Yosemite Tours National Park Map Bears Elevation<< >> Yosemite tours were possible from our hotel when we were staying in San Francisco a few years ago. It was the last few days of our trip when we hiked in the Grand Canyon. We had done a lot of driving so after we flew to San Francisco we didn’t bother with a car. We very much wanted to visit Yosemite National Park so we booked a day tour with one of the many companies that offered daily bus trips.
It is a three to four hour drive from San Francisco and the small bus we were travelling in wasn’t all that comfortable for such a long drive. We were picked up at our hotel around 7am and it was a nice change to be able for both of us to take in the scenery rather than finding routes etc. We were told to expect the weather to be a lot warmer as we went further in land so we dressed in layers to be comfortable.
As soon as we entered the park the driver gave us a Yosemite park map and stopped at all the scenic viewing points for photographs so although we do not generally like organised tours it did make it easy when we were on such a short visit. We kept a sharp lookout for the Yosemite bears but only saw one, which was a wooded carved one!
We saw Bridalveil Falls which was only a trickle in September but in Spring is a wonderful gushing waterfall.
We then went to the viewing point for perhaps the Park’s most famous natural wonder, El Capitan. It really takes your breath away, this huge lump of granite, which towers 3,593 feet from the valley and 7,569 feet from sea level. To put it in perspective it is almost twice the height of the rock of Gibralter. To climb this rock is apparently the dream of most rock climbers. As it takes more than a day the climbers have to sleep overnight in cradles.
There are loop buses to hop on and off. We took a bus to the base of the Yosemite Falls. Before we took our short climb to have a closer look we had our picnic lunch by the side of the Merced River. Fortunately it was a very warm and pleasant day, which always makes any visit more enjoyable. As we began to climb I was surprised to find that I was finding it a little difficult as though it was more of an effort that usual. Then I realised that it was probably Yosemite elevation and the altitude as the lowest point in the park is 2,000 feet above sea level.
Yosemite was dedicated a National Park in 1890 although it had been a State Park since 1864. I do not know the exact history but I do know that James Muir was instrumental in lobbying the Government to pass legislation so that areas of outstanding natural beauty could be set aside as National or State Parks in order to ensure their preservation. It goes without saying that there are innumerable trails some quite short and some very long and there are instructional films to view in the Centre to get a good overview of the Park which is very helpful if you only have a few hours as we did.
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to pop into the Awhanhee hotel, which was built for the ever-increasing numbers of visitors. It was built in the 1920’s and the outside looked impressive. It is in the centre of the Park so it commands the premier position.
The accommodations in the park are wide ranging to suit every pocket. We saw small areas with log cabin type lodges and of course many camping grounds for tents or mobile camper vans.
We managed a flavour of this wonderful park and because of our time limits it was the best we could manage but even to just drive around you would need three or four days and for those who love the outdoors no time would be too long. You might even see some bears. << >>
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