Category: | National Park |
Address: | California, USA |
Phone: | +1 209-372-0200 |
Site: | nps.gov |
Rating: | 4.8 |
MA
Matthew Anderson
First things first. You have cell service through most of yosemite valley and on the rims. This is a plus if you are used to other National parks. The natural beauty of this park is astonishing, the best views in the valley will be from strenuous hikes up switchbacks. Do not bring bear mace, so not store bear cannisters near cliffs, do not hang packs. It is difficult to navigate the trails with the help of the parks service as the maps they show you sometimes have different names then the actual trails. The distances are also incorrect. They gave us a map that showed our trail disappearing off of the map in multiple places. The sections of trail that were not displayed on the map were at times a couple of miles which could be disconcerting to less experienced hikers. Bring your own map or buy a more comprehensive one because the park service could possibly be not very helpful depending on who you talk to. If you are not happy with the person you talk to, I recommend you ask someone else. All back country campsites are not actually marked on the map. There is a back country site past yosemite point but it isnt marked on the trail comming from north dome. Do not use fire rings that are filled in with stones... i imagine the park service did this but possibly no? Only use existing fire rings as you could easily cause a wild fire. ONLY CAMP with a wilderness permit. I feel bad for the park service because they probably deal with a lot of city folk who have no idea what they are doing because Yosemite is a short day trip from multiple large cities.
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Aastha Awasthi
Yosemite is an experience in itself. We did not get a camping spot so we decided to cover it one day. We had booked a shuttle from Yosemite valley lodge to Glacier Point , unfortunately because of heavy snow , the shuttle got cancelled. So then we decided to hike up the 4 mile Trail till the Glacier Point and I am glad we took this decision. The entire trail is breathtaking beautiful. Though the name says 4 miles its actually 5.6 miles till Glacier Point.. Its a 5 star hiking trail so make sure you are in excellent shape when you decide to do this trail. The trail usually takes 3-4 hours to complete. Once , we reach Glacier Point we decided to walk down to the valley using the Panorama trail which is a 8.5 mile hike. And once again the trail was amazing if you want to see what nature really is. We saw Vernal Falls , Nevada Falls and then we decided to also do the Mist Trail.. The Mist trail was so amazing with Vernal falls at one end and all the mist coming to your face. We also saw double rainbow which was cherry on top. People do carry raincoats when they do this trail. Overall a thumbs up experience.
CA
Carrie Jamieson
We were there on Tuesday, 7/18/2017. There were too many people so IF you could find a place to park, the shuttles were often full. People were often waiting an hour or more to catch a shuttle to their next destination in the park. Because of the delays, we were not able to get to all of the places we wanted to see. Also, the park was not that impressive. Lower Yosemite Falls were okay and overcrowded. We hiked several miles around the valley loop trail. Again it was okay. We saw a couple of squirrels. The sights were not worth the ordeal you had to go through to see them. During the weekend prior to our visit at Yosemite, we had visited Sequoia NP. Even on the weekend, it was peaceful and not overcrowded. We watched bears for 30 min, saw deer, marmot, and other wildlife. The trees were more impressive than at Yosemite and we enjoyed the waterfall at Topokah Falls in privacy, except for the kingfisher (a bird)who was determined to photobomb all our pictures. If you can only visit one park, I recommend going to Sequoia NP instead of Yosemite.
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Susanne Schenck
Yosemite NP is just an absolutely stunning area. Here are many areas to enjoy. There is a valley surrounding you by cliffs towering over you in a majestic fashion. I suggest having a sandwich on the meadow just enjoying the view of the river flowing by with rapids and watch the mountains around you. Glacier point is an amazing point any time of the day watching the valley areas, waterfalls and mountains but extraordinary at sunset. Touloumne grove has trees the size that only truly can be awed if seen as these giant cinnamon stick looking giant sequoia trees soar towards the sky-- yes there is one tree i believe they even drove through in the past... You can hike to stunning cascading waterfalls (and thousands of other phenomenal areas), watch for wildlife in beautiful meadows or rent a bike/enjoy food in the village. A visit to this park will be an unforgettable experience. During high season though, it would help if traffic didnt get so bad. Maybe an improved shuttle system of some sort could be put in place. It
SA
sai kiran tamatam
one of the natural wonders. You can see the nature beauty with waterfalls in between the natural granite walls everywhere. one of the must do things here is trail to half dome , you will get Verna falls in between this trail, one of the beautiful scene .....tunnel view is astonishing during sun set.........stargazing from glacier point is awesome experience....people who have interest in astronomy, it is must to do...you will love it..if you can take astronomy binoculars, you will enjoy more during star gazing...DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite offers Stargazing Tours to Glacier Point, Full Moon Bike Rides in Yosemite Valley......you should definitely spend 3- 4 days minimum to get a good experience in Yosemite.... i appreciate and salute the park rangers of Yosemite for cleanly maintaining this nature beauty, guiding, coordinating, supporting the vistors with love and care... note: you should be physically fit to do the trails in yosemite....
JU
Justyn Staley
Indescribable beauty!! The road to get to the the park is about a 45 minute drive on a very narrow curvy road along side extremely steep mountains with many scenic overlooks. My recommendations: Wear good shoes with a nonskid sole (hiking shoes) as the rocks are sandy, steep, and slick. Be cautious with small children; the park is as describe, "enjoy the beautiful scenery at your own risk." Empty your bladder before going into the park. The restrooms lack sanitation in a bad way! No running water. Take hand sanitizer. Steep gradients everywhere you walk. Allergy medication is a must if you suffer from allergies. Take plenty of snacks and water. A rain poncho is highly recommended if you want to walk to the bottom of Brideveil Falls. You will get soaked! Glacier point is a must see!! You will never see anything like it anywhere else.
