A Day In Yosemite National Park

We stayed with family friends Dwight and Lisa in the town of Modesto during our visit to Yosemite. Modesto is roughly two hours from the park, so we left their house at 5 AM and arrived at the park entrance around 7 AM.

Note: When we visited Yosemite National Park they were requiring a timed ticketed entry due to increased demand during the pandemic.

When driving into the park we saw the damage that the forest fires from the Fall 2020 had caused.

Hiking Mist Trail

Our day started off at the trailhead for Vernal and Nevada Falls via Mist Trail. Mist Trail is a 6 mile loop that climbs over 2,000 vertical feet and takes you past Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. This was one of the most scenic (and challenging) trails we have hiked.

As we climbed the slippery rock stairs past Vernal Falls we discovered how the trail was named.

After taking a quick rest break to take in the scenery and eat some snacks we headed towards Nevada Falls which was another 2 miles along the trail. This section included rock switchbacks as we climbed higher.

The trail culminates at the top of Nevada Falls with a view looking back down into the valley. We enjoyed the view and some more snacks before starting our decent.

Shortly after starting the trip down along the John Muir Trail we came around a corner to a panoramic view of Nevada Falls.

Lower Yosemite Falls

Once completing the Mist Trail and making it back to the car we headed toward the Lower Yosemite Falls. Lower Yosemite Falls makes up the lower portion of Yosemite Falls which is the 5th tallest waterfall in the world. The trail to the falls was only a mile long and then we scrambled over some rocks to get a little closer to the water.

Scenic Drives

We finished our quick visit to Yosemite by driving around and seeing some sights that were visible from the car before starting the drive back to Modesto. Our awesome hosts ordered dinner and had food ready for us once we arrived back to their house!