sanfranbound

Please advise on my following itinerary: traveling with children aging 10 8 and 3. They love to hike traveling later aug.

Leave San Fran EARLY: travel to Yosemite via 120 or 140???? Hubby and children want to see sequoias so we were advised to stop in Merced grove on way in and have lunch. Is this ok and where to stop and eat??

Travel into park and make our way into Tuolumne meadows area. We would like to spend the rest of the day enjoying the sights here. Any suggestions on hikes or must see?We need views and water if possible.

We would then head to Tuolumne meadows lodge for dinner and staying in tent cabins.

Second day would head over to Yosemite lodge area ( valley) and spend the day seeing the well known attractions. My plan was to catch a glacier point tour bus up and then hike 4 mile hike down??

We would then return via 120

Please advise if this is how your itinerary would look and fill in details for me.

janisj

That is a LOT of long car time. Now, If you said a one night trip to Yosemite Valley and back . . very doable though a bit rushed.

But SF to Toulomne Meadows is a 5+ hour drive w/o the stops. So w/ your stops and lunch you are talking a really LOOOOOONG day.

Then from the Meadows into Yosemite Village is 1.5-2 hours plus another 4.5 hour drive back to SF. Your kids will be seeing most of your route from the back seat of the car.

sanfranbound

Thanks for that reply. The car time is long but we are east coasters so we will probably be out the door by 7 am leaving us the whole afternoon and evening to explore the meadows hopefully. Merced grove may be too ambitious based on the time you gave to arrive to the meadows.
The car ride back will be later evening so they will be pooped and relaxed for long drive home. I'm thinking there is plenty of time to explore and work our muscles in the time we are allotted?? I hoping to get some advice on my flow and itinerary in those regions. We will be happy to see views and get at least one good hike in each day!! All replies and advice welcome thank you

sanfranbound

We will be there 2 days and one night!

janisj

>>We will be there 2 days and one night!

J62

I would skip glacier point and 4mile hike. For most of the hike it's not very scenic, and the views you do have tend to be similar - you are facing Yosemite falls, which will be totally, or nearly dry.

You are much better off spending the time IN the valley, doing several short hikes near El Capitan, Bridal Veil, Lower Yosemite falls. And if you you want a longer hike, do head up towards the Mist trail or John Muir Trail.

In my opinion the best hike of all is the Panorama trail down from Glacier point but that is a very rigorous full day hike.

If you have never been to Yosemite then I recommend that with your limited time you spend it a) in the Valley, then b) at the Mariposa grove of giant Sequoias (<1/2 day at the latter).

utahtea

I agree with janisj & J62 that's a lot of slow mountain driving that you will be doing on both days and it's really going to eat up your time. You never know when you'll get stuck behind a very slow moving motorhome that will make the time in the vehicle even longer! For much of that time you are driving though thick forest so you don't have much views other than trees.

I agree that one night in Yosemite Valley would be the better choice and do either the Tuolumne Grove or Merced Grove to see the giant sequoias. Do the hike to Vernal Falls, Yosemite Falls, Mirror Lake, Bridal Vail Falls and explore Happy Isles. Enjoy walking around the valley. The valley is where the most concentrated scenic area is! Even if the falls aren't running very well it's still a beautiful area. You can rent bikes and ride the 20+ miles of bike trails.

I've never did the hike down from Glacier Point but have driven up there and that's even more time in a vehicle that could be better spend ENJOYING the park.

Just for the different views I'd go in on 140 and exit on 120 or visa versa.

Utahtea

mlgb

I would Not skip the view from Glacier point but would skip the hike.

aprillilacs

Be aware that the beautiful Mariposa Grove is going to be closed from May 2015 to November 2016. So don't include that in your plans.

Shar

ouch the Grove is closed? Reseeding? What is gong on there

janisj

They are removing the gift shop and the tram station -- trying to return it to 'natural'

sanfranbound

Ok soooo we changed our reservation to Yosemite lodge. We will do the valley. We need a flow now.

Should we do Yosemite valley guided tour or just figure it out when we go.

