Yosemite National Park – Road trip in the American West #11

After Sequoia National Park, we find ourselves at the gates of Yosemite National Park. In winter, the Tioga Road is closed, so we enter the park via El Portal Road.

This article is part of our series of articles on the American West road trip. If you haven’t read the previous travel diaries, here they are: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10

Part 1: Travel Journal
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Journal

Day 17 of the road trip:

Our hotel is in an area with no cell reception. Even the Wi-Fi at the hotel is paid, so we’re cut off from the internet for the 2 nights we’re here. Not having internet creates a lot of anxiety, as you feel disconnected from the world, but JB had already warned me when booking the hotel, and we took all precautions, especially for Google Maps, downloading the maps offline before coming here. It’s crucial because our phone is our only GPS. However, there’s a bus that serves Yosemite National Park and stops right in front of our hotel. That must be handy in summer!

We’re staying here for 2 nights because I thought there would be plenty to do in Yosemite National Park, but in the end, one night would have been more than enough.

A quick trip to the local supermarket lets us buy some lunch. We quickly figured out that guacamole + tortilla chips made a delicious, cheap, and easy meal. We don’t even bother making a sandwich anymore—too much work! Surprise: the supermarket has free Wi-Fi, and we receive an email we’ve been waiting for, which is great. The cashier, seeing us buy a 4L jug of water, tells us we can refill it for free later. Is that the case in all supermarkets? I don’t know! Since we left the desert, our water consumption has dropped drastically, so the 4L will last a long time.

We arrive at Yosemite National Park and at the entrance, a ranger asks if we have snow chains. The day before, the guy at Sequoia National Park had told us it might snow at Yosemite. Fortunately for us, that’s not the case—there’s just a bit of black ice on the road, but it’s sunny. Of course, being the cautious and anxious planner I am, I had read up on entry conditions, risks, routes, closed roads, weather forecasts, and park webcams, etc. I proudly answer that of course, we have our snow chains (bought back in Moab !! and I even have a YouTube video downloaded offline showing how to use them). The ranger is extremely pleased with our answer; he says he’s proud of us and that we’re much more informed than most visitors. Indeed, in winter, whether it snows or not, you must come to Yosemite with snow chains in the trunk.

The snowy roads in the park don’t interest us, so we never end up using them. In fact, unbeknownst to us, we bought them at a store that’s part of a national chain, so since they’re new, we can get a refund at another store in the same group (thanks to JB for keeping the receipt).

We quickly realize the roads are one-way. So when you miss a viewpoint, you have to go all the way around and lose 15 minutes.

Our first viewpoint is the Bridalveil Falls Viewpoint. Unfortunately, the trail to get closer is under construction. We’re so sad, but we’ll be consoled a few minutes later when we see there’s another viewpoint that’s even more satisfying.

Tunnel View is probably the best view of Yosemite. Here, you see the valley, the legendary El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls, Half Dome, a bit of leftover snow—it’s absolutely breathtaking.

I take the wheel, because I notice there’s no one on the road, and the curves will help me improve my driving. On the way to Yosemite Valley View, we have an incredible view of Bridalveil Falls…

…before seeing El Capitan up close (at El Capitan Meadow). JB says he saw a documentary on Netflix about El Capitan, where people set up in parking lots with binoculars to watch the climbers. But today, unfortunately, no one is there.

Yosemite Valley View is really pretty too. Along the way, you can see some nice beaches; it must be cool to swim there in summer.

Then Yosemite Falls Vantage Point gives us a more than satisfying view of the tallest waterfall in the United States. It has 3 parts, but from a distance, you only see 2. Unfortunately, in winter, the flow isn’t very strong, but in spring with the snowmelt, it’ll be much more impressive.

At first, I didn’t want to walk to the Lower Yosemite Fall Trailhead seeing the meager flow of the falls, but there’s nothing else to do here except hike. We miss the trailhead parking and have to drive all the way around again. I take the opportunity to loop around several times to perfect my turns; I think I know the way to Yosemite Village by heart now 😀 Anyway, we finally park and arrive at the base of the falls, and we do the loop trail to stretch our legs and get some fresh air. It’s much less cold than yesterday, but I’m still glad I brought my coat. It was really bulky when I had nice weather in Nice and Barcelona, but it’s precious now and will be even more so in Peru and Bolivia.

With the closure of the Tioga Road, unfortunately, our exploration stops there. Otherwise, we would have had to hike a bit (for example, to get closer to El Capitan).

We’re a bit disappointed, thinking there would be more viewpoints than that. But hey, Yosemite remains legendary, and JB is very tired from the long hours of driving these past few days (5-6 hours a day), so the extra night we booked will come in handy.

P.S.: There’s a part of Yosemite called Mariposa, where you can also see many sequoias. But we saw them at Sequoia National Park so we didn’t go there.

Afternoon: complete rest. I’m very happy because it allows me to finish several books and resell them later in San Francisco.

In the evening, we dine at the hotel because there’s nothing else around. The burger they serve is average, but far better than what you can get in France. Two other tourists are chatting with the waitress. This time, I’m not paying much attention to their conversation, because I find one of the men’s voice particularly unpleasant. But my radar immediately went off when I heard “bear” ! They came face to face today with two bears: a mom and a baby. Oh my, my worst nightmare! The tourists next to them, instead of turning back, had a big selfie session. The waitress, for her part, says you don’t see that many and that they were lucky (to see bears), and unlucky to be next to the Instagrammer tourists.

Here’s what to do if you encounter a bear:

Visitors who encounter a bear should keep their distance for safety and respect for themselves and the animal. If visitors see a black bear in undeveloped areas, they should remain at least 50 yards from it. If they encounter a bear in developed areas, they should stand their ground and scare the bear away by raising their arms and making very loud noises. Black bears may show dominance by bluff charging, especially when guarding food or cubs. Attacks are rare, and no one has been killed or seriously injured by a black bear in Yosemite

Visitors who encounter a bear should keep their distance for safety and respect for themselves and the animal. If visitors see a black bear in undeveloped areas, they should remain at least 50 yards from it. If they encounter a bear in developed areas developed areas, they should stand their ground and scare the bear away by raising their arms and making very loud noises. Black bears may show dominance by bluff charging, especially when guarding food or cubs. Attacks are rare, and no one has been killed or seriously injured by a black bear in Yosemite.

The rest of our trip to San Francisco is here

Part 2: Practical Tips

All our routes and points of interest are available on this Google Maps map. I’ve already explained how to use our custom maps here

• Yosemite National Park: access included in the America the Beautiful pass ($80 for a year)
• Hotel: Cedar Lodge (Booking link) : 98€/night