May 13-20, 2023
This year for our family vacation we decided to take on Yosemite National Park!
On Saturday morning, we all flew out from Nashville to Sacramento. We chose to fly Southwest to Sacramento due to the times available for the one-way flights. Upon landing in California, we took the airport shuttle to the rental car area to pick up our 4Runner and Jeep Wrangler for the week. We had rented two 4Runners from Alamo; however, upon arrival they only had one left and upgraded one rental to a Jeep for free.
Our first stop was In-And-Out Burger for lunch before driving the 3 hours to Rush Creek Lodge. We stopped in Groveland at the Mar-Val grocery store to pick up breakfast, lunch and snacks for the week. The store was 30 minutes from the lodge and the closest grocery store. There was a gas station/store (Yosemite Lakes Country Store) that was 10 minutes from the lodge that carried basic groceries as well.
Normally Rush Creek Lodge is a couple of miles from the park’s western Big Oak Flat entrance and a little less than an hour from Yosemite Valley (the two white dots below on the map). Unfortunately, less than two week before we arrived Big Oak Flat Road was closed from just inside the park boundary to Merced Grove due to a road crack. The crack was about 200 feet long and 4 feet deep making it unpassable. Therefore, we had to enter the park via the Arch Rock Entrance from Hwy 140/El Portal Rd which took around 2 1/2 hours one-way. We just made the best of it!
Something to note depending on the time of year you visit Yosemite is the requirement of car reservations on top of the daily entrance fees. Also Tioga Road within the park had not opened for the season when we were there and did not open until July due to all the snow from the winter. Check the park website for updates and requirements for visiting and plan accordingly.
At Rush Creek Lodge, Jonathan, Hillarie and I stayed in one of the lodge rooms. Casey, Derrick, Barrett and Mom stayed in one of the Hillside Villas. Both rooms had mini-refrigerators and hot water kettles which was all we needed to make some quick oatmeal or cereal breakfast and sandwiches for picnics.
Sunday we ventured to the Hetch Hetchy portion of the park which was less than 30 minutes from the lodge.
We started at the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and O’Shaughnessy Dam. The final phase was completed in 1938, raising the height of the dam to 430 feet. Today the reservoir holds 117 billion gallons of clean drinking water. The reservoir is 8 miles long and is the largest single body of water within the national park.
We hiked the Wapama Falls Trail (5 miles roundtrip). Jonathan, Hillarie and I went all the way to the falls, but the rest turned around due to the water flowing over the trail. The waterfalls in Yosemite are really flowing in the spring with all of the snow melt. Whether you hike all the way to the base of the falls or turn around you can still see the falls. We all enjoyed the hike along the reservoir.
The wildflowers were also in bloom and were beautiful!
Since it was also Mother’s Day we made reservations at the lodge restaurant and had a delish dinner after a fun first day.
Monday we decided to make the drive to Yosemite Valley so we left the lodge at 6am due to the long drive ahead of us (see map above…we were driving to the red pin on the map). It was a long very curvy drive!
When we arrived in the valley we found parking near the falls, but parking is definitely not easy to find if you don’t arrive early.
Yosemite Falls is one of the world’s tallest and is actually made up of three separate falls: Upper Yosemite Fall (1,430 feet), the Middle Cascades (675 feet), and Lower Yosemite Fall (320 feet). Due to time we did the Lower Falls Loop. Be prepared to get a little wet!
After seeing the falls, we continued on Cook’s Meadow trail and found the perfect place for a picnic in the meadow with an amazing view.
For our afternoon hike, we chose to do the trail to Mirror Lake. We didn’t do the full loop due to flooding and trees being down on the trail.
We also drove the loop around the Valley and saw El Capitan (“the captain”, “the chief”). The granite monolith is about 3,000 feet from base to summit along its tallest face and is a world-famous location for big wall climbing. Highly recommend watching the film/documentary “Free Solo” about Alex Honnold’s completion of the first free solo climb of El Capitan in 2017.
Before setting out on our journey back to the lodge, we ate dinner in the park at the Curry Village Pizza Deck. It was a great choice after a long day at the park.
On Tuesday, we decided to do something closer to the lodge. We did the hike to Carlon Falls since the trailhead was a 5 minute drive. It was a fun and challenging hike. So proud of my Mom for climbing right up the rocks and conquering the trail! Once we made it to the falls we had a picnic lunch.
That afternoon we decided to hang out at the lodge pool and then ordered some dinner to go from the lodge restaurant. Also the lodge provided free s’more kits for a fun time at the fire pit.
Wednesday morning we left again super early to set out on another long drive to Mariposa Grove. The shuttle was not yet in operation for the season to the Grove. It was an additional 2 mile hike to the trailhead that had a steady elevation gain. If you are going when the shuttle is not in operation know that it will add a total of around 4 miles to your hike so bring plenty of water. (The bathrooms and water refilling stations at the trailhead also were not open for the season. There is a vault bathroom about halfway up the road to the trailhead.)
Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias is the largest sequoia grove in Yosemite and is home to over 500 mature giant sequoias. We did the Grizzly Giant Loop trail; however, we didn’t do the full loop. We did the trail to the California tunnel tree and then hiked back the same way we hiked in.
Next, we hiked the trail to see the Fallen Monarch, the Grizzly Giant and the California Tunnel Trees. It was absolutely amazing how big these tree are!
No one knows how old the Fallen Monarch tree is or when it fell. Although the bark and sapwood are decayed, the remaining heartwood is fortified with tannins. The natural compounds protect the tree. Therefore, it may take it several more centuries to decompose.
The Grizzly Giant is estimated to be between 1,800 to 2,800 years old, 209 feet tall, 28 feet in diameter, and 96 feet in circumference at its base!
The tunnel through the California Tunnel Tree was carved in 1895 as a tourism promotion.
For dinner we had some delicious Mexican food at Plazuelas Mexican Restaurant in the town of Oakhurst (I didn’t get a picture of it, but Casey and Jonathan both had a traditional mexican huarache that they loved). We also made a stop for dessert at Gold Cup Creamery in Mariposa.
Thursday we decided to split up. Casey, Derrick, Mom and Barrett decided to stay near the lodge for the day. They had breakfast at The Lucky Buck Cafe, explored the nearby town of Groveland and relaxed at the lodge.
Jonathan, Hillarie and I got up early to go back to the Valley for the day. After stopping for coffee and breakfast at The Pony Express in Mariposa, we headed to the park. We also learned on our drive that the town of Coulterville, CA was voted “The Nicest Town in America” in 2022.
We hiked the Inspiration Point Trail. It was a 1000 foot elevation gain in less than a mile! The iconic tunnel view of Yosemite Valley, El Capitan, Half Dome & Bridalveil Falls were worth it!
We then made one more loop around the valley before heading back to the lodge.
We stopped in Mariposa for dinner at 1850 Restaurant and Brewery.
On Friday we had breakfast at the lodge before making the drive back to Sacramento.
We stopped along the way at Indigency Reserve Orchard & Cidery in Sonara.
We also stopped in Columbia to walk around the town and get lunch. It was founded as a boomtown in 1850 when gold was found during the California Gold Rush. Barrett also did some mining there.
We checked into the Comfort Suites near the Sacramento airport and ordered dinner to-go from The Burger Saloon.
Saturday morning we flew back home after a week of family fun! We definitely would like to visit Yosemite again in the future. There were so many areas of the park that were still closed due to snow!
So Many Places So Little Time 