Corlieu Falls, Sierra National Forest: 2025 Feb 17 (4 of 5)…read more Named after Charles Clifford Corlieu, an early pioneer of the region, the falls here are a prominent feature along Lewis Creek Trail. The walk took 3.8 miles. Though the hike is relatively short, the steep incline towards the ridge is not for the faint-hearted. Why 4 and not 5? There was graffiti along the rails which was a distraction for visitors. These are writing on a public surface without permission, and is considered vandalism and an eyesore. Accessible via Highway 41

Many trails for all types of hikers. I took a very short 15min trail to see the water falls here…read more Just ask around and follow signs and they will tell you where to go.

The Wawona entrance to Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias was a new to me area of…read morethe park, when I visited in Mid-June 2026. Without the reservation system this year, even a weekday brings lines at the entrance kiosk. It was about a 45 minute wait. But, once entering the park, the Mariposa Welcome Center parking area had ample parking. The grove's gateway is just a couple of minutes from the Wawona entrance where there's a gift shop, restrooms and the shuttle bus to the grove (only runs seasonally.) I found the shuttles to run efficiently, albeit crowded. However, unless you want to hike up a steep paved road and add 2 miles to your hike, they're the only way up to the grove, as private vehicles are not allowed to drive or park there (those with disabilty tags are the exception.) The lower grove was packed and features the popular and iconic trees such as the Grizzly Giant and Tunnel Tree. It was too chaotic to really enjoy fully, but I was on my way to Wawona Point and the upper grove, so didn't linger in the main area too long. Once past the Grizzly Giant loop, the crowds exponentially thinned out and the forest became peaceful. It's a beautiful area and has a decent length hike to the upper grove, where the Guardians Loop trail was the standout along with Wawona Point (featuring a scenic overlook of the Wawona area.) The upper trails reminded me of a shorter version of Sequoia National Park's "giant forest loop." The trails were well kept and featured an array of wildflowers, green meadows and of course the iconic sequoias. You can make a longer loop or out and back and see most of the area in a longer day hike. It's a quieter and beautiful area of Yosemite that gets overlooked in comparison to the touristy lower grove and the valley. It is about a 45-50 minute drive to connect back down to the valley so you can visit both in one day, but I decided to linger and take my time in the beautiful upper grove areas. Either way, Mariposa Grove is a worthwhile stop in your Yosemite itinerary

Half day at Mariposa Grove. Parked at the visitor center and took a shutter. This will be the only…read morelocation for parking and shuttle ride. 6mins and you will reach the groves. We did the grizzly giant loop trail. Very easy and we took our time and enjoyed the trees. The trail is nicely kept and very easy to walk on. The end of the loop has a slight incline and it is all down hill from there and it peas straight out to the shutter.

It was a great family experience. Everybody is very kind, and inform you about everything, a good…read morelearning experience.

Sugar Pine Railroad was very fun and enjoyable, the staff are friendly and nice, highly recommend !read more

The scenery of Tenaya Lake is absolutely stunning from every angle, attracting photographers to…read morevisit and press shutters. However, tons of mosquitoes were assembling here, chasing and attacking you. Repellents are useless under such situation. Be careful!

One of my favorite places in Yosemite. In the summer it's all about the swimming in the beautiful…read moreshallow waters on the edge of the lake with little boulders to sit and sunbathe on. In the fall/winter we enjoyed walking on the beaches and watching the sunrise on the lake that was covered in a layer of steam.

Railtown State Historic Park is extremely cool and fun for all ages! We got to stand on the caboose…read morebuilt for Back To The Future III, viewed the train smoke stack from Little House on the Prairie train, coal powered steam engines, and we saw the Well from the olddddddd show Peticoat Junction: We also were able to see some old trains including ones with wooden grates in the front, and lots of train parts!! He enjoyed explaining things to me.. For a very small fee you can take a ride on a train. Walk around the grounds and see old engines, workshops with all sorts of parts, machines of all sorts. A map is providing for easy understanding of the grounds. It is a trek to get across the grounds and would be difficult for someone with mobility issues. Both of my children grew up coming to not only this park, but to Columbia also. Our family has made many trips here over the years. We love combining, education, history and adventure. They host Christmas events here like the Polar Express train ride to North Pole. This was such a spectacular event I brought my daughter to when she was little. We watched the movie the night before. When we arrived in our pajamas for our VIP seat, we stood in line where we were lovingly harassed by actors. We boarding the train after getting a golden ticket! We sat in the back car. Actors were dancing and singing and chasing hobos off the train while we enjoyed a ride and spilled hot cocoa out of polar express keepsake mugs. Arriving at North Pile and seeing the elves and Santa pushed it over the edge for my young daughter. She was beyonnnnnd excited!! Will I return: We always do. There's something incredibly nostalgic about this place!

