"The Incomparable Valley (and Park)" Top 5 Page for this destination Yosemite National Park by chewy3326

Yosemite National Park Travel Guide: 1,492 reviews and 3,394 photos

Half Dome - Yosemite National Park
Half Dome

Yosemite is one of the most lauded natural areas in the United States, and for a good reason. It's granite walls, lakes, thousand-foot waterfalls, domes, spires, meadows, and giant trees definitely make up one of America's most beautiful national parks. John Muir called Yosemite Valley the "Incomparable Valley"; I couldn't agree more.

The winter of 2005-2006 brought the sixth-wettest snowpack in history of the Sierra Nevada and Yosemite National Park. Originally, I had planned on spending 9 days in the park (1 day in Wawona, 3 days in Yosemite Valley, a day in Hetch Hetchy and 4 days in Tuolumne Meadows), but the late opening of Tioga Road (June 17) forced us to only spend a day at Tuolumne Meadows.

Sequoias, canyons, and the High Sierra
Mt. Dana and Mt. Gibbs - Yosemite National Park

Mt. Dana and Mt. Gibbs

This is a very diverse and easily accessible park, which makes the park very crowded. Giant weekend crowds and traffic jams can be a headache, but mosquitoes that outnumber the crowds by a few million times become a bigger headache on weekdays.

The park can be split into five basic sections: Wawona/Mariposa Grove, Glacier Point, Yosemite Valley, Hetch Hetchy, and Tioga Road/Tuolumne Meadows. Most visitors head straight to Yosemite Valley, the most famous part of the park; but you can find some solitude around Tuolumne Meadows and Hetch Hetchy.

Yosemite Falls - Yosemite National Park

Yosemite Falls

No matter how much time you don't have to visit this park, if you're going to visit Yosemite, please spend more than a day. Not only will you enjoy the park more, you'll give Yosemite the respect it deserves.

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:Beautiful and magnificent scenery, a lot of waterfalls
  • Cons:Crowds, mosquitoes, very hot summer days
  • Last visit to Yosemite National Park: Jun 2006
  • Intro Written Jun 29, 2006
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Reviews (110)

Wonder how much they packed? - Yosemite National Park Pack everything What to Pack (1)

You will definitely need hiking shoes, which are a necessity on the park's 800+ miles of trails. You may want to bring... more travel advice

Mt. Dana and Mt. Gibbs - Yosemite National Park Tuolumne River viewpoints Things to Do (88)

Between Tuolumne Meadows and Dana Meadows, there are two very nice spots either near or above the Dana Fork Tuolumne... more travel advice

View from food court - Yosemite National Park Overpriced Restaurants (3)

The Yosemite Lodge Food Court is at the Yosemite Lodge at the falls. The food here isn't very good, and is overpriced;... more travel advice

Firefall painting at Curry Village - Yosemite National Park Pizza and more Restaurants (3)

I've heard that the pizza at Degnan's (at Yosemite Village) is better than Curry Village, but I didn't bother taking a... more travel advice

Comments (8)

  • Reply
    iandsmith's Profile Photo
    Feb 4, 2011 at 11:20 PM

    Awesome. Sadly I'll only have limited time there but thank you for sharing your info. Cheers

  • Reply
    Jerelis's Profile Photo
    Oct 2, 2006 at 4:42 AM

    Amazing site about Yosemite. Very beautiful! Pretty weird to see water running at Yosemite Falls, as we were there when it was all dried out!

  • Reply
    goingsolo's Profile Photo
    Sep 24, 2006 at 2:44 PM

    Sounds like you really got to see the park. I envy you having the time to do it and wish I could have spent more time here. Hoping to return someday!

  • Reply
    RafaelTheSecond's Profile Photo
    Sep 4, 2006 at 6:16 AM

    One day I will read a book about Yosemite and for sure you will be the writer!;))))))

  • Reply
    Shihar's Profile Photo
    Aug 23, 2006 at 4:02 AM

    Top 5 Yosemite National Park... Here you come! Definately worth it!

  • Reply
    ATXtraveler's Profile Photo
    Aug 20, 2006 at 2:47 PM

    I grew up going to Yosemite as a kid.... beautiful pictures!

  • Reply
    weed6886's Profile Photo
    Jul 3, 2006 at 12:10 PM

    Really liked your pictures of Yosemite. You really put alot of work into your page, and it's great. Greeting from Bavaria

  • Reply
    mikelisaanna's Profile Photo
    Jul 1, 2006 at 12:44 PM

    We enjoyed your Yosemite page and tips. It is our favorite US National Park. Looks like you saw a lot of it!

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