We are here now, and I thought I'd share some of the details of our trip.
I knew when booking that the weather would be unpredictable, but I wanted to see the waterfalls at their peak, and April is significantly cheaper than May.
Flew from IAH to FAT through Vegas. Flights were uneventful.
FAT is a smallish airport, so we got our rental car pretty fast and were on our way to Mariposa, where our Airbnb is. We drove through Oakhurst and stopped at Southgate Brewing for lunch which we enjoyed.
Airbnb in Mariposa is great, and there are a couple of others that come highly recommended as well. If anyone is interested, I can share links.
Mariposa is a small town, but I opted to stay here so that we had some semblance of civilization. Yosemite is very remote, and while the distance from Mariposa (to the west) and Oakhurst/Wawona (to the south) isn't far, it takes about an hour either way because the roads are two-lane and very winding. Speed limit is 30-50 mph most of the way. We have now driven both routes to Yosemite - Hwy 140 and Hwy 41 - and we prefer the 140 route.
Grocery in Mariposa is no HEB, boy it had everything we needed, and surprisingly, prices were not crazy high. This is the biggest reason I opted for Mariposa. We like to cook our own food, and any options closer to the park have no access to anything more than a small convenience store.
There is a local apple farm in Mariposa that makes a great cider - Sierra Cider. We tried to go to the tasting room yesterday but they closed early. Local brewery is 1850. BF is enjoying a couple of their beers; restaurant was good food but very slow service.
Now to the park. First day in the park was April 13. So far, the weather forecast has been spot on because we were able to enjoy some good weather before rain/fog/snow set in that afternoon.
Entering the park, one of the first things you see is Bridal Veil Fall (stunning) and El Capitan. Heading in a little more, you see Upper Yosemite Fall. The power of this fall is astounding, even from far away.
We did the small "hike" around Bridal Veil Fall (you will get wet!) before heading on to the parking area at Lower Yosemite Fall. Bridal Veil fall is very powerful, and because you are so close, is a sight to behold. The sounds the water makes are also incredible. Really impressive.
Lower Yosemite Fall is great, but it's not really a "hike". Just a viewing area on a flat trail that makes a loop around a campground. Nothing really to see other than the fall, but it's about a mile walk.
The real fun is the Upper Yosemite Fall hike, which we opted to do. After about 1-5 hours hiking up about 1000 ft through a granite forest, we hit Columbia Rock with a stunning view of Half Dome. The. About 10 min past that was the "Oh My Gosh" view of the Upper Fall. This is truly amazing. We went a couple of switchbacks past the very first view and found some rocks to sit on and enjoyed an unobstructed view of the fall for about 20 min. The sound is just crazy, and the patterns the water makes as it's falling are hypnotically beautiful. We could even feel a little of the mist hitting us.
At this point, you have the option to continue to the top of the upper fall. We opted not to because we were already 1.5 hours in and the trip to the top is another 2 hours of hiking one way. We knew bad weather was coming, and we didn't want to risk it. Sure enough, had we continued on, we would have been descending in rain and snow.
After hiking back down to the trailhead, we did a driving tour of the park, just to get our bearings. We stopped at Yosemite Village and walked around a little, but there isn't much to write home about here.
We were tired at his point, so we headed out, opting to take 41 to check the status of Tunnel View. By the time we got there, the valley was almost completely filled with clouds and you could barely see Bridal Veil Fall. This is about when it started snowing.
We took 41 all the way to Oakhurst. This drive is at higher elevation than 140, so it snowed the entire way. We were also several cars behind what turned out to be a student driver car that would NOT pull over so we could pass (there are pull-overs on both routes, with lots of signs encouraging slow drivers to pull over and let other pass). So, the drive was not fun…lots of brake lights and 20 mph curves.
It continued to snow in Oakhurst as well as in Mariposa at our Airbnb. The town of Mariposa supposedly only gets 3" of snow annually. I think we got half that on Sat night/Sun morning.
We did not head back to Yosemite yesterday until after the snow stopped, and we opted to do the Mirror Lake Trail. This is a long hike, but easy because it's relatively flat. I highly recommend you do the entire loop, as the scenery on each side is COMPLETELY different. It was chilly and it misted almost the entire hike. Views of Half Dome from Mirror Lake were obstructed by clouds, but it was still a lovely, moody hike. The weather sort of added to the ambience.
Headed back today to do Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall. As of yesterday, the Mist Trail was open to Nevada Fall and free of snow.
So far, the crowds have been very light. None of the trails have been crowded, and at times, we've been hiking in solitude. Only places where we see a lot of people gathered together are the campgrounds and villages (for obvious reasons).
Weather has been better than I expected and should be great today.
Tuesday we will visit Mariposa Grove before headed back to Fresno for an early flight Wed morning. I'll update our experiences today and tomorrow.
