Yosemite is a beautiful park, and the big drawcard sights are every bit as impressive as you think they’ll be. The Half Dome and El Capitan are imposingly gorgeous, and the little museum and cemetery are well worth the look, too, and I’ll certainly get to those.
But everyone goes to the Yosemite Valley to see those, so after a day there, we thought we’d take the path less travelled and drive the Tioga Pass Road and see what the other side of the park had to offer.
With a bit of help from my beloved Sygic Travel app, I plotted a path from our accommodation at the Yosemite Westgate Lodge to the Tuolumne Meadows, and saved the spots we liked as we went… here’s the map we ended up with (not quite to scale, but the approximate distances between each stop are marked in there!):
It’s a delightful drive, and so easy to do by yourself. We did this drive, with all our stops, in about 5 hours – if you’re a hiker, though, you might want to leave more time.
Stop 1: Buy your pass
This was the entrance closest to our accommodation, so if you’re planning to stay in the same spot, just roll on up, pay your USD$30 for a week’s visit, take your pass, and roll on through! Keep your receipt, because you’ll need to show it again on your way out.
Stop 2: The sheer rocks
This really took us by surprise; we pulled over so I could take a photo, and ended up scrambling up the rocks a way, just because we could. Fantastic view, several squirrels, and just fun to be crawling around out there! Be careful pulling over because as there isn’t a carpark, just a little space on the side of the road.
Stop 3: The little lake
I don’t know what it’s called, but this little lake just comes out of nowhere, and there was no one else around so we had it all to ourselves. There’s a little inlet to pull your car in, then take the faint path leading down to the water.
Stop 4: Olmsted Point
Holy wow this place was incredible! Plenty of space to park your car, and a few trails if you want to hike. Take the path marked about 300m to the viewpoint, and find yourself basically at the top of the world, surrounded by granite and pines.
Stop 5: Tenaya Lake
This place is perfection.. the water is so clear you can see straight to the bottom, and the rocks are high and flat enough to picnic on, which we did. There were a few cars about, but still few enough that we could pick a spot on the water to relax on our own.
Stop 6: Tuolumne Meadow
This was the highest point of our day trip, at an elevation of just over 8500 feet. A big, flat, wide open meadow, with the river running through it. Again, lots of parking available, but such a big area that we didn’t see anyone else around until we were walking back to the car.
(documented) by jess 
Great post. I have been to Yosemite 3 times, twice we only visited the valley but last time we drove in from the Tioga Road side and stopped at pretty much all the points you have mentioned. Olmstead Point has amazing views and Tenaya Lake is really beautiful. Was really quiet when we were there too!
You guys must have been lucky as well with the crowds! Did you go around the same time of the year?
We went in June. Have been before in September but we wanted to visit when the waterfalls had good flow, so tried earlier in the season!
Oh I love your little map Jess. Very cute! 🙂
Thanks Lorelle 😊 seemed a bit more fun than writing a list of stops in my journal!
Most definitely Jess. X