Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
4. Badger Pass
Beyond Wawona the drive winds north through hilly forests and across shallow creeks to
Chinquapin (named for the glossy evergreen shrub that grows nearby). Here Rte. 41 meets
Glacier Point Road, a 16-mile spur that encompasses some of Yosemite's most stunning
vistas. In winter Badger Pass, the first stop along the way, attracts thousands of downhill
and cross-country skiers to its powdery trails and slopes. During the snow season Glacier
Point Road is closed east of Badger Pass, but in spring and summer the road descends to
bloom-sprinkled meadows where deer graze and insects buzz.
5. Taft Point
Following Glacier Point Road a few miles to the east, the drive reaches the trail to Taft
Point. After walking about a mile, hikers arrive at the lofty rim that overlooks Yosemite
Valley.Fromanisolatedlookouttheyhaveabreathtakingpreviewofthree-tieredYosemite
Falls, monumental El Capitan, and many other world-famous wonders that can be viewed
from a closer perspective when the drive continues through the valley below.
6. Sentinel Dome
Exceptional vistas await those who walk the nearby one-mile trail to Sentinel Dome, the
last leg of which takes hikers up the curved side of this massive mound of granite to its
8,122-foot summit. Tenacious Jeffrey pines, gnarled and stunted by strong winds, grow
from openings in the rock. In spring Sentinel Fall cascades down cliffs to the west of the
dome.
7. Glacier Point
For its last two miles, Glacier Point Road leads steeply down a series of switchbacks to its
terminus, Glacier Point, where the vistas are among the park's most spectacular. From a
dizzying granite precipice a short walk from the parking lot, the overlook takes in the floor
of the Yosemite Valley some 3,200 feet below, Half Dome (from this angle resembling the
headofabird),numerouswaterfalls(Vernal,Nevada,Yosemite),andtheHighSierrainthe
background, with its expanse of domes, ridges, and snow-covered peaks.
8. Wawona Tunnel View
Backtracking to Chinquapin and heading north, the drive winds through forests of pon-
derosa pine, incense cedar, and black oak to Wawona Tunnel, a passageway nearly a mile
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