Yosemite National Park

Yosemite Valley

Sheer granite walls rise around this deep canyon, with waterfalls pouring from the rim to a flat floor of forest, meadows and the Merced River, which winds east to west. El Capitan and Half Dome are the landmark formations. Tunnel View, up the Wawona Road, frames El Capitan on the left, Bridalveil Fall on the right and Half Dome in the center. Day hikes range from short, easy walks to the base of Bridalveil Fall or around Cook's Meadow to strenuous climbs toward Vernal and Nevada Falls or up the Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point, whose views take in Half Dome and three waterfalls. Roads stay open all year, and a free shuttle reaches the Happy Isles trailheads. After dark, the meadows are good spots for stargazing, and in climbing season you can watch headlamps glowing on the cliffs.

Glacier Point

Perched 3,214 feet above Curry Village, this overlook takes in Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls and the high country. Glacier Point Road ends here, about 30 miles from the valley, and a short, paved, wheelchair-accessible trail leads from the parking area to the Glacier Point Overlook. Just to the south, Washburn Point offers similar scenery with a more direct look at Vernal and Nevada Falls. Hikers can climb up from the valley on the Four Mile Trail or the Panorama Trail. Along the road, trails reach Taft Point, with views of El Capitan, and Sentinel Dome, and the two can be joined in a loop. Cross-country skiers can follow the groomed road 10.5 miles to the point. After dark, the high elevation makes this a place for stargazing above Half Dome and the valley.

Mariposa Grove & Wawona

Mariposa Grove, the largest of the park's three giant sequoia groves, holds more than 500 mature trees. Visitors park at the Mariposa Grove Welcome Plaza near the South Entrance and ride a shuttle into the grove, where the Grizzly Giant, about 1,800 years old, stands a short walk from the lower area. For a longer hike, the Mariposa Grove Trail climbs 1,200 feet past the Bachelor and Three Graces and the Clothespin Tree to the panoramic overlook at Wawona Point. North of the grove, Wawona centers on the Wawona Hotel, which dates to the late 1800s, with the historic buildings of the Pioneer Yosemite History Center across a covered bridge. The Wawona Meadow Loop follows a fire road around the meadow, and a strenuous trail climbs past the cascades of Chilnualna Fall to its top.

Tuolumne Meadows

At about 8,600 feet, this subalpine meadow ranks among the biggest at high elevation in the Sierra Nevada. The Tuolumne River curves through its grasses, with Cathedral Peaks and glacier-shaped domes such as Lembert Dome around it. Tioga Road, the scenic route linking Crane Flat and Tioga Pass over 47 miles, passes lakes, forest and turnouts with long views. Day hikes start close by. A 1.5-mile round trip leads to Soda Springs, where carbonated water bubbles from the ground, and to the historic Parson's Memorial Lodge and its exhibits. A steep 2.8-mile round trip climbs to Dog Lake for fishing and picnicking, or branches off to the top of Lembert Dome. Backpackers pick up wilderness permits at the wilderness center. Tuolumne Meadows Campground, the park's largest, sits along the road, some sites near the river.

Tenaya Lake

Most lakes in this park lie deep in the wilderness, but this one sits right beside the Tioga Road at 8,150 feet, making it among the easiest to reach by car. Its calm water draws swimmers, and canoes and kayaks are a common sight; every boater needs a personal flotation device on hand. Two picnic areas serve visitors, one of them wheelchair accessible, and a beach sits at the edge of the shore. The lake is also a trail hub. A path heads north along Murphy Creek to Polly Dome Lakes, while the Sunrise trailhead leads south toward Sunrise Lakes and Clouds Rest. Olmsted Point, along the same road, offers a view of the lake from above. After dark, the high elevation and quiet setting make this a good place to watch the stars.

Hetch Hetchy

In the quiet northwest corner of the park, a long reservoir fills a granite valley ringed by domes and cliffs more than a thousand feet high. The 430-foot O'Shaughnessy Dam, completed in 1923, holds back the Tuolumne River and supplies drinking water to about 2.7 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area. Building it followed a bitter fight with John Muir and other preservationists. People had lived in the valley for more than 6,000 years before that, and its name comes from a Miwok word meaning edible grasses. Trails start at the dam. A 5-mile round trip with little shade leads to footbridges at the base of Wapama Falls, and a 13.4-mile route continues to Rancheria Falls. At 3,900 feet, the area has a long hiking season, with thundering waterfalls and wildflowers in spring.

White Wolf

Set at about 8,000 feet in forest north of Tioga Road, this stop between Crane Flat and Tuolumne Meadows lies roughly an hour's drive from Yosemite Valley and serves as a base for camping, day hikes and longer wilderness trips. White Wolf Campground sits about a mile off the road near White Wolf Lodge, with 74 sites for tents and small RVs, water and flush toilets, and no hookups. Sites at the back of the campground are set aside for backpackers, and the lodge offers minimal services. Across from the lodge, the Lukens Lake Trail makes a 4.6-mile round trip through forest to a small lake ringed by meadow and early-summer wildflowers, crossing the Middle Fork of the Tuolumne River. Other trailheads lead to Harden Lake, Ten Lakes, Aspen Valley and the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne.

Crane Flat

A pleasant mix of forest and meadow defines this area, where camas and western bistort bloom in the grass and bears are regularly spotted in the meadows. Two groves of giant sequoias lie close by, each with about two dozen mature trees and reachable only on foot. The Tuolumne Grove sits just east on the Tioga Road at the end of a 1-mile walk that drops 500 feet, while the Merced Grove, off the Big Oak Flat Road, takes a 1.5-mile descent. Both climbs back out are strenuous. Crane Flat Campground, at 6,200 feet along the Big Oak Flat Road, has 151 sites for tents and RVs, with a gas station nearby. In winter, marked but ungroomed ski and snowshoe routes lead to Crane Flat Lookout or around the 6.25-mile Gin Flat Loop Trail.