Is Yosemite Crowded?
Yes. But not awful. We drove in from our cabin on Monday morning, starting at the Big Oak Flat entrance around 9 :15. Three kiosks were open, and there were only two cars waiting at each one.
In the valley, parking was a breeze in the lot by Yosemite Lodge--we got a space in the shade all day -and the hike up the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail saw us meeting only a dozen or so people.
I'm still working through a painful and arthritic knee, so we only hiked up to Columbia Rock. In the ten minutes we spent there, we saw only five other hikers.. until the crowds arrived.
First, a teacher from West Hollywood High School and literally bus loads of the senior class. And then hundreds more tackling the hike. By this time we were on our way down, nursing my knee, and we got back to Camp 4 in time to eat lunch at a picnic table there. Nobody else using a table.
From there we strolled over to the Lower Falls--busy, but not jam-packed --and were delighted to spot a bobcat hunting nearby. We then took the shuttle around the Valley. The only issue we had due to crowds was having to wait, with fifteen other people, for a second bus because the first filled up quickly.
That was only an issue on the Yosemite Falls stop.
Admittedly, we were there relatively early and a weekday before summer vacations, but it waa a day well spent, and the crowds were perfectly manageable.
But for another perspective on a busier day, read this;
And yes, what the writer refers to as California Rock is actually called Columbia Rock. I hope the rest of the article is more accurate.
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