Yosemite Travel Blog

One of the easiest, most popular walks in Yosemite is the simple stroll to the base of Lower Yosemite Falls.  If you haven’t been to the park before, this is an obvious destination for any time of year.  If you were thinking of avoiding it because it’s too easy or too crowded – or...

Valentine’s Day approaches again and our thoughts turn to romance with a special someone.   Yosemite is a marvelous place for human relationships; thousands of weddings and honeymoons happen here every year.  The landscape is uniquely grand, with Bridalveil Fall and Cathedral Spires adding to...

There’s always a lot going on in Yosemite.  It’s not like San Francisco “going on” but it keeps us locals and the bears hopping in our own way.  We had some snow over the weekend and it’s really changed the park to finally feel like winter.  Yosemite Falls in Snow For...

Once in a lifetime!  The remarkably dry winter of 2012 in the Sierra Nevada has created unheard-of experiences for Yosemite visitors.  The high-country corridor of Tioga Road is open to vehicles later in the season than it’s ever been in history, and people can access the summertime playground...

All national parks that charge an entry fee are FREE to visitors for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday weekend.  The usual entry fee is $20 per car, no matter the number of passengers; that fee is good for a week of coming and going.  Compare this with $22/person to go up the Empire State Building...

Mild and dry is Yosemite’s winter story for the past few weeks.  Tioga Road is open past record late dates, and even if there’s a return to a normal storm cycle, it’ll be a short winter.  If the road re-opens (assuming that it does eventually get snowed under) in it’s usual...

We are still waiting for any snow to arrive in the Sierra!  Tioga Pass and Glacier Point Roads remain open – a good six weeks after the usual closing dates.  Skiers and snowshoers are frustrated that they can’t get out and play here yet.  But when the big snows arrive (they will) Yosemite...

The Sierra is having a remarkably (scary) dry winter so far and Yosemite’s Tioga Road and Glacier Point Road are both still open.  These are generally buried under many feet of snow after mid-November, so to be able to drive over the  highest highway pass in California at Christmastime is a...

If you follow the forecasts you’ll see that Yosemite winter conditions can vary between cold, snowy, wet, sunny, or mild and a winter visit can often feature a mix of all of these.   To some extent you can pick your weather by elevation: stay in Mariposa or El Portal in the foothills and you’re...

Yosemite’s waterfalls offer a mellow show at this time of year.  Ice builds up overnight at the top of Ribbon Fall and Yosemite Falls, then melts away as the sun warms the cliffs.  A lucky few visitors get to watch these spectacles in peace. Fall and Winter The park was quiet today but we...