Is the junior ranger program good

Which grove would you go to see sequoias since mariposa is closed? Would you do that on drive in?

janisj

>>Is the junior ranger program good>Should we do Yosemite valley guided tour or just figure it out when we go. >Which grove would you go to see sequoias since mariposa is closed?

sludick

Since the Grove is closed, an alternative is to go to Muir Woods (coastal redwoods but for your purposes may be interchangeable. It's not too far out of SF, good for a half day trip. Get there early if you can, so you can enjoy the park before it is too crowded.

Not sure how much time you have, and that is the closest/quickest that comes to mind.

basingstoke2

sanfranbound - we did a one day trip from Oakland to Yosemite about 5 years ago. We had an approach different from yours but got to spend a full day plus seeing the park and Nelder grove which should meet your need for tall trees. Following is a lengthy trip report of the Yosemite part of our trip. Perhaps you will find it useful.

Getting an early start from Oakland and ignoring Fodorite suggestions, we left for Oakhurst, a town utterly without charm, located not far from the Park’s South Entrance. Fodorites suggested that we skip Oakhurst and either stay in the Park – but there were no rooms available- or stay in a town with more charm, like Mariposa. We chose Oakhurst because we wanted to see Nelder Grove in the National Forest near the South Entrance. The drive from Oakland to Oakhurst took about 3 hours and does not get scenic until past Merced. What Oakhurst lacks in charm, it makes up for in convenience. There are lots of well priced motels, fairly decent restaurants, a huge Raley’s supermarket where we were able to stock up on picnic goods, and the usual chains found in strip malls. We stayed at the Shilo Inn – a place that I would highly recommend. At a price of about $70 [fall 2009] it was the lodging bargain of the trip. Our room was huge – I’ve stayed in so called suites that were smaller, well furnished and spotlessly clean. Shilo Inn offers free coffee and tea in the lobby 24/7, has a friendly staff, a small pool, sauna and work-out room. It is a scenic 20 minute or so drive to the Park’s South Entrance. It also has free wi-fi. The included breakfast was excellent – the best of the trip.

Since we arrived about noon, we had the afternoon to hike the Shadow of the Giants trail in Nelder Grove and visit the Mariposa Grove located in Yosemite near the South Entrance. The drive from Oakhurst to Nelder Grove and then on to Yosemite is a scenic one. Although Nelder Grove doesn’t have as many spectacular Sequoias as Mariposa, we were the only ones there and the feeling one gets being alone among the giant trees is moving and very different from the Yosemite experience.After a great breakfast at the Shilo Inn, we had an early start heading back to "do" Yosemite. Our agenda was to begin with Sentinel Dome and then Glacier Point since they are on the same road. We started early because we knew the road to those 2 sites had construction delays of up to half an hour and we wanted not only to beat the asphalt trucks but the crowds as well. Our Senior pass proved its worth again and the Ranger at the gate said that he hadn't seen any trucks yet so off we went. It turned out that trucks are not necessary for construction and we had a 23 minute delay until the road opened and we followed a pilot truck for a few miles. Since Sentinel Dome comes first, we pulled into an almost empty parking lot. The sign said it was 1.1 miles from the trailhead. Only about a mile? That is not bad so with resolve to pull my old bones over that short distance, off we went. It was a sunny, crisp day. I was comforted that we were with DD, a newly cum laude graduated RN who had fresh knowledge of CPR should it be necessary.

Now, I really didn't do my homework and did not know what Sentinel Dome looks like from a distance. I had only seen pictures from up on top and knew that when I saw the "Jeffrey Tree" we would be there. So, when we saw the Dome off in the distance, we did not believe that could be the place, since it looked like the kind of climb where you need ropes and pitons and such to get up.

