Two days in Yosemite in early May
 

Spent Monday and Tuesday at Yosemite. No, it wasn’t enough time, but it was all we could manage and I wanted to see the waterfalls and Mariposa Grove before it got too crowded.

We stayed at Tenaya Lodge just south of the southern entrance. Like pretty much anything anywhere near Yosemite, it’s expensive. But it’s also clean and comfortable. We liked the room and the buffet breakfast. Tenaya Lodge is quite a drive to the valley – at least an hour and that’s without construction – but we stayed there because it’s convenient to Mariposa Grove. Personally, I think it’s way too far if you’re going to the valley, but it worked out fine for our purposes.

According to the Yosemite spring guide, weekday shuttle service to Mariposa Grove doesn’t start until May 7. I called the park and asked a ranger if we should go on a weekend and take the shuttle or would we be able to park at the Mariposa Grove parking lot on a weekday? He advised me to go on a weekday – said it was starting to get hectic on weekends and we should be able to get a parking space during the week as long as we got there before 10am or after 3pm.

We arrived at Mariposa Grove around 9:30 on Tuesday and there was still plenty of parking. By the time we drove off just before noon, the access road was closed and people had to walk an additional two miles from the next nearest parking lot. Without the tram and shuttle service, there were relatively few people on the trail when we got there. Although we only went as far as California tree, there were stretches of the trail where we were the only two people around. I actually got to sit and enjoy Grizzly Giant all by myself. It took a bit of waiting around, but we eventually had California tree all to ourselves, too.

The trail was muddy and had running water in places. Definitely needed boots for it. BF has knee problems so we switched to the road – no mud or running water there and we could have easily walked it while wearing regular shoes. Still lots of snow off the road. The weather, however, was beautiful – clear, blue skies and it was probably in the 60s during the morning and quite a bit warmer that afternoon. No mosquitoes and very few bugs of any kind. In other words, it was a delightful walk.

I’ll try to write more tomorrow.

Nice report was there in May 2 years ago

Stayed at the Shiloh Inn in Oakhurst for $59

saved a ton visited the redwoods at 8AM

Very uncrowded the falls where trickly

as there had been no snowmelt though.

saw a white wolf that was pretty cool.

Mostly a great time to go.

Lunch at the Ahwannee Lodge was memorable

though the food was not.

Almost forgot - trip photos here: http://goo.gl/wjoh9

Trip photos are fantastic!! Thanks

BEAUTIFUL photos. You had some really nice weather! We were there in early April and had the same kind of weather. The waterfalls weren't going as fast then tho. I love Yosemite!

Utahtea

Thank you for the photos. Yosemite is one of my favorite places.

Thank you for your kind comments about the photos. I just had to buy a better camera after visiting Yosemite last year. My old camera didn't do it justice - although I guess no photos can. But we'll continue to try.

We were able to spend part of both days in Yosemite Valley. The waterfalls were fantastic. Horsetail Falls was still running. Yosemite Falls was almost deafening and we got a bit wet on the hikes to Lower Yosemite and Bridalveil Falls. We hiked out to Bridalveil Falls around 6 in the evening. Not only had all the crowds left, but there was a rainbow over the bottom of the falls. The path was muddy in places and there was water running down part of the path so I'd recommend wearing decent footwear for the season, even though it's a paved path.

Although winter is still my favorite time to visit Yosemite, with the lovely weather and roaring waterfalls, I'd have to say that spring is a close second. Wish we could have stayed a little longer, but am very glad that we went even for such a short stay.

Thank you for sharing your trip report, which I enjoyed immensely and am now even more excited about going.

I'm going in July. On my own cos sadly my BF is working. I was thinking that would allow me solitude in this marvellous place... altho thinking about it, I don't suppose I'll get much 'solitude' given it's July. :)

Are you able to direct me somewhere good to see all the different walks available/difficulty rating, how the shuttles work etc? So I can plan my time there and make the most of it? Thanks awfully. I hope it isn't wrong to post a Q here on a trip report... I thought since it's pretty specific it might be ok!

I've gone to Yosemite by myself and had a great time. If you have time, rent a bike and explore quite a bit of the valley on your own.

For shuttle info: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/bus.htm

For hike info: http://www.yosemitehikes.com/hikes.htm

Yosemite is incredible. You're in for a wonderful experience. When in July will you be there?