As I was waiting for the bus back to the village I was reading my trusty map and identified that there is a trail that will allow you to walk from El Capitan to the Yosemite Village and its parking area. Not wanting to wait another hour and one half and remembering what someone said to me yesterday that everything is within 3 miles of the Visitor Center. So off I went walking back to the parking area and Dundee. The path was not really marked but Mr. Magoo could have followed the well worn path of solid and loose dirt. I was on my way and after about 20 minutes of walking I noticed the Green shuttle passing by me so now I was committed to walking, but I already was at this point. The path follows the river and with the clouds over the rock faces there was some very nice views. Also on my way back was a control burn area that was set up to clear some of the dry underbrush and the NPS and CalFire were ensuring no forest fire broke out while the burn was happening. Thanks for keeping us say CalFire and NPS fire teams. I did come to some trail marking by a campground saying that Lower Yosemite Fall was 1 mile, and having walked to/from there yesterday to the visitor parking I knew home was not far away. The paths at this point were much better marked and I even found a campground with showers but since didn’t have my shower stuff I moved onward. Upon arrival at the lower fall I knew that I was home free. The overall hike was a nice one and it was fairly level. The distance was about 3 miles and the views were wonderful. I would recommend one way coming back to your vehicle but not both ways unless the buses run better and you are willing to wait.
Shuttle Buses – The shuttles have two routes one stays in the Yosemite Valley, Curry Village and Happy Isles Art and Nature Center loop. This is the purple route and the bus is more frequent due to the shorter distance between stops. When riding the bus you need to forget about social distancing, personal space and just get close as there are bunches of people wanting to ride the bus. The green route goes all over the park from El Capitan up the Yosemite Village and all along the purple route. I have to say that the wait was to be 30 minutes but there are only two buses on the green route so your wait may have to be longer. My wait was 1.5 hours and after a period of time you are committed to waiting so I waited to get on the bus. The driver was very nice and efficient but I think many of the people on the bus could have walked to their stop faster than riding. In fact a family wanted to wait for the green bus from the visitor parking area to the visitor center, a 10 min walk. I let the family know it was 10 minutes to walk and how to do it but they were not sure if they wanted to walk that far but they did, the bus arrived 20 minutes later. Second crazy thing about the green bus is that it stops at the Village Store and Grill and a 2 minute walk is the deli but some people road the bus to the deli from the grill stop.
Shuttle Stops – Day use parking, Yosemite Village Store, Ahwahnee Hotel, Deanna’s Kitchen and Loft, Visitor Center, Lower Yosemite Falls, Yosemite Valley Lodge/Camp 4, El Capitan Bridge, Cathedral Beach, Four Mile Trail/Swinging Bridge, Housekeeping Camp, Curry Village Parking, Upper Pines Campground, Happy Isles and Mist/John Muir Trails, Mirror Lake, Lower Pines, and Curry Village Parking (this has two stops one in each direction.)
