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Yosemite National Park
California
Options for a One Day Trip


Here are some ideas for your trip.  I am going by memory as I mention the places below, so I any times or mileages I might mention are only a estimate.  

1.  Big Trees, Mariposa Grove - Right after entering the park, via Hwy 41, you take the first right to head to this grove of Giant Sequoias.  Allow 2 hours minimum if you are forced to take the shuttle from the off-site parking area.  Allow 1 hour minimum if you get lucky and are allowed to park in the limited parking area in the grove.  The amount of visitors (and cars) determines where the rangers allow you to park

2. Go to Glacier Point.  I am assuming you will be coming up highway 41 from Fresno.  Enter the park and proceed for about a 30 - 45 minutes to the well marked road to the right that leads to Badger Pass Ski Area (1st ski downhill ski resort in CA) and Glacier Point. From this junction, it's 18 miles to Glacier Point.  Plan on at least 2 hours including time on the Glacier Point Road.

Glacier Point gives you a truly awesome, world-class view of Yosemite Valley.  You will need to take a short stroll from the parking lot to the point.  It's well worth the extra driving miles and the short walk.  This is THE must-see spot in Yosemite.  Great photographs of Half Dome and Vernal and Nevada Falls can be taken from here.  Straight below, in the valley, is Curry Village.  It's fun to look for cars, buses, bicycles and people on the valley floor over 3000 feet below.  On the far side of the valley you can spot the famous old Ahwahnee Hotel.  Presidents and Queens have stayed there. 

 
3. Yosemite Valley Overlook -  From highway 41, stop at the overlook as you exit the tunnel leading into the valley.  This is an excellent spot to photograph many of the main features of Yosemite Valley.  You will recognize this view from many postcards and calendars.  To the right, part way down the valley is the world famous Bridalveil Falls.  Make sure to take at least two pictures here.  One with just the scenery, and one with you in it and the valley as your backdrop.
 
4. Bridalveil Fall - A short walk will bring you up closer to the falls.  Depending on the flow from the falls, you may get to feel the mist spraying out as the water hits the rocks on the way down.
 
5. Curry Village & Vernal Falls - as you reach the far end of the valley you will come to Curry Village.  Curry Village is a good place to pick up a snack.  There is also a general store, buffet and pizza place.  From Curry Village, take a shuttle bus to Happy Isles.  Then take approximately 2 mile round trip walk to the Vernal Falls viewpoint.  This will be your only real "hike" of the day.  The viewpoint is located on a bridge crossing the Merced River.  On the far side of the bridge is a water fountain and restrooms.
 
6. Meadows - I suggest a short stroll through at least one meadow within the valley.  There is something peaceful about the experience.  In the summer, time permitting, you may want to find a lazy day use area along the Merced River, and take a dip in it's cool, refreshing waters.
 
7. Yosemite Falls - A short walk will take you near the base of lower Yosemite Falls.  These falls are some of the most famous in the world.  You will definitely want to take a picture of the family with the falls in the background.  The best spot for this is just as you start down the walkway to the falls.  From here you can fit all the sections of the falls into one frame of film.  Have your family stand fairly close to the camera and let Yosemite Falls show themselves off in the background.  You may want to under expose your film a little and use a fill-flash.  There is also a Indian grinding rock at the beginning of the walk that is fun to climb around on.
 
If you have time:
 
Wawona - This is an old pioneer town, covered bridge and fancy old hotel.  You will reach this attraction within about 15 - 20 minutes of entering the park via Hwy 41.  Plan on spending at least one hour here if you stop.  You will also pass by this stop on your way to Fresno if you leave the park via Hwy 41.
 

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Yosemite Valley | Visitor Centers | Ahwahnee Hotel | Mirror Lake | Waterfalls
Half Dome Trail Views |
Glacier Point | Mariposa Grove | Wawona
Tenaya Lake | May Lake | Tuolumne Meadows | Lambert Dome | High Country | Tioga Pass
Olmsted Point |
The Other Yosemite Valley | Lake Eleanor

NPL Guide to Seeing Yosemite in One Day

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All parks alphabetically: A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P||Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

A Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHS|Acadia NP|Adams NHS|Agate Fossil Beds NM|Agua Fria NM|Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS|Anacostia Park|Antietam NB|Appomattox Court House NHP|Arches NP|Arlington National Cemetery|Aztec Ruins NM
B Badlands NP|Bandelier NM|Big Bend NP|Big Cypress NP|Big Hole NB|Bighorn Canyon NRA|Big Thicket NP|Biscayne NP|Black Canyon of Gunnison NP|Blue Ridge Parkway|Booker T Washington NM|Boston NHP|Brown vs Board of Education NHS|Bryce Canyon NP
C Cabrillo NM|Cane River Creole NHP|Cane River NHA|Canyon de Chelly NM|Canyonlands NP|Canyon of the Ancients NM|Cape Cod NS|Capitol Reef NP|Capulin Volcano NM|Clara Barton NHS|Carl Sandburg Home NHS|Carlsbad Caverns NP|Carrizo Plain NM|Casa Grande NM|Carter G Woodson Home NHS|Cascade-Siskiyou NM|Castle Clinton NM|Catoctin Mountain Park|Cedar Breaks NM|Chaco Canyon NHP|Chamizal NM|Channel Islands NP|Charles Pinckney NHS|Chesapeake & Ohio Canal NHP|Chickamauga & Chattanooga NMP|Chimney Rock NHS|Chiricahua NM|City of Rocks NP|Civil War Defenses of WA (Fort Circle)|Colonial NHP|Colorado NM|Congaree NP|Coronado NM|Cowpens NB|Crater Lake NP|Craters of the Moon NM|Cuyahoga Valley NP
D Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP|Death Valley NP|Deshler-Morris House|Devil's Post Pile NM|Devil's Tower NM|Dinosaur NM

