5 Days in Yosemite: A Journal from the Valley Floor to Glacier Point
Day 1: Arrival and the First Time You See El Capitan
The drive in from San Francisco runs four hours on Highway 140 through Mariposa. Stop for gas ($5.89/gallon — fill up here, it's worse inside the park) and grab sandwiches at Pioneer Market ($8-12, you'll thank yourself later).
Enter through Arch Rock by mid-afternoon, timed-entry reservation confirmed — book it in advance, because summer entry is non-negotiable without one. The road follows the Merced River, winding through a canyon that gradually opens up and then...
El Capitan. Three thousand feet of vertical granite, and nothing prepares you for the scale. Pull into El Capitan Meadow, lie back in the grass with binoculars, and scan the wall for climbers. Two tiny colored dots inch up a crack system that from the ground looks like a scratch on the rock face. They've been climbing for three days, with maybe two more to go.
Curry Village is the base. A tent cabin runs $150/night — canvas on a wooden platform with a bed, a heater, and shared bathrooms. Not glamorous. But step outside and Half Dome is right there, filling the sky. Hard to complain.
Dinner at the Yosemite Valley Lodge food court delivers an adequate burger ($14) and a fine beer ($8). Eat on the outside deck and watch the last light fade off the cliffs.
Day 2: Mist Trail and Getting Absolutely Soaked
Be up at 6 AM. The valley at dawn is a different place — mist rising from the river, the granite walls turning from grey to gold to white as the sun clears the rim. Take the shuttle to Happy Isles (Stop 16) and start the Mist Trail by 6:45.
The trail to Vernal Fall is 1.5 miles and 1,000 feet of climbing, the last section a granite staircase carved into the cliff face alongside the waterfall. In June, the waterfall is a beast. The spray is a solid wall of water, and you'll be soaked through within minutes. A rain jacket is essential. Seal your phone in a ziplock bag — the one piece of advice worth following to the letter.
Vernal Fall from the top is 317 feet of roaring water. Sit on the warm granite above the fall, eat a granola bar, and watch the rainbow that forms in the mist every morning.
Push on to Nevada Fall — another 1.4 miles and 600 more feet of elevation. Steeper, less crowded, and the view of Nevada Fall from the John Muir Trail junction is arguably more dramatic than Vernal. Total round trip: 5.4 miles, four hours with breaks.
Afternoon belongs to Curry Village. Swim at the pool (one of the few permitted swimming spots), read half a book, and order pizza at Degnan's Kitchen ($12-16 for a personal pizza, and honestly pretty good).
Day 3: Glacier Point at Sunset
Morning: take the shuttle to Yosemite Falls (Stop 6). The Lower Falls trail is flat, paved, 20 minutes round trip — and in June, the falls are an absolute wall of noise, 2,425 feet of total drop. The spray from Lower Yosemite Fall soaks the trail and everyone on it. Children scream with joy. Adults pretend to be dignified while also screaming.
Drive to Glacier Point in the afternoon. The road is open roughly May through November depending on snow. At 7,214 feet, the viewpoint offers a 3,200-foot vertical perspective straight down to the valley floor. Half Dome sits at eye level. The Sierra Nevada high country stretches forever.
It's easy to see why people call it Yosemite's best viewpoint. Tunnel View is the postcard. Glacier Point is the experience.
Stay for sunset. The light turns Half Dome orange, then pink, then purple. The valley below fills with shadow while the peaks hold the last light. Temperature drops from 75°F to 50°F in an hour — bring more layers than you think you'll need.
Drive back to the valley in the dark. Deer on the road. Keep it to 25 mph with high beams. The stars through the windshield are absurd.
Day 4: Mariposa Grove and the Oldest Living Things You'll Ever Stand Beside
Catch the morning shuttle from the South Entrance to Mariposa Grove — mandatory in summer, with no personal vehicles allowed. It runs every 10-20 minutes and it's free.
Five hundred mature giant sequoias fill the grove. The Grizzly Giant is estimated at 1,900 years old, 209 feet tall, with a base circumference of 96 feet. Stand at its base and feel the appropriate insignificance.
The 2-mile Grizzly Giant Loop is easy and hits the highlights. The 7-mile full grove trail goes deeper and gets progressively emptier. By mile three, you're alone among trees that were already ancient when Rome fell.
There's a fallen sequoia — the Fallen Monarch — that you can walk through. The tunnel is tall enough to stand in. The tree has been on the ground for an estimated 300 years and shows almost no decay. Mariposa Grove sequoias wood contains tannins that resist rot. These trees are eternal in every meaningful sense.
Afternoon: drive back to the valley and stop at Bridalveil Fall — a short walk from the road, a 620-foot waterfall that catches the wind and sprays sideways. In late summer it's a whisper. In June it's a shout.
Dinner at The Ahwahnee Dining Room is the splurge: a prix fixe dinner, $65 per person. The dining room has 34-foot ceilings, massive granite pillars, and floor-to-ceiling windows. The food is... fine. The elk tenderloin is cooked well. But you're not paying for the food. You're paying for the room, and the room is extraordinary.
Day 5: One More Dawn, Then Departure
Set the alarm for 5:15 AM. Walk to Sentinel Bridge in the pre-dawn quiet. Half Dome reflects in the Merced River, perfectly still. Two other photographers, no one else.
The sun hits the top of Half Dome at 6:23 AM and the granite goes from grey to gold in about ten seconds. Take forty photos if you want — but the keeper, the one worth framing, is usually the one captured after you put the camera down and just look.
Breakfast at Degnan's Deli: coffee and a bagel. Pack the car, return the bear-proof food locker key, and drive out through the valley one more time.
Pass El Capitan one last time. The climbers are still up there — different ones, probably. Same crack systems. Same impossible vertical.
Worth going back? You'll be eyeing the reservation calendar before you've even left the valley.
What to change next time: Skip the tent cabin and camp at Upper Pines ($36/night) — closer to the trailheads and more connected to the park. Book The Ahwahnee for one night and camp the rest. Pack warmer layers for Glacier Point. And come in late May for bigger waterfalls.
