Co-Author: Kankana Debnath
We always wanted to visit the National Parks in the United States. Every picture and video of these parks are so amazing, that there is no other option but to add them to the Bucket List.
Yosemite National Park is the first National Park that we visited in USA which happens to be Central of the Development of National Park Idea in the US. It is amongst the oldest designated National Parks of USA and is situated around the Yosemite Valley. It has Water Falls, Granite Cliffs, Clear Water Streams, Giant Sequoia Trees etc. just to name a few.
The park is massive and is worth spending a few days to enjoy everything in the park. There are Camping Sites available in the Park. There are also a few Hotels/Lodges/Cottages available in the Park if you are planning to stay there.
However, we did a Day Trip from San Francisco and got to spend just 3-4 hours in the Park and that was enough to mesmerize us with the Beauty of the Park.
In this Travel Guide, we will give an overview of the Trip and will also highlight the Key places to see in the Park.
There are Day Trips available from San Francisco. The Trip begins at around 7 in the morning and you will return to the city at around 8 in the evening. The journey is long, but the views enroute are awesome and gets even better as it travels through the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Most of these trips include an hour of guided Tour around the valley and takes you to some viewpoints where you get majestic views of the Valley. It then drops you near the Visitor Parking and then you have 3 Hours to spend on your own in the Valley.
The best way to visit places in the Valley would be to use the Shuttle Service within the Park. It is free of charge and takes you to all important viewpoints, stores and camp sites in the valleys and you can board them from the Visitor Parking.
Below are some of the major viewpoints that you can visit in the Valley:
Lower Yosemite Falls: The Shuttle Service takes you to the Trail Head for Lower Yosemite Falls and it’s about 10 minutes’ walk to the Falls. We travelled in Winter, so the Water in the Falls was less and still it was beautiful. In Spring, the view would be grander.
Yosemite Village: This is a Camp Site and also you can see the El Capitan and Other Mountains around the valley.
Mirror Lake: We missed visiting the place because of snow, but from the pictures, I can say this is a must visit when possible. The Shuttle Bus takes you to the Trail Head and you would need to walk down there which is about 3 miles and takes about an hour or slightly more based on your speed.
El Capitan: The Day Trip Guided Tour takes you Close to the El Capitan, the 914 Meter giant Monolith and one of the most prominent Feature of the Valley.
If you don’t want to take the Day Trips, and don’t want to drive, there are Grey Hound Bus Services to Yosemite from San Francisco as well, and the fares are around 25 USD. It starts from San Francisco in the morning and drop you in Yosemite in the evening. If you are planning to stay in Yosemite for a few days, this could be a good option. There are plenty of trails throughout the park and if you are staying in the Valley for a few days, you can try some of these.
Yosemite National Park is amazing in every aspect. The Best time to visit is Spring, but the park is worth a visit throughout the year.
