Re: Hiking Advice Please!!

I will be camping at yosemite in next week and was looking for some advice for the best hiking trails near our campgrounds. Easy to Moderate hikes with waterfalls/lakes/vistas/scenery (something to reward you at the end!). We would like to do one hike in each area:

Tuolumne Meadows
Crane Flats
Upper Pines

Thanks!

Jaci

Tuolumne Meadows: Cathedral Lakes, Lembert Dome

Crane Flat: Tuolumne Grove

Upper Pines: Mist Trail

Jaci,

These suggestions are all no more than moderate as day hikes but it will be hot so each person should carry no less than two liters of water. It would be best to bring a water filter along also.

In no particular order as to length or difficulty:

From Tuolumne Meadows;
>Dog Lake - Hike in, lunch, hike out (applies to most all of these hikes)
>Lyell Canyon - hike as far in as you want then lunch
>Elizabeth Lake
>Down the Tuolumne River toward Glen Aulin

Lyell Canyon and the trip toward Glen Aulin you shouldn't miss.


From Crane Flat;
>Down "Old Big Oak Flat Road" to the Tuolumne Grove big trees
>Merced Grove big trees
>Drive up 120 to Tamarack Flat campground and then hike down the old roadbed towards Cascade Creek. This is the old road that used to take one to the valley floor. You can hike this roadbed all the way down to the floor.

Upper Pines;
>Vernal Fall
>Top of Yosemite Falls
>Park at Wawona Tunnel and go up to Inspiration Point and beyond towards Dewey Point
>Bus to Glacier Point and hike down the Four Mile Trail. Or the other way round if you are up to it.



Post Edited (07-21-08 15:11)

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Old Dude

The use trail around Pothole Dome is nice too.

For Easy to Moderate:

Crane Flat: Tuolumne Grove
Tuolumne: Glen Aulin & Pothole Dome
Upper Pines: Mist Trail to Emerald Pool & Bridalveil Falls

If you have never been .. then these are must IMO... Spectacular.
Mirror Meadow used to be a Lake (swam in it the very first time ever
went to Yosemite)... You should hike to it also and see it...

Also, if you have never been then you HAVE to go to Glacier Point.
And then I would highly recommend doing Taft Pt. and Sentiel Dome.

Tuolomne - Cathedral Peak & lakes - 7 miles round trip. Elevation gain-900'

Upper Pines - Take coach(fare) from Yosemite Lodge to Glacier Point. Take the Panorama Trail over to top of Nevada Falls and then back down the Mist Trail to Happy Isles and back to Upper Pines. 9 miles. Elevation gain from Illilouette Creek to Nevada Falls - 2000' max. Great views of falls, Half Dome, Tenaya Canyon.

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Bob Nicholas

To all of this I would add the Gaylor and Granite Lakes from Tioga Pass. Extravagantly splendid scenery second to none, and after a brief strenuous uphill, moderate walking afterward. About 5 mi. RT.

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Wilderness forever,
Bruce Jensen