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Anna Bernhardt
I had heard so much hype before going to Yosemite that I figured it would never live up to the expectations-- but it did! The valley is truly breathtaking. We hiked up the Vernal Falls trail to the footbridge and relaxed around the river for a while. If you choose to do this hike, there is actually a more quiet trail on the opposite side of the river from the main one which is a nice escape from the crowds. To find the trail on the way up, go to the Happy Isles Nature center and follow the blacktop road past it, the trail will start on the left side take you over a few tributaries before you follow the main river. I visited in July in the middle of the week and was still shocked at how many people were there. Parking is a bit of a nightmare, try to get there as early as you can.
CH
Christie Echuck
My husband and I love parks and hiking and both agree that this is the most beautiful place we have ever been!! It is perfect for all ages and physical conditions! You can hike or drive through. We drove through because we did not have much time and saw 5 or 6 waterfalls on one road! It was truly breath-taking!! We camped near the river and had a great site! If you ca to make reservations; they can help you search for exactly what you want (secluded sites, most popular, near water, near bathrooms, etc.). The visitors center/ restaurant/ gift shop is great too!! Just keep in mind that some times of year are better for the fall flow than others and it is approximately 30 degrees colder once your get up the mountain!! It is a wonderful place to go: add it to the bucket list!!
LI
Lily Celino
It is easy to see that this is an amazing place, but I was extremely disappointed to see the way it is managed. There are so many people and the park rangers were very unhelpful. There are very few signs around the valley (especially for trail heads), and at the visitors center the maps were awful and the rangers drew their own highlighter paths to show us where to go that made no sense. There are also no warnings at the trails. We hiked up the mist trail to the top of verbal falls, which was super wet and crowded, and there were people carrying babies on their backs. I understand some people might want to do that, but it seemed like most did not know what they were getting into. It was very scary to see.
RO
Roy Hakala
Fantastic place, poorly run. Entry does not have separate gates for passholders vs. permit purchasers, resulting in long and slow entry lines. Incomprehensuble and overcrowded bus service that does not serve the entire park: unlike other parks, you cannot park at the entry and ride a bus to the attractions. Concessions have extraordinarily long check-out lines with inadequate numbers of cashiers, most of whom have been inadequately trained. Not enough parking, which could be alleviated by a better bus system. Poorly designed and confusing tourist literature. Erroneous trail markers. Very, very crowded. The management needs to visit other National Parks that are better run and learn from them.
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Ariel Wan
Yosemite is definitely one of the best national parks. I envy those that live in California, because I definitely need more than 3 days to explore the entire park. Driving from Tuolumne Meadows to the Yosemite Valley took a lot longer than expected, and it was only then that I realized the size of Yosemite National Park. You will have no choice but to fill up with gas inside the park (which will be expensive). For those that are coming from afar and want to camp, you will need to reserve your camping spots 6 months in advance, and if you want a spot in the park, you will have to get your browsers ready, pick your campsite ahead of time and try to reserve your spot within the first 3 minutes.
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J T
Yosemite is my absolute favorite National Park, at least out of the 19 I have visited. My recommendation is to introduce yourself to Yosemite at Tunnel View. The first time you see the Yosemite valley from that iconic spot, you will feel like a caveman seeing the valley for the very first time. From this spectacular viewpoint, directly east of the Wawona Tunnel, you can see the iconic features, El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall. What should you do there? Do some rock climbing (there are beginner/novice routes), hike Half Dome (very strenuous), hike an easy flat trail around the bottom of the valley, or part of the John Muir or Pacific Crest Trails at the top.
DE
Destiny Fitch
This park is beautiful! The trails are plentiful and in the prefect locations allowing you to see everything. My favorites are the bridges, placed over the breath taking bodies of water, along with the AMAGING waterfall, I have never seen anything so beautiful! I love how diverse Yosemite is when you look to your left you see the huge Sierra Nevada perfectly formed mountains, then you look to your right you see captivating trees that seem to have been painted in the perfect place allowing the streams and rivers to form around them. There are so many beautiful scenes to see, photograph, paint, and explore! This place is wonderful for ANY activity!
MA
Marius Gulbrandsen
Should have 5 stars for amazing nature but gets 3 for commercializing and ruining such a nice landscape with stores and trying to earn money. I am from Norway where this type of landscape is very common and it was a beautiful park. It is huge and the waterfall is amazing. Parking and camping needs a lot of planning and is not easy. If you are from Europe and used to going to a nice forrest and just camp anywhere this is VERY different. Reserve camping spots weeks in advance and start your hiking trips early if you want a parking spot, and i mean like 7 am. Otherwise beautiful place you should visit and hike up the waterfall is recommended.
DA
Dana Little
Some of the most amazing hikes I have ever done (including Kenya, Italy, France etc.). Around each corner is another beautiful spot to gaze, admire and take in. Life changing views and very calming. We went on a weekend in June with beautiful weather so it was quite busy in the touristy areas. I recommend going before 8 am as we had no issues finding parking at that time and bringing snacks and water for the whole day. We did Mist Trail to John Muir (tried for Half Dome about 6 times to no avail) and then Four Mile Trail the next day. Pretty much a full body workout, too! I recommend to everyone I meet to visit Yosemite now.