The trail began pretty easily but it soon became clear that it was a good thing that the scenery put me on an adrenaline high. The views on the way to the Dome were magnificent and that kept our motivation up. The footing though was difficult in parts and I was amazed that DW was doing well in her Wolky sandals that is her standard touring gear. After about an hour or so which seemed right for a mile considering the trail, we came to a wide clearing with trail signs and a dead fallen tree. THE SIGN! This must be the Jeffrey Tree. As we were taking celebratory photos, some other hikers – it turned out they were older than us too- came by and gently let us know that we weren’t there yet. Yes, it was that big round dome, still off in the distance that looked impossible to climb. Our new friends who were doing a day hike of the entire area let us know that we did not have to climb what looked to be a shear face of rock, but that the trail curls around the back and although quite steep and with difficult footing, is far more kind to folks like us. And off they went, leaving us in their dust. With an extra sip from our water bottles, we soldiered on, made it to the top - DD was there well before us old folk and reveled in what has to be one of the most spectacular views on earth. You have a 360 degree view and it seems that you can see the entire park from there. After taking celebratory photos around the real Jeffrey Tree and of the Valley, Waterfalls, El Capitan, Half Dome etc. it was time to return. The hike up took nearly 2 hours. The hike down about a quarter of that. Our lesson is that we are far more capable than we thought. Returning to our car from our Sentinel Dome extravaganza we continued on to Glacier Point - the end of the road. While we were climbing up to Sentinel Dome a lot of other cars must have come up the road because the much larger parking area at Glacier Point was full, but we lucked out as an SUV abandoned its attempt to fit into a too small space. Squeezing into the parking slot we started to "hike" the 200 paved yards to the overlook when we saw a large crowd next to one of the restrooms, pointing and snapping pictures. Joining them and following the direction of the pointing fingers we spotted a black bear far up a tree. The crowd seemed happier than the bear. It was our first bear seen outside of a zoo. For that matter, it was our first animal other than a couple of squirrels seen the day before in Mariposa Grove. It was surprising how far the bear would go out on a branch - now THAT is balance. After a while the bear must have grown tired of the finger pointing, shimmied down the tree and disappeared into the woods.

We completed the "hike" to the overlook and overlooked, seeing much of what we saw from Sentinel Dome but without the same satisfaction that comes of earning our view. Snidely we looked at our still fresh looking and smelling company for the wimps they were since their view was given, not earned. There is nothing like a good feeling of superiority.

The rest of our day in the park were spent visiting all of the sites recommended in our guidebook. This meant for the most part parking and seeing the things we saw from Sentinel Dome but from different distances and angles. We especially enjoyed getting up close and personal with some of the waterfalls which contrary to what our guidebooks told us to expect, were still running strong at that time of the year. If you take a day trip to Yosemite, try to stay at least until the very late afternoon. The low sun angle changes the character of the magnificent granite formations.

Some photos: Nelder Grove in the Sierra Forest, Mariposa Grove in Yosemite and Views on the trail to Sentinel Dome and from its summit.
www.flickr.com/photos/basingstoke2/sets

basingstoke2

I checked to see if the photo link worked and did not realize how many more sets of photos were posted on that link. The sets of Nelder Grove and Yosemite photos are on the second screen.

janisj

basingstoke -- good info. But Nelder Grove is a long way from the Valley. About an hour's drive.

basingstoke2

Nelder Grove is about 10km from the South Entrance and from there the drive to the valley is a scenic one so sanfranbound would be seeing some good part of the park on the way since Glacier Point is a destination. They would pas the trail to Sentinel Dome on the way and if they took the trail to the top of the dome, they could, IMO, skip Glacier Point.

janisj

Yes -- it is fairly close to the South Entrance, but the south entrance is a long way from the Valley and the south entrance is quite a detour on the drive over from SF. If they were going to spend that much time in the car, they might as well stick to the original plan.

SF to Nelder Grove and back to the south entrance, and on to Yosemite Lodge is more than 5 hours 'car time'

mlgb

They can leave through the west entrance, can't they?? No reason to go back to Oakhurst. And as basingstoke2 said, they will get to Glacier Point, etc. Probably early in the morning.

Yes, you can do either Sentinel Dome or Glacier Point, but do at least one!

"Ignoring Fodorite suggestions"....good plan!