roglincunn

WE WILL BE STAYING IN YOSEMITE FOR 5 NIGHTS. ARE THERE ANY SIDE TRIPS WORTH SEEING? KINGS CANYON OR SEQUOIA? MONO LAKE LOOKS INTERESTING. WOULD APPRECIATE ANY INFO THANKS

Quinty

Mono lake is interesting, but not worth leaving Yosemite for.

Yosemite is so amazing in itself you should be pretty well occupied. If I had to choose I'd go to Sequoia, but I have never been to King's Canyon so that part of the answer is a little biased.

DavidDJ

I agree with Quinty. Do stay in Yosemite. You did not mention if you were taking any tours, but the last time I went to Yosemite I thought that the Glacier Point tour was very good.

HowardR

I'll disagree with Quinty. If you are going to be in Yosemite for five nights, there is time to include a drive along Tioga Pass to Mono Lake. With stops along the way, it makes for a good day trip.

m367

One of the considerations is the time of year you are going to Yosemite. Tioga Pass is closed until about the first of June. Mono Lake is interesting and has a nice Visitor's Center - you can also go a little south and take the June Lake scenic loop (the north end isn't too scenic). You can picnic at Gull Lake, if you can find the turnoff for the little park (paddle boats). Very pretty. Or, head north and go to the ghost town of Bodie and check out the old buildings and cemetery.

utahtea

Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Park is 150 miles (one way) from Yosemite Village. It's not worth the time driving there and back. You won't have enought time there to do much.

There is plenty to do in Yosemite for 5 days. If Tioga Pass is open a day trip to Mono Lake would be worth it just because of the drive through the high country of Yosemite.

There are many areas to Yosemite besides the valley. I personally wouldn't have a problem with spending 5 days in the valley, but there are other areas to explore! Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias if you want to see some big trees.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/trip/places.htm

Utahtea

BayArea

Sequoia/Kings Canyon is really similar to Yosemite, there would not be much point to driving down to see it.

I think Utahtea & Howard are correct, do go to Mono Lake. If you are there after Tioga Pass Road has opened you will want to drive up to Tuolumne Meadows any how. That is half the grandeur of Yosemite. Mono Lake is only 20 minutes or so from the western park entrance and it's SO different!

The difference in landscape between the west and east sides of the sierras is truly remarkable.

HowardR

I'll add to my previous comment and recommend that you spend the entire five-six days in the Yosemite and its environs. There is certainly more than enough to see and do...and it's doubtful that you'd find any scenery to match or surpass the beauty of Yosemite.

Suzie

We often go to Yosemite when we stay in Mammoth during the summer. It's amazingly close. If you take Tioga pass to Tuolomne Meadows you can easy go to on to Mono Lake. There is a visitors center and a path that leads you to the waters edge. A ranger is usally about to answer your many questions. Mono Lake is definitely not an all day trip. If your trip is in the summer it can get really hot down there as there is no protection from the relentless sun. After your visit to Mono Lake go on to Bodie. Bodie is a ghost town meaning people moved out abruptly and left buildings intact. It's a good visit but again will not take an entire day in itself.

If you decide against going out of the park make sure you drive most of the Tioga Pass and back if possible becasue the views are spectacular.

Kings Canyon and Sequoia are too far away for a dsay trip. Visit the giant trees in Wawona near the south entrance.

Patty

The drive along Tioga Pass to the east entrance of the park is gorgeous. It's worth doing just for the scenery alone. If you have time or are particularly ambitious, you can even continue south to the Mammoth Lakes region. Twin Lakes is especially pretty with the waterfalls at one end. You can also take the road from Mammoth Mountain to Red's Meadow stopping at places like Devil's Postpile National Monument along the way. There's a shuttle that operates along this road usually from the end of June to September. During that time you're required to shuttle in rather than drive in. In mid-June of last year we were still able to drive in and there was very little traffic.

Suzie

Actually you can drive to Devil's Postpile in the summer if you get to the entrance station prior to 7:00 am. It used to be 7:30 but they changed it without notice. We missed it by 2 minutes and the ranger would not let us through. They are really strict about it. If you get car sick on curvy roads you may not like taking the shuttle due to the movement.