family travel

After a week in the crowded concrete jungle of Southern California, a few days in beautiful Yosemite with its giant sequoias and grand granite cliffs was perfect.  We drove from Anaheim to Bass Lake in about 5 hours with a stop at In and Out Burger in Fresno for some tasty lunch.  Bass Lake is about 15 minutes outside the south entrance of Yosemite National Park.  As Worldmark timeshare owners, we chose to stay at the Worldmark Bass Lake Resort, but if we didn’t have that option we would have stayed at either the Pines Resort on Bass Lake or Tenaya Lodge in Fish Camp, which is just outside the Yosemite south entrance.  Surrounding the south end of Yosemite National Park is the Sierra National Forest, and there are many beautiful sights, drives and hikes to choose from.

A few of the south end sights worth visiting are:

• Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad – in Fish Camp right off Hwy 41.  Here you can ride an old steam train, visit their museum with model trains, try your hand at gold planning and grab some lunch.
• Nelder Grove of Giant Sequoias – the turn off on Hwy 41 is only a mile north of Bass Lake, but the grove is about 7 miles down the road, plus a mile down a groomed dirt road.  If the famous Mariposa Grove north of here in Yosemite is too crowded or closed (as it was closed for restoration when we were there), the smaller and much more secluded Nelder Grove is a good alternative.  Located in the Sierra National Forest, this grove features about a dozen giant sequoias located along a network of several miles of trails.  The oldest and grandest of these is Bull Buck, estimated to be about 2,750 years old and 84 feet in circumference at the bottom.  It is worth the short hike to see.
• The historic Golden Chain Theatre on the north end of Oakhurst would be worth taking in a musical or dramatic performance.

Entering the park through the south entrance, you stop at the ranger station to either pay your entrance fee or show your pass or receipt.  If visiting the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, your turnoff will be just up the road on the right.  Heading north on Hwy 41, you will come across the tiny town of Wawona and the Pioneer Yosemite History Center.  The history center is a free, large open air museum with many old cabins, buildings and corrals, along with a very cool covered wooden bridge.  You can see how the pioneers lived, sit on the shore of Big Creek which runs under the bridge, and sit on a porch of one of the 100+ year old houses.  For hikes around the Wawona area, including Chilnualna Falls, click here.

The road to Yosemite Valley is windy, curvy and narrow at times with steep pitches on each side (and no guard rails).   Deer and other wildlife may cross at any point so drive with caution.  One of the best and most famous panoramas in the valley is immediately after you come through a long tunnel on Hwy 41.  When you exit the tunnel you will see a parking lot to the left that is tiny and most likely full.  Go 100 feet farther to a second parking lot on the right which has much more parking (but is still small).  This area is known as Tunnel View and includes El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridalveil Fall, and Clouds Rest.

Continuing down the road from here will be a turnoff for Bridalveil Fall where there is an easy, paved 1/4 mile path that leads to the base of the fall.  We were here in April and everyone who came close to the base returned soaked!  All the falls are at their fullest in Spring, so take caution with your camera on this walk.

Driving further through the valley are many small roads that lead to campgrounds, banks of the Merced River and other lovely vistas.  We stopped at Cathedral Beach along the Merced River and enjoyed a picnic of cheese, crackers, sandwiches and drinks we had assembled at our condo.  The river bank here is made of small rocks and the river flows smoothly making it a perfect spot for skipping rocks.

It is worth taking the time to stop by the Yosemite Valley Visitors Center and Bookstore, especially if you have kids that want to participate in the Junior Ranger Program.  The Little Cub/Junior Ranger Program is for kids ages 3-13 and is an educational workbook they can do while in the park.  For the Junior Rangers, they need to participate in a Ranger Program to become an official Junior Ranger, which allows them to receive a Yosemite Park patch and a very cool wooden pin.  In order to participate you need to purchase the workbook at the bookstore for $3.50.  They also offer a free option where you can earn the wood pin by filling out a worksheet and participating in a Ranger Program.  If you only have one day in the valley, the free worksheet might be the way to go.  Yosemite patches are sold at many souvenir stores, so you can always purchase one along the way.

There are too many great hikes and things to do and see in Yosemite Valley than can reasonably fit into one blog post.  Visit the National Park Service website for Yosemite for update information including Yosemite Valley hikes and much more.