Beautiful Views Without the Crowds – Yosemite 2020

We were really lucky to be some of the first people back in Yosemite Park when they reopened after closing from the pandemic. I’ve heard there are normally so many people that all you can do is park in the valley and take the bus around. But we were lucky to be able to enjoy the huge open spaces with fewer people. 

Driving into Yosemite from our campsite took only a few minutes but there was a bottleneck at the gate. We sat for a long time, and I’ve heard that that’s normal for Yosemite, so if you go, I recommend bringing snacks, drinks, and entertainment, because sitting in line is super boring. We love listening to audiobooks in the car but even Laura Ingles got dull when the scenery outside never changes… 

We had set up our tent just outside the Wawona entrance to Yosemite as a dispersed camping site. It was a lovely place with bear-proof trash bins, though it lacked any bathrooms. We did have deer walking through our camping site, stopping to peer at us adorable creatures before continuing on their way into the forest. 

Coming into the park, there are a few options. Right takes you to a giant sequoia grove. Bearing right takes you through a small village and to a waterfall trail. Straight takes you to the valley. On our trip, we started toward the waterfalls, went to Yosemite valley, visited Glacier Point, and tried to see the sequoias. The best pieces were the iconic Yosemite Valley and Glacier Point. 

The waterfalls through the small village were too long of a hike to manage with kids, though we did park and walk a bit and see some water moving over rocks. There are mountain lions in Yosemite so be sure to keep your small children close. Mountain lions are opportunistic hunters so you don’t want to let toddlers roam without an adult figure by their side. 

We walked, we saw, we got tired, we returned to the car. At nearly every place you can park a car, Yosemite has bear bins to set your food into. Bears can smell any semblance of food in your car and will help themselves. Unfortunately, bears aren’t very good at opening car doors so there’s usually a bit of damage that comes from their antics. 

To get into Yosemite Valley, there’s a very very long winding road with a number of scenic outlooks. The scenic outlooks double as a fantastic space to stop for car sickness! To enter the valley, you pass through a tunnel through a mountain. There’s a parking lot right before and right after the tunnel. The parking lot right before the tunnel is closest to the tunnel viewing area. You can walk into the tunnel and turn off from the road to see the waterfalls. 

But that view is small potatoes compared to coming through the tunnel. Nearly the moment that you hit sunlight on the other side, you’ll want to turn left into the parking lot. There it was: the first breathtaking look at the waterfalls. 

We wandered a bit taking in the view, feeling the topographic map, taking pictures, and then loaded up again to head into the valley! 

The valley is set up mostly in one-way streets. Southside Dr goes east and Northside Dr goes West. There are a lot of places to stop and unload to look at waterfalls, meadows, the Merced River, etc. Again, I think our experience of being able to hop in and out of the car at our leisure was atypical but they usually have busses running to shuttle people from place to place. At the far right corner of the valley, there’s Curry Village with stores and restaurant options. We were happy to bring our own food but then we did have to think about bears….

Our favorite parts were alone Northside Dr heading back toward the tunnel. From there we stopped at Yosemite Falls. We could see the upper and lower but while the upper was way too far to walk, the lower had a paved path that led us so close we could feel the spray! 

Our next stop was a grass field. Let me stop here for a moment to wax about how breathtaking this place is. I look at pictures and I’m like wow that place is pretty. But being there. Being there in that spot, being small in the midst of huge, being in that gorgeous place is simply breathtaking. I’ve been to the Grand Canyon. I’ve heard tales about people crying as they were overcome with beauty. I’ve heard how it’s life-changing. And I just didn’t feel that way. I stood at the brink of the Grand Canyon and I’m telling you, Yosemite is breathtaking. 

Continuing on we hit a bubbling spring, Black Spring, because why not. You should never drink from unknown water sources. Unless you’re reckless and don’t care about gastrointestinal distress, like we are. But if you are reckless then you should try to have a bit of common sense, unlike my husband, and only drink running water. Stagnant water is gross, people. Don’t do it. Turns out Fern spring is drinkable but I still can’t find information on Black spring… 

Our favorite stop was a pull-off on the left-hand side. From there, we went down to a beach beside the Merced River. Half of it was sandy and half of it was rocky. My daughter loves to play in the sand and water. My son loves to climb on rocks. It was a perfect playground with a fantastic view. 

From there we went to Glacier Point. This was another long and winding drive, but it was not to be missed. On the way, we stopped at a couple of places trying to find a meadow but everything ended up being too far off the road for the kids to care about seeing. 

Finally, we reached Glacier Point. The area is wheelchair accessible and our first stop was to the amphitheater where a ranger was giving a talk on peregrine falcons. He indicated half dome, standing tall behind him, and informed us that our human eyes were incapable of seeing the people who are climbing the face of that mountain as we speak. Incredible. 

From there we climbed to the lookout point. 

We had heard about Half Dome. We heard it was a big rock. What’s so impressive about a big rock. I don’t know. I still don’t know. But I’ll tell you this. I looked at that big rock and I said, wow. I am impressed. 

Yosemite was a commitment. It involved a lot of energy to be confronted with its magnitude. If I was ever in the neighborhood again, Yosemite probably wouldn’t be my first stop. I probably wouldn’t want to go at all because it was a long, long drive just to marvel at stuff. But I probably would go again. And I wouldn’t regret it. Because Yosemite is marvelous.