Tioga Pass Road at Olmsted Point with Tanaya Lake in the distance

I have always loved sharing my birthday week with Earth Day and National Park Week...so it’s only natural that every year I try to spend my birthday enjoying the great outdoors in some way. Obviously this year is different to say the least. With California’s COVID-19 stay at home order, I spent my birthday with Nate at our house instead of gallivanting around Yosemite as previously planned. This week, however, I decided to share some of my favorite Yosemite memories with you anyways, because one of the gifts travel gives us is the beautiful memories that last long after a trip is over.

Tioga Pass Park Entrance

I last visited Yosemite in the Fall of 2019, just a few weeks before the first snow when they would closed the Tioga Pass for Winter. If you’ve never traveled into Yosemite from this eastern side entrance, I highly recommend it. Driving the winding road at nearly 10,000 feet through Lee Vining Canyon and passing Ellery Lake is a picture perfect and memorable way to enter the park.

Stops Along Tioga Pass

Lembert Dome is a great stop early on your drive through the park. This has always been a special place to me…I’ll never forget my first Yosemite trip years ago and climbing up this massive granite rock that towers 800 feet above the Toulume Meadows, which was my first ever hike in the park. I also love making time for a stop at Olmsted Point. The viewing area offers a remarkable, vast perspective of Clouds Rest and Half Dome.

Lakes

Over 2,000 lakes of all shapes and sizes support the diverse animal and plant habitat in Yosemite. From spectacular Tenaya Lake, which is the largest natural lake in Yosemite. This lake basin was formed by glacial action, so it’s surrounded on three sides by massive granite peaks and domes, and it’s water is always crystal clear. To lovely Siesta Lake, a tiny lake you reach by a small unmarked turn out, hidden from view until you’re no more than a stone’s throw away from it.

Wawona Swinging Bridge

Before heading into Yosemite Valley I love spending an afternoon at Wawona Swinging Bridge, which is not to be confused with the popular Yosemite Valley Bridge within a camera shot of the Yosemite Falls. Wawona Swinging Bridge is an easy hike under 1.5 miles round-trip. The bridge itself is approximately 40 feet long covered in wood planks with metal cable handrails. In the Spring, South Fork Merced River rages below the bridge during the snow melts. In the Fall, the boulder lined pools near the bridge reveal themselves as a perfect place to relax and return to a simpler time. There is no cell reception here, so take advantage of the quiet…and enjoy the sweet soundtrack of nature.

Yosemite Valley

When most people think of Yosemite National Park, they think of Yosemite Valley…and rightfully so! While the valley has grown more and more crowded over the past decade, it’s not hard to see why this is such a special place. Vernal Falls, Sentinel Dome, Cathedral Rock, El Capitan...the awe inspiring views here are endless, and I could spend a lifetime of sunsets in this valley and never grow tired of its beauty.

Glacier Point & Washburn Point

You could spend days on end exploring The Clark Range in Yosemite’s back country, but both Washburn Point and Glacier Point offer epic and unmissable views of Half Dome. The longest waterfall in North America, Yosemite Falls is visible to the north and Curry Village can be seen over 3000 feet below.

Yosemite Points of Interest

Taft Point

Glacier Point

Yosemite Valley

Cooks Meadow/Lower Falls Loop

Pioneer Yosemite History Center

Wawona Swinging Bridge

Tioga Pass

Mammoth

Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP

In Summary & Behind the Blog Video

Thanks for joining me in Yosemite today. I might only be adventuring through memories for the time being, but I know a new season will come when we can all go outside and explore nature’s beauty again. For more of my most recent Yosemite weekend, see my behind the blog video below…and until next week, I hope you find adventure and encouragement wherever you go.

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