Yosemite Valley – Yosemite NP – Hiking California

Tunnel View from Wawona Mountain provides the first expansive vista into spectacular Yosemite Valley driving east on Wawona Road from Oakhurst, California, into Yosemite Valley on the swing past Bridalveil Falls and east onto Southside Drive.

Yosemite Valley is an incredibly beautiful place with a flat, fertile valley floor surrounded by majestic cliffs and breathtaking waterfalls.  If it is a wilderness experience you are seeking, Yosemite Valley is NOT the place to be, although there are many trailheads originating from the valley which lead to the wilderness.  In spite of the fact Mel and I are here in mid-September, the valley routes are frantically busy with cars, bikes and motorized wheelchairs darting unpredictably into unseen locations as drivers concentrate on the spectacular surrounding landscapes.  It is a frantic place.

There is an efficient and free shuttle system with stops throughout the valley.  It is important to take the time to study and learn about Yosemite Valley prior to entry.  Mel and I do not and we pay a price for that unfortunate oversight.  After several harrowing, fragmented trips in, out and through the valley we learn the layout and gradually increase our exploration pleasure and efficiency but our lack of preparation costs us significant wasted time and footsteps.  The main route into Yosemite Valley is one-way Southside Drive.  Northside Drive travels one-way out of the Valley.

Mid-way along eastbound Southside Drive is a pullout called Swinging Bridge which accesses the non-swinging bridge unlike the swinging, Swinging Bridge at Winona.  A short trail leads to a sturdy stone bridge spanning the Merced River.  Views are spectacular.  Perhaps this was once the location of a swinging bridge and the name stuck.

The view west from Swinging Bridge in Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, USA

The view north-east from Swinging Bridge along Merced River toward Yosemite Falls.

The appearance of peace and calm is deceiving.  The area is crawling with tourists and many photographs require patiently waiting for a brief, unobstructed view.  Towards the east end of Southside Drive in Yosemite Valley loop is major parking close to Yosemite Village.  It is an excellent opportunity to park the car and tour Yosemite Village on foot.

Yosemite Village contains a collection of important and historic buildings for hosting millions of Yosemite National Park visitors annually.  The Ansel Adams Gallery features many of his images from the American Southwest.  Ansel Adams and I have travelled a lot of the same terrain and I am humbled and inspired by his famous photographs.

The Yosemite Valley Post Office - Yosemite National Park, California, USA

There are several supply, souvenir and dining establishments in Yosemite Village. Perpetually busy.

The Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Village

One of the most significant features on the north side of Yosemite Valley is the world-renowned rock climbing face of 7,569 ft (2,307 m) El Capitan.  It is a busy area where hundreds of visitors are visually fixed on the 3,000+ ft (914.4+ m) vertical rock face as they watch mere specks of climbers inching their way to the top on a five day climb.

El Capitan is a world-famous, challenging and elite rock climb on the north side of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park

El Capitan - A classic world-renowned rock climb in Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, USA

There are two plaques in Yosemite National Park which are several miles apart.  Collectively they tell the geological history of the creation of Yosemite Valley over hundreds of thousands of years.  Massive glaciers created the alluvial plain which harbors Merced River within towering granite walls.  Water from the High Sierra feeds the spectacular waterfalls year round.  The two plaques would do well shown together.

The first interpretive Plaque resides at Tunnel Viewpoint on the Winona Road approach to Yosemite Valley.

The second interpretive plaque, on the floor of Yosemite Valley, continues the interesting story of Yosemite Valley's creation

Along Northside Drive on the one-way out of Yosemite Valley there is a parking area where views of the Merced River, flowing peacefully today, are uniquely and overwhelmingly beautiful.  A few years prior, we would have been standing beneath deep flood water.

Yosemite Valley west of El Capitan at the Merced River beside Northside Drive

While Mel and I are at this spellbinding, beautiful place, a Yosemite Valley interpretive tour wagon stops.  This service, similar to the one at Mariposa Grove, provides transportation for those who need it and there is an opportunity to learn more about Yosemite National Park.

The photos in this post were collected over several days and represent a small fraction of the breathtaking sights within Yosemite Valley.  I have been told that 80% of the people who visit Yosemite National Park spend their entire visit in Yosemite Valley.  It is understandable.  There is so much to see, several weeks could easily be consumed.  It is unfortunate as well.  Several additional weeks could easily be consumed without ever entering the valley.  Some of the best is outside the Valley.

Massive Curry Village combined with Upper, Lower and North Pines Campgrounds provide more rustic accommodation at the east end of Yosemite Valley.  More luxurious accommodation, within Yosemite Valley, is available at Yosemite Lodge and the world-famous Ahwahnee.