For our final day in Yosemite, we decided to do something different.
After relying on YARTS and the shuttle system for the previous two days, we took a chance and drove into the park ourselves. It was a Monday morning, and from everything we’d seen the parking situation looked much more manageable than it had been over the weekend.
It turned out to be a great decision.
There was no long line at the entrance, parking wasn’t a problem, and we were able to head straight for the two places we’d saved for our last day: Tunnel View and Glacier Point.
Our first stop was Tunnel View.
If you’ve ever seen a classic Yosemite postcard, you’ve probably seen this view. As you emerge from the Wawona Tunnel, the entire valley suddenly opens before you—El Capitan on the left, Half Dome in the distance, and Bridalveil Fall tumbling down the cliffs to the right.
Now we understood why everyone talks about it.
The overlook was every bit as spectacular as advertised. We lingered for a while, taking photos and simply soaking it in. Even after spending two full days in Yosemite Valley, seeing the entire landscape laid out before us from this vantage point gave us a completely new appreciation for the park.
From there we continued on to Glacier Point, about an hour’s drive from the valley floor.
If Tunnel View is Yosemite’s iconic introduction, Glacier Point is its grand finale.
The drive itself is beautiful, climbing steadily through forests before opening to increasingly dramatic vistas. But nothing quite prepares you for stepping out at Glacier Point.
Spread out before us was the entire Yosemite Valley that we had spent the previous two days exploring on foot. From this incredible overlook, we could trace our adventures below—Yosemite Falls cascading in the distance, the massive granite face of El Capitan, the unmistakable profile of Half Dome, and the white ribbons of Nevada Fall and Vernal Fall far below.
Seeing it all from above brought the whole trip together.
The places we’d visited suddenly fit together like pieces of a puzzle, and we gained a whole new appreciation for the immense scale of Yosemite. Standing there, it was easy to understand why so many people call Glacier Point one of the finest viewpoints in any national park.
As we stood overlooking the valley, it was hard not to think back to our three previous attempts to visit Yosemite. Wildfires had stopped us twice. Record snowfall had turned us around a third time.
This time, everything had fallen into place.
The “Randall Curse” was officially over.
And if someone were to ask us for just one piece of advice about visiting Yosemite, it would be this: spend time on the Valley floor, but don’t leave without driving Tioga Road and visiting Glacier Point. Seeing Yosemite from both below and above transforms a wonderful visit into an unforgettable one.
As we drove out of the park that afternoon, we weren’t thinking about the years it took to get there.
We were already thinking about when we’d come back.