Yosemite National Park Road Trip

Camped for the first two nights in Mammoth Lakes, at Old Shady Rest Campground. 

Driving into Yosemite

Toulumne Meadows: We spotted a coyote, some elk, and prairie dogs.  The Coyote was hunting the prairie dogs and they were all calling to each other.  

This lake was steaming from the freezing morning temperatures.  It looked so pretty. 

Hiking to upper Yosemite Falls.  We saw the lower falls and it was very tiny because there hasn’t been a lot of rain so we didn’t hike all the way to the upper falls, just part of the way.  

Hiking the Mist Trail.  It’s been voted one of the best hikes in the country and was really amazing.  It took most of the day and is about 7 miles round trip.  You are basically hiking to the top of a huge mountain, so the whole first half is up hill.  It was the hardest hike I have ever done but was so worth it.  

The first major waterfall of the hike is Vernal Falls. 

The path we took up.

The top of Vernal Falls.  Most people turn around at this point.  

Made it to the top! Hiked 1,900 feet up.  This is the top of Nevada Falls.  

Nevada Falls from the side.  

View point of Half Dome and other parts of Yosemite along the road. 

View of our last camping spot, before heading home.  We stayed one night at Codorniz Recreation Area.  It was super empty and a strange experience.  It would have been nicer if there were more campers there.  We saw a bunch of animals that were very noisy and it was a bit creepy.  There were raccoons, an owl, a bunch of random rodents, cows, and a baby rattlesnake.  

          My husband and I went on a little road trip to Yosemite National Park this past 4 days.  He had been wanting to go since moving to California and I wanted to go back.  I visited it briefly in High School, and didn’t remember that much.  We spent almost 3 days in the park so we got to do a pretty good amount of things.  It was really fun.  We are hoping to go back sometime in the near future because there is just so much to see.  I think my favorite park was hiking mist trail because it was super scenic the entire way.  I was really difficult because you are walking up a combination of stairs, ramps, and rocky trails.  It was definitely one of the best hikes I’ve ever done, probably in the top 2.  If you get a chance to see Yosemite, I recommend you go.  Beware it can get super crowded, especially in the Summer.  The reason we didn’t camp in the park is because it’s virtually impossible to get a campsite.  It was fine though.  Our first campground was only about an hour drive to Yosemite and it was really nice.  The whole trip was super fun.