In the middle of my two-week stay in San Diego, while on my 2022 road trip, my aunt and I took a mini road trip up to Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in central California. The first stop was Yosemite where we completed this hike. My unfamiliarity with the park led to my parking in the wrong place, much further south than I’d planned to, which resulted in this hike being a bit different than I thought it would be. Regardless, any hike through Yosemite Valley is going to be beautiful and memorable. Most of the hike was on accessible paths, some even paved, with only one section in the middle resembling any sort of hike. Luckily we arrived in the park early enough that the crowds weren’t too bad as we completed our hike to Mirror Lake and back. By the time we returned to my car, they place was becoming a chaotic mess.
AllTrails Recording
Image Gallery
- Half Dome Half Dome towered over us nearly the entire time.
- Mirror Lake To be honest, I was expecting more of a lake. This was essentially a shallow pond.
- View of Mirror Lake in Valley This shot gives a bit of a view of the mountains on the left as well.
- View of Half Dome from Mirror Lake A panorama of Half Dome at the shore of Mirror Lake.
- Cairn Field Cairns are usually frowned-upon but this area appeared to be dedicated to assembling cairns.
Video Gallery
- Half Dome + Mirror Lake View Location Half Dome towered over me the entire hike to Mirror Lake. Once there, I took this short video showing the area.
- Tenaya Creek View Location This creek flows out of Mirror Lake and follows the road back to the main valley area.
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