Yosemite in Fall

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Yosemite is a beautiful park and even more magical in the Fall. We misplanned a trip in California one year and found ourselves with an extra two nights and decided to zip up to Yosemite to fill our time. Typically we thoroughly plan before going anywhere, but this is proof that Yosemite is really simple to navigate. Here is what we did in our two days.

We knew we were trailing a storm and would have great weather on day one and windy rough weather on day two which would also lead to a rainy/snow mix the following day. So we wanted to get the best views out of our way so we made our way up to the Tunnel View or the view of Yosemite Valley - it was a bit of a windy drive but a quick park in the lot up top and an amazing view. After, we opted to drive all the way up to Half Dome (which was a significant drive), but again - EXTREMELY WORTH IT.

After our view from up top of Half Dome, we came all the way back down and saw it from the bottom as well as Bridalveil Falls. Then we started to drive around the base of the valley just soaking in all the views and scenery. It was like a Fall paradise. We then went to “Basecamp,” a cafeteria-style eatery that actually had really great food! It was a perfect pick me up after a long day and energized us up to walk around the base of El Captain until sunset.

The base of the woods was a beautiful spot to just explore and walk around, but it started to get pretty chilly as the sun went down, but the more it did the more the rocks glowed orange. We then bundled up and made our way back up to the Tunnel View to watch the sky and photograph the skies.

The following morning we were up early to watch the park as the sun rose and to go to the other side of the park Hetch Hetchy since that was on our way out. This is a really neat section of the park and most likely you’ll need to drive this way out if you’re headed out to San Francisco. This reservoir actually supplies SF with water so it’s a neat waterway to see.

Regardless of the time you have to see this park, it is worth it! We really only had a day and still feel like we saw the majority of this park. Of course, we will try and go back one day - but you never know if you’ll always be able to do that.