Yosemite Hike Recommendations
 

Hi everyone - taking a side trip to Yosemite during a week long visit to California. Looking for the inside scoop on some good day hikes. The best views with a reasonable amount of crowding. I don't think Half Dome is in the cards for us during our short visit. We're both in good shape and are able to handle something lengthy though. Any advice would be appreciated.

We'll be there the 18th and 19th of July! Thanks so much.

Sentinel Dome by far the best view for the relatively small effort.

Vernal Falls can be done the same day.

Take the hiker's bus to Glacier Point and walk back down the Panorama Trail. If you are want a longer hike, you can hike up the John Muir Trail to Glacier Point and back down the Panorama Trail. Fantastic views all the way down.

Sentinel Dome is a short hike with big payoff

also go to the ledges i think they are at the same parking area.

there are also some great hikes in the east side of the park that are not as crowded as valley hikes.

gaylor lake, dog lake, pieces of the john muir trail mix in with the lyell fork and make some nice soaking areas in the river.

I hate to hike! But all my family and friends love, love, love it! So, assuming you haven't been to Yosemite before, I'd say take my family's and friend's favorite hike (and they do it every year and STILL like it!), and hike up to Vernal Falls. If you still have the urgue, continue up to Nevada falls. At one of them, there's a big pool of water you can jump into (icy cold but refreshing!). Except by mule, when I went up to Nevada Falls (which I would NEVER recommend, my butt still feels the pain 20 years later!), I've only made it up to the Vernal Falls bridge (midway up to Vernal), which was beautiful, once I caught my breath from the climb.

I second the panorama trail. Take the bus to glacier point and hike down. You will still have about 600 feet of incline but it's a very rewarding long hike. You will pass illilouette falls (take a swim at the stream way before the falls) and also pass the top of nevada and vernal falls. You'll see half done fairly close. It's a gorgeous hike and very doable in a day. Just think of it, you'll start out at the very highest point if yosemite and end up atthe valley floor when you're done wiht the hike. All in all, about 8.1 miles with some elevation as mentioned.

oh, and the pool surfergirl talks about is emerald pools. Now swimming isn't allowed due to some "issues". All in all, the hike down from galcier is easier and you get to see everything. Hiking from the valley floor to the top of vernal and nevada is alot harder. done both and ever since, I've done the panorama trail from glacier point. be sure to book tickets ahead of time for the bus and try to start out early. then you can take your time going down and enjoy every minute of it.

Hi Doogs,

The best hike I've done in Yosemite is Cloud's Rest. You have to start from Tenaya Lake up above in Tolumne Meadows. It's awesome and you actually look DOWN on Half Dome.

I agree that for a firs hike in Yosemite for hikers with good knees, take the bus up to Glacier Point and hike down.
Also, best time to view Yosemite falls is early in the morning before breakfast. The re-done loop trail is a huge improvement. If there will be a full moon when you are there, be sure to take time to watch the moon rise over the valley walls. Remember that moon rise in the Valley is way later than moon rise out in the flat land. For future trips when you've seen many views of the valley, the hike from the Tuolumne road to North Dome and back is great, cuz the view is so cool. If you prefer hiking up to a mountain, then hike up Mount Hoffman off of the Tuolumne road. It sists a bit by itself int he middle of the paerk. So the view of the peaks all around the park is great. And even if you don't stay at the Awahnee, go look around the building It's got a lot of that old national park lodge style.

We like the hike to Vernal Falls, but it can be a freeway with traffic jams.
A very pleasant, easy hike with few people starts near Tuolumne Meadows to Elizabeth Lake. Lovely!

Everyone beat me to the punch, but... I second the recommendations for the Vernal Falls hike, if you can get an early enough start and avoid the crowds. This is probably the most "bang for your buck" hike if you only have a short visit to Yosemite. My favorite way to do this is go up the Mist Trail to Vernal, continue on to Nevada Falls, and then back down to the valley via the John Muir Trail, which gives you a completely different view of Nevada Falls. It's nice to take a picnic and the falls give you great stopping points along the way. The bus to Glacier and hike down the Panoramic trail is also fantastic. And if you are up in the high country, the hike to Elizabeth Lake is beautiful. Clouds Rest is amazing, but pretty ambitious -- that would be your whole day, and not leave room for sightseeing in the valley if you only have a day. But if you have 2 full days I would recommend the Vernal Falls/Nevada falls/John Muir loop one day (with an early start -- would still leave you time to see other sights in the valley and drive to Glacier Point for the views), and then going up to Tuolomne Meadows the second day.

Vernal Falls is definitley worth the hike! It is somewhat difficult but well worth it. I wish we would have continued up to Nevada Falls; it is not much farther!
Enjoy your trip!