The Best Way to See Yosemite Valley

On Wednesday afternoon we left Santa Cruz and made our way to Thousand Trails Yosemite Lakes. Our drive started with rain, fog and traffic but luckily cleared up as we made our way across the valley and up the winding mountain roads toward Yosemite. The drive was relatively smooth but definitely not the easiest drive and we were anxious to drive into Yosemite Valley the next morning to experience why we had towed our home thousands of feet up a narrow and twisting road.

The previous several days brought snow and rain to Yosemite but Thursday greeted us with a bright blue, cloudless sky. As we made our way toward the park entrance we drove past snow not only on the distant peaks but in the forest we were driving through. Our first glimpse of the valley, with views of Half Dome and El Cap dusted in snow and illuminated by the sun, literally took our breath away.

We knew how busy Yosemite can get and were grateful we could visit on a spring weekday. Parking lots were still mostly full but we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls, one of the first stops in the valley, and found a place to park. From what we had found online it looked like this would be a good place to park for the day and bike through the valley, but once we stopped here and looked at the trail maps at the trailhead we learned that the biking trails are farther into Yosemite Valley. We hiked to see the falls, hopped back in the car and drove to find a place to start our biking tour.

We found parking along Southside Drive just past the Swinging Bridge Picnic Area and just before the chapel. The bike path is right along the road here so hopped on our bikes and started riding. The bike paths are smooth, paved and flat, so we could focus on the views more than the biking.

We enjoyed spectacular views of Half Dome, stopped in the Happy Isles Nature and Art Center where I picked up some art resources to use with the boys and our friends at camp, pedaled uphill (the only hill we biked on all day) to Mirror Lake, wandered through Yosemite Village and biked through meadows, along rivers and beneath waterfalls.

We didn't have to circle parking lots, get in and out of the car multiple times, decide again and again if a certain viewpoint was worth the effort of parking (especially with a big truck). We had such an incredible day that we want to bike through the valley again, perhaps stopping at the museum and different viewpoints on our next visit.