snegov
c0c8434de3
- Sep 22: enter via Hwy 120, exit via Wawona road with Cook's Meadow, El Capitan Meadow, Valley View and Tunnel View at sunset; pullouts, fallback loop, gas and grocery stops - Sep 23: Mariposa Grove first, Glacier Point at sunset; Chinquapin junction; Mirror Lake optional - Sep 24: 8 AM departure, route table after Fresno, cabin-stop options, Crescent Meadow and Tunnel Log, Moro Rock at sunset - Sep 25: byway stops on the return, Canyon View, Cedar Grove, Boyden Cavern optional, Big Baldy optional, Panoramic Point at sunset - Sep 26: drop the LK airport and weekend notes - parks_sights: fees and reservations section, light notes, new stops Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_0143dpDbP48SioBZZJ4iTf5c
65 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
65 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
# 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/`](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 vehicle entrance fee. Everyone in the car is a nonresident. A **US$250 nonresident annual pass** is meant to replace the surcharge — confirm on [nps.gov](https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fees.htm) whether one pass covers a full vehicle or is per person, and buy it before the Sep 22 entrance
|
||
- **Yosemite entry reservation:** check [nps.gov/yose](https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/reservations.htm) for 2026 peak-hours rules; a Wawona in-park stay usually counts as the reservation
|
||
- **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
|