Destination: Yosemite
#1
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Join Date: Feb 2017
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Destination: Yosemite
Hi. I have decided I'd like to visit Yosemite National Park for my 50th birthday gift to myself. I have a couple of years to plan but it's hard to decide which month. I definitely want to avoid the huge summer crowds. I will be traveling from SC and would like to spend a week in the park. My main focus is just to soak up the beauty of the place and experience as much as I can.
I had thought late April/early May but will the trees and grasses be as pretty as in late Sept./early October? Not sure I want to base timing all around the waterfalls. I'd like the advice of people who know the park. If you'd never been, and could go anytime at all, when would you go?
Thanks a lot.
I had thought late April/early May but will the trees and grasses be as pretty as in late Sept./early October? Not sure I want to base timing all around the waterfalls. I'd like the advice of people who know the park. If you'd never been, and could go anytime at all, when would you go?
Thanks a lot.
#2
For a first ever visit You would want to go on the spring for sure. By September everything will be dry and the waterfalls basically nonexistent. But not too early in the spring so the back/high country/Tioga pass will be open. Mid May through maybe the first week in June is the best . . . Though one can have a great visit at any time.
#3
I suggest you do take the falls into account as they are among the most beautiful sights in the park when they're full, quite remarkable, I think.
If you can go anytime, I think I'd go in late May to avoid the possibility of late spring snow hampering access. One trip I made in a very good precipitation year it did snow in May (I don't recall exactly which week) and did require using a different entrance. Weather has become unpredictable, to say the least, but late May should be good for your purposes.
Make a decision about your dates, then make your reservations for accommodation as early as it can be done. Others here will tell you how best to do that.
But my best advice would be do go when the waterfalls are at their best, even if you don't think you care a great deal. It didn't occur to me to plan for it and the Yosemite gods were directing me. Perfect timing in an extra good rain/snow year so wildflowers were spectacular as well as falls.
If you can go anytime, I think I'd go in late May to avoid the possibility of late spring snow hampering access. One trip I made in a very good precipitation year it did snow in May (I don't recall exactly which week) and did require using a different entrance. Weather has become unpredictable, to say the least, but late May should be good for your purposes.
Make a decision about your dates, then make your reservations for accommodation as early as it can be done. Others here will tell you how best to do that.
But my best advice would be do go when the waterfalls are at their best, even if you don't think you care a great deal. It didn't occur to me to plan for it and the Yosemite gods were directing me. Perfect timing in an extra good rain/snow year so wildflowers were spectacular as well as falls.