Re: Kennedy Meadows

all the times i've been to Yosemite, i've yet to go to Kennedy Meadows... is it still open this time of year?

i'll be coming in from Hwy 120... do i enter the park and then turn left where the gas station is at Crane Flat?

and is the gas station open now?

and is the road to Glacier Point still open?

thanks for any help



Post Edited (10-25-07 16:39)

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Like I always say, "if you can't laugh at yourself, let me do it".

My Yosemite Blog: http://yosemiteforrest.blogspot.com/

120 is open and Glacier Point Road is open. I suspect they will be open for a couple of weeks yet. There is no overnight parking though.

The color in the valley was pretty good yesterday, Tuesday, and the falling leaves on the Merced river made for some good shots.

I'm not sure where in Yosemite Kennedy Meadows is. I know of a Kennedy Meadows off off 108 just east of the Sonora Pass though.



Post Edited (10-25-07 19:13)

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Old Dude

maybe that's what i'm thinking of.... i thought it was a part of Yosemite though.

It sounds like you are talking about Tuolumne Meadows rather than Kennedy Meadows. Both Kennedy Meadows, the one up north and the one down south are outside of Yosemite National Park.

And yes, if you want to go to TUOLUMNE MEADOWS you would turn left at the gas station, coming on 120 from the west. The gas station was in repairs recently. Maybe someone has more recent information about it.

thanks for the correction :-)

is it worth the drive up there if i'm only going to stay a few hours? can you see Half Dome from there?

The gas station is closed and will be for quite a while.

Coming from the west you can see Half Dome at a distance from a turnout called Portal View on 120 as you head down into the valley. This will be after the point where 120 goes left at the gas staton and heads up to Tuolumne Meadows. Once you are in the valley you can see all the hot sights.

If you choose to turn left at Crane Flat and continue on 120 toward Tuolumne Meadows you will get a great view of Half Dome and Clouds Rest from the Olmsted Point lookout.

If you choose to go into the valley then after you have made the loop there you can go on up to Glacier Point stopping at Washburn Point which is very near the end of the road to Glacier Point proper. Continue on to the parking lot at Glacier point and walk out to the point itself and you will have a pretty close look at Half Dome. Vernal and Nevada Falls still have some water going over. Yosemite Falls is dry. Bridalveil also has a little water going over.

There is some road work going on in the valley and you have to pay attention to the signs directing you towards highway 41 and Wawona. The Glacier point turnoff is about five miles after the Tunnel View turnout. You should stop there for a photo op.

If it were me I would go to Glacier Point via the valley loop if you are coming from the west. If you get to the valley floor by 2PM you should have time to do the loop and get to Glacier Point while the sun is still up. The moon will probably be coming up around sunset or so.

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Old Dude

Yes, it's definitely worth going to TM, even if you're only going to stay a few hours.

As Mike says, the view of Half Dome from Olmsted Point is great. However, if you're expecting the typical view you could be disappointed...you don't get the familiar Half Dome shape.

sierranomad wrote:

> As Mike says, the view of Half Dome from Olmsted Point is
> great. However, if you're expecting the typical view you could
> be disappointed...you don't get the familiar Half Dome shape.



http://www.spinics.net/f/yosemite7-125JPG.html

Nice shot, eeek! What power telephoto did you use?

sierranomad wrote:

> What power telephoto did you use?

Telephoto? I don't have one for that camera.

eeek wrote:


> Telephoto? I don't have one for that camera.
>

Really?!! I could have sworn that was a telephoto shot.

I don't remember for sure but it's most likely taken with my 90 mm lens:

http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CL2901/