Biking and Hiking Yosemite National Park

"Yosemite is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter."

--John Muir-

BIKING

I concur with Muir whole-heartily! 

Yosemite became a national park in 1890 predominantly due to the efforts of John Muir and it is one of our first wilderness parks, with 95% of its 1200 square miles designated as wilderness. Though it has 350 miles of roads, it is mainly a hiking park with 800 miles of trails. And though best known for its spectacular waterfalls, its majestic granite peaks and deep valleys, its lush grand meadows, its crystal clear streams, and its stately, immense sequoia trees are all just as awesome.

I visited all the areas of the park by vehicle over the four days I was there, and I found the best way to see the popular and heavily congested Yosemite Valley is by bike, since 7.3 million people visit annually and most concentrate on the seven acres within Yosemite Valley.  The park rents one-speed, balloon tire bikes and many visitors availed themselves of their availability, but I travel with my bike and used it. You can also avail yourself of the free shuttle bus system in the park. Your best bet in finding free parking for the day is at Curry Village with its large paved and unpaved lots.  

The the first part of this post regards the sights you can reach from the bike trail, a 12 mile paved loop circling much of the valley. It is well marked in the Yosemite Village area and less well marked elsewhere, but just consider it an adventure and see where a path takes you.  

In places, the trail abuts the road as seen to the left of the trail here...    (click to enlarge photos)...

 ...but several lovely segments take you through deeply forested sections or alongside lovely meadows, often with glimpses of the river or surrounding cliffs and peaks...

A side pedal to the historic and ultra-expensive Ahwahnee Hotel is a must.  Everywhere except here provided bike racks, but a tree did just fine for locking the bike as I walked the lovely grounds and checked out the lobby and sitting areas.

In the Village area, you can get a meal at the Degnan Cafe or Degnan Deli, visit the Visitor Center (and don't miss the free "Spirit of Yosemite" movie in the theatre), the Nature Store, the Museum, and walk through the replica Indian village seen here...

All paved trails and roads are available to bikers except the Lower Yosemite Falls Trail, but the half-mile hike to the base of the Lower Falls is worth the stroll (consider it cross-training!)

As the trail parallels Southside Drive, you'll get a great view across a meadow of Upper Yosemite Falls in the distance and the top of Lower Falls in the bottom left of this photo...

This view is from the bike path as it crosses over the Merced River. The trail loop takes you on both sides of the river and there are a number of bridges available so you can make loops of various lengths. Carry a camera with you as you bike because spectacular scenery abounds!

The road to Happy Isles and Mirror Lake and is closed to private vehicles, making it a good bike venue.  The lake is called a seasonal lake, though hydrologists now believe it is not a lake at all, but actually a large temporary pool of water during spring rain and snowmelt season.  Whichever is right, the fact is that even in its much reduced volume as when I saw it, you can still get a feel of the reason for its name as you see it mirror the mountain peak in this photo below...

HIKING

Bridalveil Falls is also in Yosemite Valley, but the bike trail doesn't reach it.  You can bike the road if you don't mind vehicles driving at 35 mph on a twisting road whose drivers are probably distracted by the scenery. Instead, I drove to the parking area, the first you come to as you enter the valley. A short hike gets you to the base of this impressive falls...

Another spectacular section at Yosemite's northwestern entrance requires you briefly leave the park and venture a few miles to the Hetch Hetchy region. The name is from the Sierra Miwok language and refers to a grass with edible seeds that grows in the valley. The dam that creates this reservoir has been fought over for a hundred years and was considered by John Muir and the Sierra Club as one of their biggest regrets, calling the flooded valley "a wonderfully exact counterpart of Yosemite Valley."  The dam provides water and power for San Francisco and was authorized after the city's water and power were destroyed by the earthquake of 1906. Here's the reservoir from the trail along the shoreline...

Another must-see area is Mariposa Grove at the southern entrance, the largest stand of Giant Sequoia trees in the world. Its 500 acres offer 500 mature Giant Sequoias which are among the largest living things as well as nearly the oldest, some living to be 3000 years of age.  Nothing can kill them -- not diseases, insect infestations, or fire. They die when they can no longer support their own great size and weight under the burdens of snow and wind, and thus come crashing down. Imagine the roar when one falls with a diameter of up to 30 feet! There are two other smaller stands of these trees in Yosemite, too.

Glacier Point is another spectacular area.  A four mile hike up a strenuous trail from Yosemite Valley will get you there, or a drive on Glacier Road. After having been in the Valley, it is interesting to look down on both the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, as well as Vernal Falls, Nevada Falls, Half Dome, and a dozen mountain peaks, a 360 degree vantage they claim will have you looking out over 1/4 of Yosemite National Park.  Here's the view of Yosemite Valley from high above the valley floor. When up there, you can spot the Ahwahnee Hotel, the Yosemite Lodge, Curry Village, Yosemite Village, Mirror Lake, the Merced River, and even Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls.

The Toulumne Meadows region in eastern Yosemite gives a different vision of Yosemite, and a hike on the John Muir/Pacific Crest Trail to and through Lyell Canyon provides vistas like this...

"I used to envy the father of our race, dwelling as he did in contact with the new-made fields and plants of Eden; but I do so no more, because I have discovered that I also live in "creation's dawn." The morning stars still sing together, and the world, not yet half made, becomes more beautiful every day."

 John Muir on Yosemite.