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P||Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

E Ebey's Landing NHR|Edgar Allan Poe NHS|Edison NHS|Effigy Mounds NM|Ellis Island NM|El Malpais NM|El Morro NM|Erie Canalway NHC|Eugene O'Neill NHS|Everglades NP
F Fire Island NS|Flaming Gorge NRA|Flight 93 NM|Florissant Fossil Beds NM|Fort Bowie NM|Fort Circle Parks|Fort Foote Park|Fort Laramie NHS|Fort Larnard NHS|Fort McHenry NMS|Fort Necessity NB|Fort Pulaski|Fort Scott NHS|Fort Stanwix NM|Fort Sumter NM|Fort Union NM|Fort Vancouver NHS|Fort Washington|Fossil Butte NM|Frederick Douglass NHS|Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania NHP|Fredrick Law Olmsted NHS|Friendship Hill NHS
G Gateway NRA|George Washington Birthplace N.M.|George Washington Carver NHS|George Washington Parkway|Gettysburg NMP|Glacier NP|Glen Canyon NRA|Glen Echo Park|Gloria Dei (Old Swedes' Church) NHS|Golden Gate NRA|Golden Spike NHS|Giant Sequoia NM|Gila Cliff Dwellings NM|Glacier NP|Grand Canyon NP|Grand Canyon/Parashant NM|Grand Portage NM|Grand Staircase/Escalante NM|Grand Teton NP|Grant Kohrs Ranch NHS|Great Basin N P|Great Sand Dunes NP|Great Smokey Mountains NP|Guadalupe Mountains NP|Guilford Courthouse NMP
H-I Hagerman Fossil Bed NM|Hampton NHS|Hanford Reach NM|Harmony Hall|Harpers Ferry NHP|Harry S Truman NHS|Hells Canyon NRA|Herbert Hoover NHS|Hohokam-Pima NM|Homestead NM|Hopewell Culture NHP|Hot Springs NP|Hovenweep NM|Hubble Trading Post NHS|Independence NHP|Ironwood NM

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P||Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

J-K James A Garfield NHS|Jean Lafitte NHP|Jewel Cave NM|John Day Fossil Bed NM|John F Kennedy NHS|John Muir NHS|Johnstown Flood NM|Joshua Tree NP|Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks NM|Kenilworth Park|Kings Canyon NP|Kings Mountain NMP|Klondike Gold Rush NHP
L Lake Mead NRA|Lake Roosevelt NRA|Lassen NP|Lava Beds NM|Lewis and Clark NHP|Lincoln Home NHS|Lincoln Memorial|Little Big Horn NM|Longfellow NHS|Lowell NHP|Lyndon B Johnson NHP
M Maggie L Walker NHS|Mammoth Cave NP|Manassas NB|Manzanar NM|Marsh Billings Rockefeller NHP|Martin Luther King NHS|Meridian Hill Park|Mesa Verde NP|Minidoka Internment NM|Minute Man NHP|Minuteman Missile NHS|Mojave NP|Monocacy NB|Montezuma Castle NM|Morristown NHP|Mount Rainier NP|Mount Rushmore NM|Mount St. Helens NM|Muir Woods NM
N Natural Bridges NM|Natchez NHS|Natchez Trace NP|Nat'l Center Preservation Tech & Training|Navajo NM|Newberry Volcanic NM|New Orleans Jazz NHP|Nez Perce NHP|Ninety Six NHS|North Cascades NP
O Ocmulgee NM|Old Stone House|Olympic NP|Oregon Caves NM|Organ Pipe Cactus NM|Oxon Cove Park & Oxon Hill Farm

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P||Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

P Padre Island NS|Palo Alto Battlefield NHS|Pecos NHP|Peirce Mill|Petersburg NB|Petrified Forest NP|Petroglyph NM|Pentagon NM|Pinnacles NM|Pipe Spring NM|Pipestone NM|Piscataway Park|Point Reyes NS|Port of Chicago NM|Poverty Point NM
 
R Redwood NP|Richmond NBP|Rock Creek Park|Rocky Mountain NP|Rosie the Riveter NHP
S Sagamore Hill NHS|Saguaro NP
|Saint-Gaudens NHS|Salem Maritime NHS|Salinas Pueblo Missions NM|San Antonio Missions NHP|San Francisco Maritime NHP|San Juan NHP|San Juan Island NHP|Santa Monica Mountains NRA|Santa Rosa - San Jacinto Mountains NM|Saratoga NHP|Saugus Iron Works NHS|Scott's Bluff NM|Sequoia NP|Shenandoah NP|Silos & Smokestacks NHA|Sonora Desert NM|Stanwix NM|Statue of Liberty NM|Stones River NB|Sunset Crater NM
T Thaddeus Kosciuszko NM|Theodore Roosevelt NP|Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural NHS|Theodore Roosevelt Island|Thomas Stone NHS|Timpanogos Cave NM|Tonto NM|Tumacácori NHP|Tuzigoot NM
U-V Upper Missouri River Breaks NM|
Valles Caldera NP|Valley Forge NHP|Vermillion Cliffs NM|Vicksburg NMP|Voyageurs NP
W Walnut Canyon NM|Washington DC|Weir Farm NHS|White Sands NM|Whitman Mission NM|William Howard Taft NHS|Wilson Creek NB|Wind Cave NP|Wolf Trap NP|Women's Rights NHP|Wupatki NM
 
Y-Z Yellowstone NP|Yosemite NP|Yucca House NM|Zion NP

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P||Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

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Revised: March 06, 2010.
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