What time is it there?!

This was another thing on Nikky’s ‘must do’ list and we spent the best part of an hour viewing the valley from Glacier Point (see tip below). This slight over-run on the timing didn’t give us as much time in the valley as we had planned for. We were also hindered by some ‘tourist management development’.

It seems that in order to protect the environment, the National Parks Authority are developing a shuttle bus system around the valley floor and encouraging visitors to park their cars in one place and use the free of charge eco-friendly buses to get around and see the sights. This is an excellent idea, but unfortunately we didn’t know what was going on. Part 1 of the development seems to have been to remove most of the directional signage but it hasn’t reached part 2 which tells the visiting public what they are meant to do. This resulted in us driving about aimlessly for too long and we only managed to find the Yosemite Falls!

Our route out of the park was planned to be via the Tioga Pass, which at over 9000ft is the only eastbound exit from the park, and usually closed by late October due to snowfall. We were lucky that the first major snowfall of the season hadn’t happened yet and the road was still open. It was a spectacular drive along the top ridges of the mountains to get out of the park. However, due to our poor time management at the top and the parks poor signage, we were a bit later than planned and it was quite dark down the windy roads towards the end.

Note: For peace of mind it helps to not think too much about what you would do if you broke down on a 60 mile stretch of road, at nearly 10,000ft, in the middle of nowhere. Somehow I doubt you’d get a mobile phone signal to call the AA!

Tip 1: Take the Glacier Point road to the parking area (32 mile round trip from the main road). Walk a short distance and look in awe at the beauty around you. This is arguably the most spectacular view of Yosemite. Save a good amount of time for this as you will not want to leave in a hurry.

Tip 2: Plan at least a couple of days in Yosemite to really get the benefit of Glacier Point and to leave enough time to see other things too. Waterfalls run fastest and most spectacularly in the spring and the lakes are fuller too. Even if you have a short time make sure you park the car and use the shuttle bus to get around.