Yosemite National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Sierra Nevada mountains in east-central California. Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, and biological diversity. The 750,000-acre, 1,200 square-mile park contains thousands of lakes and ponds, 1600 miles of streams, 800 miles of hiking trails, and 350 miles of roads. It is currently the third most visited national park in the United States, with an annual visitation of nearly 4 million. The park celebrated its 150th anniversary this year
The landscape began forming about ten million years ago when the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and then tilted to form its relatively gentle western slopes and the more dramatic eastern slopes. The uplift increased the steepness of stream and river beds, resulting in formation of deep, narrow canyons. About one million years ago, snow and ice accumulated, forming glaciers at the higher alpine meadows that moved down the river valleys. Ice thickness in Yosemite Valley may have reached 4,000 feet during the early glacial episode. The downslope movement of the ice masses cut and sculpted the U-shaped valley that attracts so many visitors to its scenic vistas today.
(taken from wikipedia)
Yosemite Park is 4 hours drive away from San Francisco. It's quite rush and tiring to do a day trip, but limited by time, we managed to do it spending almost 17 hours in the car!
Halfway through the drive and up towards the mountain, there's a small restaurant after the horse shed that you could use the toilet if you purchase anything from the shop. Even a candy will do.
It offers a very beautiful view of the mountains especially on a clear day.
Entrance to the Park
$20 per private car
$10 per person travelling on foot, horseback, bikes, or non-commercial bus
Free for children under 15
At the entrance, you will get a comprehensive map of the National Park and places to visit.
Those fonts in bold are the main attraction points to visit in Yosemite National Park.
Just before the entrance, the roads start to get narrower and more winding, and there's some remains of the snow by the side of the path.
The road ends at Glacier Point and a quarter mile long paved walkway leads to one of the most spectacular viewpoints in the park. The road is closed from sometime in November through early May.
This is the half dome, which is the most recognised symbol of Yosemite Park, rising 5000 feet above the valley floor. Some people even hike or rock-climb to the top!
At the Glacier Point, embark on a 4 mile trail towards another viewpoint. Glacier Point is most famous for the view you can see from it, but the Glacier Point cliff itself is quite impressive.
Yosemite is home to countless waterfalls. The best time to see waterfalls is during spring, when most of the snowmelt occurs. Peak runoff typically occurs in May or June, with some waterfalls
Headed to the Brivdalveil Fall. It flows all year, with peak flows in May. This is often the first waterfall visitors see when entering Yosemite Valley.
Walking up to the base of the waterfall.
As its name suggest, the flow of the waterfall looks like the Bridal veil. At the base of the waterfall, there's rainbows you can spot due to the water droplets and the angle of sunshine!
Next up, El Capitan is also one of the famous rock formation. It is amongst the favourite for experienced rock climbers. It is the largest monolith of granite in the world, standing at 3000 feet above valley floor. El Capitan is opposite Bridalveil Fall and is best seen from the roads in western Yosemite Valley.
So this marks the end of the day trip and we headed down the mountain before the sun sets. The road down the mountain is winding and with a miss, the car may just topple down the mountain. There's no lights or street lamps, at most probably reflective panels, hence it would be safer to get down the mountain before the sky turns dark.