Can share pics, if anyone is interested.
I knew when booking that the weather would be unpredictable, but I wanted to see the waterfalls at their peak, and April is significantly cheaper than May.
Flew from IAH to FAT through Vegas. Flights were uneventful.
FAT is a smallish airport, so we got our rental car pretty fast and were on our way to Mariposa, where our Airbnb is. We drove through Oakhurst and stopped at Southgate Brewing for lunch which we enjoyed.
Airbnb in Mariposa is great, and there are a couple of others that come highly recommended as well. If anyone is interested, I can share links.
Mariposa is a small town, but I opted to stay here so that we had some semblance of civilization. Yosemite is very remote, and while the distance from Mariposa (to the west) and Oakhurst/Wawona (to the south) isn't far, it takes about an hour either way because the roads are two-lane and very winding. Speed limit is 30-50 mph most of the way. We have now driven both routes to Yosemite - Hwy 140 and Hwy 41 - and we prefer the 140 route.
Grocery in Mariposa is no HEB, boy it had everything we needed, and surprisingly, prices were not crazy high. This is the biggest reason I opted for Mariposa. We like to cook our own food, and any options closer to the park have no access to anything more than a small convenience store.
There is a local apple farm in Mariposa that makes a great cider - Sierra Cider. We tried to go to the tasting room yesterday but they closed early. Local brewery is 1850. BF is enjoying a couple of their beers; restaurant was good food but very slow service.
Now to the park. First day in the park was April 13. So far, the weather forecast has been spot on because we were able to enjoy some good weather before rain/fog/snow set in that afternoon.
Entering the park, one of the first things you see is Bridal Veil Fall (stunning) and El Capitan. Heading in a little more, you see Upper Yosemite Fall. The power of this fall is astounding, even from far away.
We did the small "hike" around Bridal Veil Fall (you will get wet!) before heading on to the parking area at Lower Yosemite Fall. Bridal Veil fall is very powerful, and because you are so close, is a sight to behold. The sounds the water makes are also incredible. Really impressive.
Lower Yosemite Fall is great, but it's not really a "hike". Just a viewing area on a flat trail that makes a loop around a campground. Nothing really to see other than the fall, but it's about a mile walk.
The real fun is the Upper Yosemite Fall hike, which we opted to do. After about 1-5 hours hiking up about 1000 ft through a granite forest, we hit Columbia Rock with a stunning view of Half Dome. The. About 10 min past that was the "Oh My Gosh" view of the Upper Fall. This is truly amazing. We went a couple of switchbacks past the very first view and found some rocks to sit on and enjoyed an unobstructed view of the fall for about 20 min. The sound is just crazy, and the patterns the water makes as it's falling are hypnotically beautiful. We could even feel a little of the mist hitting us.
At this point, you have the option to continue to the top of the upper fall. We opted not to because we were already 1.5 hours in and the trip to the top is another 2 hours of hiking one way. We knew bad weather was coming, and we didn't want to risk it. Sure enough, had we continued on, we would have been descending in rain and snow.
After hiking back down to the trailhead, we did a driving tour of the park, just to get our bearings. We stopped at Yosemite Village and walked around a little, but there isn't much to write home about here.
We were tired at his point, so we headed out, opting to take 41 to check the status of Tunnel View. By the time we got there, the valley was almost completely filled with clouds and you could barely see Bridal Veil Fall. This is about when it started snowing.
We took 41 all the way to Oakhurst. This drive is at higher elevation than 140, so it snowed the entire way. We were also several cars behind what turned out to be a student driver car that would NOT pull over so we could pass (there are pull-overs on both routes, with lots of signs encouraging slow drivers to pull over and let other pass). So, the drive was not fun…lots of brake lights and 20 mph curves.
It continued to snow in Oakhurst as well as in Mariposa at our Airbnb. The town of Mariposa supposedly only gets 3" of snow annually. I think we got half that on Sat night/Sun morning.
We did not head back to Yosemite yesterday until after the snow stopped, and we opted to do the Mirror Lake Trail. This is a long hike, but easy because it's relatively flat. I highly recommend you do the entire loop, as the scenery on each side is COMPLETELY different. It was chilly and it misted almost the entire hike. Views of Half Dome from Mirror Lake were obstructed by clouds, but it was still a lovely, moody hike. The weather sort of added to the ambience.
Headed back today to do Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall. As of yesterday, the Mist Trail was open to Nevada Fall and free of snow.
So far, the crowds have been very light. None of the trails have been crowded, and at times, we've been hiking in solitude. Only places where we see a lot of people gathered together are the campgrounds and villages (for obvious reasons).
Weather has been better than I expected and should be great today.
Tuesday we will visit Mariposa Grove before headed back to Fresno for an early flight Wed morning. I'll update our experiences today and tomorrow.
Can share pics, if anyone is interested.