Trip to Yosemite April 13-15

I'm leaving for California to visit a friend april 11-16. She lives only 3 hours from Yosemite so we decided to go down there for a couple days. From reading on their website it says through April I dont require a reservation for a wilderness permit which is great news. We just planned to go for 2 days 1 night and wanted to hike around a bit and probably drive to the most popular areas due to time constraints (The valley, the sequoia grove and big dome). If anyone has any experience with hiking there and wanted to give me any input as to which trailheads are the most scenic that would be great (i know some are closed due to snow). Any general advice as to things you guys found to do there would be most welcome as well.

Really the only backpacking destination that's a reasonable bet in Yosemite in April is Hetch-hetchy to Rancheria Falls. Snow levels can be low (the storm this weekend is expected to drop snow down to 4,000--which is about where Yosemite Valley lives) and most of the rest of the park is well above 7,000 feet.

Or you could just day-hike the valley, which should be glorious that time of year, with waterfalls actually containing wet water.

Check out our website for a long list of great day hikes in the valley...

I think this year will be different. We are in a severe drought. There is very little snow in Yosemite right now. The north rim is pretty open year-round up to about 7000 feet elevation. I have done a 3-day North Rim trip in the past in early April, taking snowshoes, which I used above 7000 feet. You definitely can get to Yosemite Creek without snow. Also up Snow Creek- great camping on the buttress just before you get to the bridge.

The thing about Yosemite, is that day-hiking really lets you see more than backpacking. April is a very good time to hike the 12-mile valley loop. Day-hike to the top of Yosemite Falls. Then do an overnight up Snow Creek. Mist Trail may be open for a great day hike. Little Yosemite campground will be closed but you may be able to get up to Bunnell Falls. There is enough great day-hiking from the Valley to fill 3-4 days.

Would I be permitted to camp in the valley outside of the campgrounds? I am going to just day hike the valley as you guys have suggested, sounds great to me. I would really rather not camp at a site but with myself and my girl in the tranquility of the Yosemite night. Any input?

No backpacking is allowed inside the Valley. You have to be at least four miles up a trail out of the valley to camp, or stay in a campground.

You can camp at Camp IV, which is the traditional rock-climbers campground, in a regular campsite (good luck-they are hard to find!) or at a campground outside the park.

It all depends on the weather. I've had four feet of snow at the top of Yosemite Falls over Memorial Day(no fun at all) and I've also had pleasant trips earlier in the year.

And while this is a dry year (understatement!) a new storm can still drop a foot of snow up there just about any time between now and the end of May

Yosemite Valley and "tranquility" are mostly at odds. I love Yosemite Valley - the spectacular scenery, especially in Spring, beats about anything else I have seen. BUT, it is accessible, highly regulated with regard to camping, and NOT a wilderness experience. People who go to Yosemite with a fixed expectation of "tranquility" and "wilderness" will be disappointed and really miss the main attraction - the scenery, the waterfalls, the huge granite walls. There is nothing better than sitting out in the middle of El Cap Meadows, with a good bottle of wine and your significant other, BUT, there will be 20 or so other people doing the same thing. Not that you are rubbing elbows, but it is not a solo experience. Anywhere you can legally camp outside of a campground is a major hike to get to - although only 3 miles to Yosemite Creek, it s a 3000-foot elevation gain. There is some "dispersed" camping on Forest Service land along the road to Hetch Hetchy but it is not a bit scenic.

There are also some campgrounds on the El Portal road route into the valley (like if you were coming up from Merced), also BLM site(s) up outside of town of Mariposa. And the Mariposa fairgrounds allow overnights as well (though right by Hwy 49)...

What trail would you recomend me taking from Hetch Hetchy? I don't want to stay in a campground, i want to camp in the woods. We now will be there for 3 days 2 nights. Also will only a life straw suffice for water needs?

One good thing about Yosemite Valley--you can hike the paved paths in the valley with a dog (I checked with the ranger when I was there, although that was a few years back).

Hike out to Rancheria Falls from Hetch-hetchy. Camp at the falls, then day hike to LeConte Point for the second day. Nice hike, great views of the whole valley. And then hike back out the third day.

Or you can try Lake Eleanor to Laurel Lake, Lake Vernon...another nice hike.

If conditions allow, you could even hike from Cherry Lake (Shingle SPrings) up to Boundary Lake...

We have photos and trip notes on all of these on our website.

