Although the lure of the Yosemite Valley with its waterfalls and granite walls is foremost in many park visitors' minds, the national park is a Mecca for hiking, with plentiful choices for day hikers as well as long-distance warriors.
The trail to Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park / Rebecca Latson
The park can accommodate just about any hiking desire you harbor. There are easy hikes along the valley floor, challenging hikes that led you steeply into the mountains, and hikes that will soak you as you make your way up, or down, the trail.
Here, courtesy of the Yosemite staff, are some of hikes available in different areas of Yosemite:
- Yosemite Valley
- Glacier Point Road
- Wawona and Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias
- Hetch Hetchy
- White Wolf
- Tuolumne Meadows
Also available: - A list of mileages for numerous trails in Yosemite.
- Suggestions for wildflower walks
- Snowshoe and cross-country trails for Badger Pass/Glacier Point, Mariposa Grove, and Crane Flat area (these areas are usually snowy from mid December through March).
Hikes Featured in the Traveler
Half Dome
Most avid hikers know Half Dome. In fact, as the signature landmark for Yosemite, its image is recognized worldwide. It's even on the 2005 U.S. quarter. From mid-May to mid-October, visitors can attempt this extremely strenuous 16-mile (25.7-km) hike.
To read more, visit this page.
John Muir Trail, Lyell Fork Drainage
Woven tufts of gold knit the meadows together, thick pine forests give way to observation towers of granite and sky-scraping peaks, and a river runs through it. That's the setting the John Muir Trail wanders through in the High Sierra of Yosemite National Park.
To read more, visit this page.
