As anyone who has visited the United States knows, everything seems to be bigger over there: the steaks, the cars, the houses, and quite often, the people. But even a Brit accustomed to the super-sized culture of modern America can’t be truly prepared for the jaw-dropping scale of Yosemite National Park.
In fact, you could almost run out of adjectives when attempting to describe Yosemite. Majestic. Formidable. Daunting. Spectacular. Beautiful. Epic. None really come close to capturing the park’s sweeping grandeur. Within its 1,200 square miles lies a rich tapestry of natural wonders: it seems almost unfair that this slice of California high country should be blessed with so much beauty. Tumbling falls? Check. Soaring peaks? Of course. Weird, otherworldly rock formations and towering vertical cliffs? Both present, not to mention its deep-hewn valleys, ancient groves of mighty sequoia trees and verdant wildflower meadows. There is also an awful lot of remote, untamed wilderness – so much of it, in fact, that the US National Parks Service has an entire folder of cold cases on missing hikers who have never been found to this day.
One man who delighted in getting lost in Yosemite, however, was pioneering 19th-century Scottish-American writer and conservationist John Muir, widely regarded as the founding father of America’s national parks. On his first visit there, Muir wrote that he was overwhelmed by the landscape as he went ‘scrambling down steep cliff faces to get a closer look at the waterfalls, whooping and howling at the vistas, jumping tirelessly from flower to flower.’ Later, Muir even took the then-President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, into the Yosemite wilderness on a three-day camping trip, in an effort to convince him that this precious landscape deserved protection. Yosemite was duly designated a national park in 1890.
It’s a place that also resonates with climbing history – and one location in particular has been a rock climbing mecca for more than half a century. Yosemite Valley is home to some of the most famous big walls in the world, including the classic climbs of Royal Arches, Sentinel, Half Dome and the notorious El Capitan. The latter has seen first ascents of a series of almost impossibly difficult routes by the world’s best climbers, including Alex Honnold’s free solo ascent of ‘El Cap’, as depicted in the buttock-clenching, sweat-inducing (and Oscar-winning) 2018 documentary film.
But the valley still has plenty to offer even if big wall climbing is out of your league – though, as the climbers know, it is best looked down on from above. Hike up to the smooth, rounded summits of North Dome or El Cap and you’ll reach elevations of well over 7,000ft – more than 1½ times the height of Ben Nevis – and enjoy some of the best views in the park. The lung-busting ascents also tend to put off the day-trippers, who remain clustered like ants in the car parks and campgrounds below.
Of course, it is an inescapable reality that Yosemite is a popular tourist draw. Over four million people a year visit the park, though the vast majority converge in the valley, and often do not stray from the easiest trails, except perhaps to visit the souvenir shops, restaurants and other amenities. You’ll probably want to experience some of Yosemite’s most iconic sights for yourself – like Mirror Lake below Half Dome, or the numerous falls that plunge down into the valley – but if so, there’s no getting around the fact that they’ll be packed with people. Similarly, Yosemite’s most famous walk, the Half Dome summit hike, is extremely popular. It is a 17-mile round trip with 4,800ft of ascent, and the final summit push involves an exhilarating via ferrata-like cable walk. It’s admittedly a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience, but to do it you’ll need to obtain a permit, either by entering a pre-season lottery or by getting very lucky in the limited daily draw when you get to Yosemite.
If that’s all starting to sound like a bit too much hassle, don’t fret. The park has a plethora of truly incredible places to explore beyond the valley, many of which see comparatively few hikers. Luckily that means that for those prepared to get off the beaten track, it’s easy to lose the crowds. For a real taste of the Yosemite backcountry, it’s worth planning a multi-day camping trip, which could take in more remote park highlights such as Red Peak Pass in the Clark Range, the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River or even a section of the iconic Pacific Crest or John Muir Trails, which both cut straight through the park. Add to that a selection of epic day hikes, and a visit to Yosemite will be an outdoor adventurer’s dream.
This exhilarating hike to the rounded granite hump that marks the summit of North Dome (2,229m/7,313ft) also visits Indian Rock, an incredible natural rock arch that sees relatively few hikers. Along the way, the trail winds through evergreen forest and grassy meadows. Watch your footing on the steep rock steps at the base of North Dome and the glassy-smooth granite up to the summit, which offers magnificent views across Yosemite Valley to imposing Half Dome on the opposite side. Begin at Porcupine Creek Trailhead on Tioga Road, 1.2 miles east of Porcupine Flat Campground.
Even if climbing the sheer 3,000ft (914m) face of El Cap is a pursuit reserved for serious big wall climbers, it is still possible to reach the 7,573 ft (2,308 m) summit of this granite monolith by hiking up the back face on the northern side. Starting from the trailhead at Tamarack Flat campground, follow the Old Big Oak Flat Road Trail to a footbridge over Cascade Creek. From here, pick up the El Capitan trail, with imposing peaks and bluffs on either side, through Ribbon Meadow and over another creek. Wind around the top of El Capitan gully, which drops very steeply down to Yosemite Valley way below, and gradually ascend to the smooth, rounded summit of El Cap, with its profusion of boulders and trees. If you’re lucky, you might even meet climbers topping out – in which case, they definitely deserve your respect and congratulations.
This historic trans-Sierra trail explores a quieter and more tranquil area of the national park. The route climbs past rushing creeks and lush meadows to reach a high mountain pass and two hidden lakes at an elevation of 10,600ft (where some might start to feel the effects of high altitude), offering spectacular views down Bloody Canyon. Begin from the trailhead along Tioga Road, six miles east of Tuolumne Meadows (shuttle service available from Tuolumne Lodge).
Most commonly hiked one-way (downhill!) from Glacier Point, the Pohono Trail is a knee-jarring descent that nevertheless rewards hikers with great views of Yosemite Valley from several impressive lookouts along the South Rim. East to west, these include Taft Point, Dewey Point, Crocker Point and Stanford Point. Along the way, a short detour enables a short but stiff climb to the watchtower-like summit of Sentinel Dome (2,477m/8,127ft). The start of the walk, from the panoramic viewpoint and parking area at Glacier Point, offers perhaps the single most impressive vista in the whole of Yosemite, with the entire valley spread out below and, looking east, the soaring peaks of the Cathedral Range in the far distance.
Tucked away in the far northwest corner of the park, Hetch Hetchy is a gem in all seasons. The landscape is dominated by an eight-mile long reservoir and the concrete bulk of the O’Shaughnessy Dam, completed in 1923 to bring drinking water to San Francisco and the Bay Area. As well as 117 billion gallons of water, however, Hetch Hetchy also boasts two famous horsetail waterfalls, a succession of dramatic cliffs and abundant wildlife, not to mention access to the Yosemite high country with its raw, untamed wilderness and pristine alpine lakes. For a taste of all this in one long day walk, the Rancheria Falls trail visits two cascades as it winds along the shoreline of the reservoir, before climbing away from the water’s edge and up to Rancheria, a common entry point for backpackers heading into the Tiltill Mountains and the northwest backcountry. To begin, set out from the trailhead on Hetch Hetchy Road and cross the dam, passing through the rock tunnel.
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