"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
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.
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.
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:Beautiful and magnificent scenery, a lot of waterfalls
- Cons:Crowds, mosquitoes, very hot summer days
Reviews (110)
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
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
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
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
Yosemite National Park Travel Guide
Member Travel Pages
- "The Incomparable Valley (and Park)"
- "Yosemite in a day"
- "On Becoming Part of the Food Chain: Yosemite"
- "Yosemite National Park"
- "The Glacial Beauty of Yosemite National Park"
- "Yosemite is Perhaps the Prettiest Park in the USA"
- "As Good As It Gets"
- See All...
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Travel Interests
See All Travel Interests (4)Latest Yosemite National Park hotel reviews
- Yosemite Lodge At The Falls
- 1106 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 21, 2013 - Wawona Hotel
- 547 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 21, 2013 - Housekeeping Camp
- 136 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 17, 2013 - The Ahwahnee
- 769 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 22, 2013 - Curry Village
- 748 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 21, 2013 - Yosemite Creek Campground
- 3 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Sep 6, 2011 - Yosemite West Condominiums
- 126 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jan 3, 2013 - The Redwoods In Yosemite
- 106 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Mar 28, 2013 - E. C. Yosemite Motel
- 48 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 18, 2013 - Upper Pines Campground
- 34 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 20, 2013 - Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Resort
- 207 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 7, 2013 - Hodgdon Meadow Campground
- 24 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Aug 8, 2012 - Crane Flat Campground
- 24 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jan 27, 2013 - Tuolumne Meadows Campground
- 49 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 22, 2013 - Yosemite Foresta Hilltop Cabins
- 16 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 12, 2013

National/State Park
Jungle and Rain Forest
Hiking and Walking
Comments (8)
Awesome. Sadly I'll only have limited time there but thank you for sharing your info. Cheers
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!
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!
One day I will read a book about Yosemite and for sure you will be the writer!;))))))
Top 5 Yosemite National Park... Here you come! Definately worth it!
I grew up going to Yosemite as a kid.... beautiful pictures!
Really liked your pictures of Yosemite. You really put alot of work into your page, and it's great. Greeting from Bavaria
We enjoyed your Yosemite page and tips. It is our favorite US National Park. Looks like you saw a lot of it!