Tioga Road corridor: Yosemite National Park

Highway 120 East runs from Crane Flat up and over Tioga Pass to Mono Lake. The road is generally closed to vehicles between mid-November and late May so call ahead to make sure you can travel this way. Buried deep in snow all winter and accessed by a few backcountry skiers, Tuolumne (to all' a me) Meadows becomes a summertime hub for vacationers seeking cool temperatures, easy dayhikes for families, world-class rock climbing, and immense alpine scenery that inspires one and all.  The park has a large, forested campground here, and the concession has a rustic lodge, but otherwise, the mountain wilderness dominates everything.  Backpackers take off in all directions from Tuolumne, kids play in the gentle Tuolumne River, artists paint the peaks, fishermen await the trout, and photographers just go crazy at sunset. 
Everyone likes the open views of Tuolumne Meadows, but some people revere it as perhaps the center of the universe.  It is a place where forest, glaciers, granite and water combine with the deep history of seasonal Indian use, John Muir's summer base of operations, and some of Ansel Adams' best work to make a true mountain paradise.  On the East Side lodging or camping in or near Lee Vining is a great way to explore the park's high country or the strange Mono Lake and volcanic resort area of Mammoth Lakes.
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