Page 142 - 2020 Travel Guide to California

KENNEDY MEADOWS HORSEBACK riding, above; chef demo at Yosemite Food and Wine
Events, bottom; family in the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias, Yosemite, opposite.
DRIVE
»
TOUR
Highway 120 is a magical mystery tour through the heart of Yosemite National
Park’s exquisite high country. From the handsome old mining town of GROVELAND,
follow 120 east into the park (HETCH HETCHY, the fraternal twin of Yosemite Valley
that was dammed to provide San Francisco’s water supply, is a short side trip) past
the TUOLUMNE GROVE of giant sequoias and up into the rarefied alpine world.
Pull over at OLMSTED POINT to view HALF DOME from an angle you’ve never seen
before. You’ll traverse TUOLUMNE MEADOWS, the jumping-off point for some of
Yosemite’s finest hiking trails, and cross 9,943-foot TIOGA PASS before descending
three-quarters of a vertical mile to shimmering MONO LAKE.
140 2020 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
lodging. In Truckee, a handsome old rail-
road and lumber town between Donner
Pass and Squaw Valley, a collection of Old
West historic buildings along Commer-
cial Row now houses busy restaurants
and bars, some adorned with portraits of
gunslingers and desperadoes. Farther
south, sprawling Bishop sports the
Owens Valley’s most extensive collection
of lodging, dining and resupply outlets.
The Great Outdoors
Just a few hours’ drive from San Francisco
or Los Angeles, the Sierra Nevada has been
California’s outdoor playground almost
since the arrival of the original 49ers. In
Yosemite Valley, spectators with tele-
scopes watch the progress of climbers
inching their way up the impossibly sheer
granite walls. Tempted to try it? Sign up
for an introductory class at the Yosemite
Mountaineering School—or at least treat
yourself to a “Go Climb a Rock” T-shirt.
With some of the most reliably sunny
summer weather of any major mountain
range, the High Sierra is a hiker’s paradise,
from easy day walks in the Desolation
Wilderness to challenging, multi-week
journeys through Kings Canyon and
MACKENZIE RODGERS. OPPOSITE: KENNY KARST/DNC PARKS & RESORTS AT YOSEMITE, INC.; KENNY KARST/DNC PARKS & RESORTS AT YOSEMITE, INC.