Maxim Shulga
c0b881c1bf
Collect the open action items scattered across booking records into TODO.md, starting with the US$250 nonresident annual pass. Yosemite has no timed-entry reservation in 2026, and per NPS one nonresident pass admits the whole vehicle and waives the per-person surcharge at both parks, so update the parks notes accordingly.
4.3 KiB
4.3 KiB
National Parks — Places to See
Candidate menu of sights (with seasonal notes) for the Yosemite and Sequoia / Kings Canyon legs. The chosen, day-by-day version lives in days/ (Sep 22–26).
Before you go
- 2026 nonresident fee: from Jan 1, 2026, non-US residents pay a US$100 per-person surcharge at Yosemite and at Sequoia & Kings Canyon, on top of the US$35 vehicle fee. Everyone in the car is a nonresident. Per nps.gov the US$250 nonresident annual pass admits the entire vehicle and waives the surcharge — one pass covers all four at both parks (vs ~US$870 without). Buy the digital pass on recreation.gov before Sep 22; see
TODO.md - Yosemite entry reservation: none needed — the park dropped the timed-entry system for 2026. Drive in through the South Gate on Hwy 41
- Sunset ~6:55 PM in both parks on these dates; drives back to the cabins are in the dark
Yosemite (Sep 22–24)
Valley
- Tunnel View — classic valley panorama, on the Wawona road (Hwy 41); best light at sunset, so take it on the way out to the cabin
- Bridalveil Fall — 5-min walk from the car, right near Tunnel View
- Valley View — Merced River framing of the valley
- El Capitan — view from the meadow below. Note: Horsetail Fall firefall effect only happens in February; waterfall likely dry in September
- Cook's Meadow Loop — flat 1-mile walk, Half Dome framed over open meadow, great for golden hour photography
- Mirror Lake — Half Dome reflection; ~2 miles out and back from the shuttle stop, 5-mile full loop. Usually dry or nearly so by late September
- Lower Yosemite Falls trail — easy 1-mile paved loop, ~20-30 min, gets you right to the base
Above the Valley
- Glacier Point — Half Dome faces west, so it is backlit in the morning and glows at sunset. ~1 hr from the Valley, ~1 hr to Wawona; Washburn Point on the same road
South (near Wawona)
- Mariposa Grove — largest giant sequoia grove in Yosemite, 10 min from the cabin
Sequoia & Kings Canyon (Sep 24–26)
No cell service near the Miramonte cabin — screenshot maps and notes before arrival.
Sequoia — Giant Forest area
- Giant Forest Museum — orientation, start here
- General Sherman Tree — largest tree on Earth by volume; shuttle access
- Congress Trail — 2-mile paved loop through giant sequoias; better than just the Sherman stop
- Moro Rock — granite dome, ~350 steps to a panoramic summit
- Big Trees Trail — easy flat loop around a meadow
- Tunnel Log — drive-through fallen sequoia, on the Moro Rock / Crescent Meadow Road
- Crescent Meadow — end of the same road; 1-mile flat loop, Tharp's Log cabin, bears often graze here at dusk
- Tokopah Falls — ~3.5-mile round-trip hike from Lodgepole
- Crystal Cave — marble cave, guided tour only, tickets in advance. Note: usually closes for the season in late Sep / early Oct — verify dates
Kings Canyon
- Grant Grove & General Grant Tree — the "Nation's Christmas Tree", quieter than Sequoia
- Panoramic Point — 2.5-mile side road from Grant Grove, short walk to a Sierra crest overlook
- Kings Canyon Scenic Byway (Hwy 180) — dramatic descent into the canyon; walls glow in afternoon light
- Roaring River Falls — 5-min walk from the byway
- Grizzly Falls — roadside stop on the byway, 20 min below Grant Grove
- Canyon View turnout — just east of Cedar Grove; the U-shaped glacial canyon profile, 2-min stop
- Cedar Grove — services at the canyon bottom: lodge, market, snack bar, toilets; seasonal, usually closed from around the end of September
- Boyden Cavern — marble cave on the byway below Grant Grove, guided 45–60 min tour, concessioner-run; the cave fallback if Crystal Cave is closed
- Zumwalt Meadow — short loop, canyon walls + river
- Road's End — end of the byway, trailheads (~2 hrs each way from the cabin)
- Mist Falls — from Road's End, 8 mi round trip, ~4 hrs; the canyon's signature day hike, falls modest in late September
- Big Baldy — Generals Hwy between the Wye and Giant Forest; 4.5 mi round trip, ~2 hrs, ridge walk to a granite summit with views west