Speaking of which, anybody been to the Cherry and Eleanor lake areas since the fire? Seem to recall they were both completely enveloped, based on the fire map, but sometimes the fire areas leave green patches.

Thanks a lot for your time! That sounds like a great trip plan. They give out wilderness passes at the Hetch Hetchy ranger station, correct? Just to triple check, you need not a reservation in april for overnight wilderness passes? I checked out your website and it was greatly helpful. Thank you for taking your time (and I think your wife's time too?) to make a site and pack it full of information to aid other travellers. You guys are great!

Partly answering my own question, Google Map satellite photo is updated post-fire and shows the burn's extent. Not pretty. Even Kibbie Ridge caught the destruction. The area's not 100% burned but the green islands are a fraction of the burn total.

For an instructive before/after, compare the Google and Bing satellite views, as Bing is pre-fire.

You do need a permit in April, but there is not enough demand for them to take reservations. And you can pick up the permit at the wilderness office at Big Oak Flat...about a mile past the HH turn-off on Highway 120.

Thanks for the kind words!

Me and the partner planned to drive down the night before and just sleep overnight to avoid early morning driving. We will get to Yosemite around 9-10pm and I wondered if anyone knew of a spot to camp outside the park over night. That way we could just wake up and drive 10-20 minutes at the most to get our permits at the Hetch Hetchy station at 8am then hit the trailhead.

Turn north on the Evergreen Road (big sign, just before the Big Oak entrance). There are several spots along the road to camp. Better yet, continue past Ackerman Creek, and just up the hill, a dirt road turns left. I think it is about 2-4 miles up the road. There are several dispersed campsites, some quite nice and secluded. You have to have a fire permit if you have a fire. Get a fire permit at any forest service station. Next morning, you can self register at Big Oak Flat entrance, but you have to go back and drive up the Evergreen Road. I usually just get my permit on the way to Hetch Hetchy. I think that entrance opens at 7AM. You cannot park in the day-use area at Hetch Hetchy. You park by the backpackers campground (which is not likely to be open).

You are aware that bear canisters are required. Required or not, this area is full of bears. Before heading up to camp at LeConte Point, be aware that the streams past Rancheria Creek are seasonal. I did an early trip on that trail in a year with more snow than we have now, and in the five days I was out, the creeks dried up when I returned. Those little creeks are just snowmelt creeks. When the snow is gone, so are the creeks. Generally, asking the rangers about water conditions is useless. You really have to just check this out yourself.

I just purchased a bear vault. How many water sources are around other than the reservoir? Enough to not worry I've heard. Any advice on bears, other than leave them alone and bearvault ALL scented items? Thank you for the info on camp grounds. The grounds are accessible even as late as 10pm?

The reservoir is not easily accessible from the trail. The trail traverses a bench 100+ feet above the reservoir. The main water source is the creek at the campsites at Rancheria Falls and the bridge at Wampona (sp?)Falls. You can drop to the reservoir at Rancheria Creek, but it is a difficult boulder-hop, bushwhack. However there is good fishing down there.

A side comment here: Although you can get information from this forum, you really need to take a look at the 7.5 minute topo maps and do some "homework" yourself. Really studying these maps will familiarize you with the terrain. Also take a look at Google Earth. You cannot see the trail but you can see a lot- trees, boulders, etc. The more you can visualize the terrain in your mind's eye before you go out, the easier time you will have when out there.

I see now my natgeo map did not do as much justice to the terrain as these nps.gov maps do. Anyone know anything on Tueeulala Falls, would this be reliable as a water source? Then as I see on the map obviously there is Wapama Falls and Rancheria Creek. The seasonal streams you are referring to do they run near Le Conte Point? I do not see anything for water sources near there.

To "stay in the woods" in Yosemite means you need a backpacking permit, and will need to camp four miles from any paved road. When you get the permit (available via the Wilderness Office in the Valley, or at Big Oak Flat entrance station, they will explain the rest of the rules, which include using a bear canister at all times for all items that smell-except you!

There are campgrounds just outside the park as well, including one quite near the Groveland Ranger station for the Stanislaus national forest, about 15 minutes from the entrance to the park on Highway 120.

IF you DO have a backpacking permit, you are also allowed to spend one night before, and one night after you backpacking trip in one of the backpacker campgrounds in the park, such as Tuolumne Meadows or the Valley floor. These are not elegant or private, but they are the only legal place to sleep in these areas if you don't have a campsite reserved but you do have a backpacking permit.