Welcome back to Run The Atlas. Today, I'm talking about Yosemite national park and the
things you need to know before visiting this natural wonder. there are so many things to
know about this national park it's roughly the size of Rhode Island meaning it is 1189 square
miles. that's a lot of ground! I've visited this national park dozens of times throughout the year
and as a California resident, I'm constantly going back for more because there's so much to see here.
every time i stay here i notice something new so i'm passing along the information to you so that
you know the best places to take photos the best hikes where to stay and some things to avoid so
you want to stay tuned to the end so that you are prepared for your trip some facts about yosemite
yosemite is known for its deep valleys granite rock half dome and the 3 000 foot sheer cliff
of el capitan which attracts rock climbers from around the world yosemite is a legendary
california landmark established in 1890 as the third national park in the united states
it's located in the sierra nevada mountains it is some of the most breathtaking landscape and as the
famous environmentalist and conservationist john muir said it's by far the grandest
of all special temples of nature i have ever been permitted to enter yosemite national park
how to get here yosemite is accessible via car and you're most likely going to take your private
vehicle into the park there are five entrances i'm going to put the map right here hedgehog
big oak arch rock south entrance and Tioga Pass the entrances are open 24 hours a day
365 days a year. however, each entrance is situated towards different sites within the park
and some of the entrances may be closed so which entrance should you choose well it depends on
where you're coming from so if you're coming from LA you're going to hit the south entrance
and this is located near Oakhurst California. you can either stay outside of the park in Oakhurst,
which is only 15 minutes from the entrance or you can stay within the south entrance area
at Wawona. there's a historic hotel here called Wawona there's a golf course, there's the Mariposa
Grove with 2,000-year-old trees, and there's even a steam train which is fun for the whole
family. we stayed just outside of the park at the holiday inn express Oakhurst has a number
of national hotel chains so it's very comfortable to stay here one thing to note is be sure
to get into the park before 10 a.m preferably before 8 am because you will experience
long lines getting into the park and I'm going to insert a time-lapse video here.
if you're coming in through the bay area,
you're going to enter the park through the west entrance which is the Arch Rock area
and the nearest cities are Merced and mariposa so you can definitely stay there as well.
you can stay near Hetch Hetchy at the Evergreen Lodge and this is a great area to unplug
and reset because there's not a lot of internet service and the cabins here are very basic they
don't come with TVs or a lot of technology so it's a great place to really get away from it all
and the lodge here is roughly $144 dollars per night. this area is or was known as Yosemite's
second valley. A dam was constructed in this area which caused water to fill up in the valley and
it looks completely different today than it originally did. The dam was constructed to provide
drinking water to the regional San Francisco area and John Muir, the writer and environmentalist,
helped to prevent further commercial interest in Yosemite and in fact, the National Park Services
was started in 1914 to protect the area from things like this ever happening again.
so if you're coming in through the sierras such as mammoth
or lee vining or mono lake you will enter through the Tioga pass please
note that this area is frequently closed due to snowfall especially between November and spring
so check the national park website to make sure the roads are open during your visit
let's talk about roads so when you're traveling through yosemite plan for very curvy roads not
a lot of guard rails the mileage is around 25 miles per hour so it can take you quite a bit
of time to travel throughout this park to get from the yosemite valley to the glacier point
took about an hour so that's quite a distance and quite a drive i also recommend driving here during
the daytime because a lot of the roads don't have guard rails and because of those hairpin turns
it can be kind of treacherous and i do recommend traveling during the best visibility time. if
you don't want to deal with coming in and out of the park i recommend staying in yosemite valley.
be sure to book your accommodation six months plus in advance because it sells out very fast
and there's every type of accommodation from your basic campsite with bathroom facilities to
the five-star hotel the Ahwahnee hotel. this hotel is very historic it also served as the inspiration
to the hotel in the movie The Shining so if you're a movie buff definitely check it out. you do not
need to stay here to enjoy the hotel you can walk through it as a visitor they have some beautiful
Native American artwork throughout the hotel there's a dining hall which is really cool
but if you do stay here plan to spend about 500 a night this is where a number of famous people
have stayed including dignitaries and even Steve Jobs had his wedding here. if you're looking for
something more budget-friendly you can check out the cedar cottage or the Yosemite valley lodge
those are both great options so what is the most populated part of yosemite
that is the yosemite valley so this right here is called the Yosemite valley it's like a meadow in
between the majestic granite mountains and it's the most popular region for visitors
this is where all the cars are traveling to when they enter the park this is where the eateries
are the lodges the visitor center the campsites everything is in the Yosemite valley it's also
where you can get some of the most spectacular views and also enter some of the hiking trails
including the Yosemite falls hiking trail the tallest fall in the park this right here is
half dome the icon of the national park it's 8 842 feet tall down below we have Vernal falls
right down there it's 317 feet tall and then Nevada Falls which drops 597 feet. Beautiful.
the next question is when to visit Yosemite? so 75 of visitors visit between May and October.
these are the most crowded periods and the most crowded season is summertime so if you
want to visit a more peaceful time of year i recommend early november this is when we went
and it was really peaceful and beautiful to be in the park without a lot of crowds
only a fraction of the park is traversed by visitors so even if you visit within summertime
you will definitely find parts of this park with lots of peace and solace if you're hiking here
you're going to be hiking on a lot of slippery surfaces including granite rock
and pine needles so be sure to bring some really sturdy hiking shoes with you
have a first aid kit with you the internet access within the park is very spotty i was surprised to
get internet at all within a national park but if you're going off the beaten path or
on some of the hiking trails be sure to carry a satellite phone download the map to your phone
have a paper map with you also have a meet-up place in mind because it is very very easy to
get lost within this park i've actually gotten lost within this park before and it's it's a
little scary so be sure to have a meet-up point in mind so for food i recommend bringing in a picnic
from outside the park and checking out some of the picnic tables and picnic areas there's also the
visitors center which has a number of food options as well and the wani hotel has an extraordinary
dining room with floor to ceiling windows. okay this right here is a map and we drove from
this entrance the south entrance through Wawona to glacier point it took us about 50 minutes
and now we're at one of the most stunning viewpoints if you're looking for the best view I
recommend going to the high altitude points first so check out glacier point or the Washburn area
and these areas are above 3,000 feet high and you can get this beautiful expansive bird's
eye view of the entire Yosemite Valley from Half Dome all the way to the Yosemite Falls.
We are at Glacier Point! 360-degree views of the Yosemite valley and half dome.
This is Glacier Point one of the most spectacular views on earth. there's something for everybody
within Yosemite whether you're traveling with kids or pets or you're looking for the best campsites
rock climbing there's something for everyone. this national park has a number of different altitude
variations so I was surprised to know that half dome is not the highest part of this national park
even though it's above 8,000 feet high the highest point is Mount Lyell which is 13,114 feet high.
so there you have it, I hope that you get a chance to visit Yosemite very soon what are your tips to
visit Yosemite comment below and be sure to like and subscribe to this video to support
more videos like this and I hope to see you in our next travel video - cheers.