Yosemite – a 7 Day Plan

Before I outline a plan, there are few more cool things to do inside the Park.

I HIGHLY recommend the bus tour of the valley – it is informative and has great picture taking opportunities.  You can have a really dry driver, so make sure you are really sober, or you might decide napping is the better option.  Just saying 🙂

FYI – you can ride the bus all over the valley for free.  This free service is NOT the same as the bus tour.  There is a fee for the tour, but it really is worth it in my opinion.

Some other fun things to do while you are there:

• Star gazing in the middle of the meadow by the Lodge.  There is a foot trail through the middle of the meadow. Take flashlights!!!!  We like to get right over where the frogs are the loudest, lay down and just take a few minutes to listen to the frogs and look at the gazillion stars in the sky.  The later you go the less lights you’ll see from cars and buses.
• Sunsets are simply amazing so check one out at Glacier Point (summer and fall) if you can – seriously that is the very best.  But another great spot is Sentinel Bridge – there is a bus stop right there, and you can watch half dome turn from pink to orange to red.  It is a super popular spot.  There is another spot by I think parking lot B where we actually saw bats – beautiful view and not many people know about it.  If you want more info on this one, let me know cause I need to ask Brad – a local told us about it, so you might be able to just ask – there is a little lake there.
• Look for climbers – you can see climbers going up El Capitan during the day.  You’ll need binoculars or we use Brad’s super high powered zoom lenses on his fancy camera.  It is freaky watching them go.  We once saw some guys (I assume they were boys) who had set up camp on the side of half dome and were flashing their flashlights at night.  It’s cooler than that sounds when you think about what a camp suspended on a sheer surface must be like.

THE PLAN:

There is plenty to do here for a month or more, but if I only had 7 days, this would be my plan.  . .

• Day 1 (Big Hike)- Mist Trail up to Vernal and then Nevada Falls coming back down John Muir (pack a lunch)
• Day 2 (Medium Hike) – Chilunua Falls and Mariposa (pack a lunch because there aren’t many spots to eat)
• Day 3 (Big Hike) – Glacier Point, Taft Point, and Sentinel Dome (sunset) (pack a lunch)
• Day 4 – (Easy Hikes) Bus tour, Happy Isles, Mirror Lake
• Day 5 – (Big Hike with an Easy one) Inspiration Point and probably Bridal Veil (you have to drive to it anyway and couple of times we just did this on the way out) – I like to have lunch at Inspiration Point.  It’s gives you the perfect excuse to linger.
• Day 6 – (Big Hike) Lower and Middle Yosemite Falls
• Day 7 – Souveneir shopping and museum

Sunsets are fit in where you can, as are climbers.  There is even more than these to do, but if you hit most of these you will see some of the best that Yosemite has to offer.

EATING:

We don’t cook when we are there, so I think it is good to know where to get food.  To cook, you need to camp and worry about bear lockers and such.  And you have to cook and clean.  No thank you.  I’m pooped after a day of hiking and want warm food and preferably some wine.

There is a pretty decent pizza place over at Curry Village,  and the buffet next door is OK.  I like the beer and wine even better.  We like the food well enough at the Lodge as well.  They have different stations you can visit, so it’s a little like a food court.  When we stay at the Lodge, we eat there A LOT.

For nicer meals, you can hit the Majestic Yosemite Hotel (used to be Ahwanee).   You need reservations and collared shirt for dinner (fancy), but the bar is also good and not fancy.  There is a nice restaurant (but not quite as fancy) by the Lodge.  If you are lucky you can get a table with a view of Yosemite Falls.  Be there when the doors open or get a reservation.

For lunches to go, and really good food any time, I recommend Degnan’s Deli.  They are pretty famous for their sandwiches.

These are all spots you can get to on the buses.

Have a GREAT time!  And please let me know about your adventures!