This review is strictly for the 'Polar Express' holiday ride…read more Our family had high expectations for the polar express train ride. We were looking forward to a "magical" evening for the kids but the experience turned out to be what a huge disappointment and waste of money!! 45 minutes of the one hour ride was a slow churn in darkness through unkept brush. for $80 a person ($720 for the family), it is an insult to people and to the holiday! Shame on these people! Wow!! Wow!! Wooow!! That is what we kept saying as we approached the 'north pole' which was some farm equipment with lights on them, crudely painted wood and cardboard cutouts of reindeer and other christmas figures, horrible lighting, and a couple of people standing in costumes waiving. At $80 a person, this is a complete RIP OFF! We all agreed that at best it is not worth more than $20, Avoid this scam at all costs.

The staff was very friendly. The tour guide shared a lot of interesting information. The…read moreunderground tunnels and gardens were fascinating. The price was worth it so that this place can be kept up for hundreds of more years. I was very impressed with what Mr. Forestiere did with his hands. The bottom chamber was 20-25 degrees cooler than above ground. Trees are over a hundred years old and still producing fruit. What a great and unique piece of history right here in Fresno CA.

I've lived in Fresno my whole life and somehow didn't visit Forestiere Underground Gardens until…read morelast year. that is a mistake I genuinely regret. one man hand carved an underground world beneath the San Joaquin Valley over decades and you can walk through it. the fact that this exists here and most Fresno locals have never been is wild to me. the tunnels, the rooms, the skylights that let in just enough light to grow citrus trees underground. it sounds impossible until you're standing in it. the tour guides are great. ours knew the history inside and out and made the whole thing feel like a story rather than a lecture. you leave actually knowing who Baldasare Forestiere was and why he did what he did and it sticks with you. its not a long visit but its a full one. I was genuinely moved in a way I didn't expect from a Saturday afternoon activity in Fresno. bring people who are visiting from out of town. bring people who've lived here forever. this is the kind of place that makes you see your own city differently and that doesn't happen often. if you haven't been, go soon. and if you have been, you already understand why I felt the need to write this.

Highly highly recommend stopping over at this point if you're on your way to Tenaya lake !…read more This point provides absolutely stunning views of the Half Dome and if you observe closely through a binoculars you'll see folks hiking up-to the Half Dome

Named after the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted (best known for designing Central…read morePark NYC). From here you are north and east of the Yosemite Valley looking at Half Dome from the other side. There are trails along the rock and scrabble. A nice stop. One of the recommended stops along the Tioga Pass Road, Olmsted Point does not disappoint. We knew nothing of this when we were there. This was out second visit to the park but the first time to this area. Saw Tenaya lake pics somewhere and headed over to see it ... happened upon several bears .. i large brown bear and later a momma black bear with 3 babies. We spent some time enjoying the lake .. drove up and had it to ourselves without hiking or effort. Easy and special moment. Afterwards we stopped a few time to soak up the view of the Tioga pass... Olmstead point was def worth the stop .. very unusual rock formations. Easy to see .. no effort

Ever since we made our return reservations almost a year ago; I've been looking forward to this…read moreroad being open! Usually it's open from late May to October or November directly depending on the amount of snowfall. Once we turned onto the Glacier Point road it was roughly 16 miles until we reached the spectacular viewpoint area. There are numerous places to pull over. Some are viewpoints, other's are hiking trails. Plan on bringing your own food & water. Can't beat the views for a nice bag lunch! It has been many moons since I first laid eyes on the beautiful snow flower. Imagine my surprise and delight in spotting the snow flower (sarcodes sanguinea) along the edges of the roadway! For those of you unfamiliar these plants are located in montane areas of the California Floristic Province, above 5,000 feet. Since I don't live in elevations above 5,000 feet it's rare that I see them. A large parking lot, some port a potties, a gift shop plus numerous hiking trails await you at the viewpoint area.

Ice cream at the top! We hiked this from Yosemite Valley floor and was genuinely surprised that…read morethere was a convenience store at the top along with great views of Half Dome. Our group had ice cream at the top and I had two! We found that this is a drivable viewpoint and there were full amenities at the top. We came from Union Point and after hitting Glacier, we went up to Sentinal Dome, which is less than 2 miles, a bit steep but worth the picture opportunities! Our hike was amazing except for the bugs. Please come and create your own adventure.