Glacier Point Road
It's the little differences that make life interesting. Take Taft Point, for instance: stand at the railing here, and the elevation is 7,800 feet (2,340 meters). Take a step to the north, and the elevation becomes 4,000 feet (1,200 meters). Just thinking about that step can do funny things to your stomach. You see a lot of people at Taft Point lying on their bellies and inching out towards, but never getting quite up to, the edge of the cliff. And you see a lot more people touching the iron railings but never actually putting their weight against them. If you like your spectacular vistas mingled with a touch of fear, then the hikes along Glacier Point Road are for you. Though Glacier Point itself has solid stone walls that people seem willing to lean over, Taft Point has just a single spindly iron railing, and Dewey, Stanford, and Crocker Points, along with Sentinel Dome, have no protections of any kind for the absentminded hiker. You'll definitely want to keep a close eye on your kids if you're hiking along Glacier Point Road - but the views are worth it. You haven't really seen Yosemite Valley until you've looked down on it from one of the trails that start from along the 16 miles (26 km) of Glacier Point Road.
Glacier Point Road Lodging: There may have never been a better balcony view than the one from the Glacier Point Hotel, which was completed in 1917. Has there ever been a finer place to order a post-hike beer? We'll never know, because the hotel burned down in 1969. The only summer lodging available along the Glacier Point Road now is the Bridalveil Creek Campground, roughly halfway along the Glacier Point Road's 16-mile length. In the winter, the Glacier Point cafeteria and the Ostrander Lake Ski Hut both serve as overnight lodging for cross-country skiers (reservations required). The closest conventional lodging is Yosemite West, located off Highway 41 a little under half a mile south of Glacier Point Road's western terminus. It's a collection of privately owned properties, partly inside and partly outside park boundaries, with a bed & breakfast and a variety of cabin & condo rentals.
Food: The cafeteria at Glacier Point serves the sort of fast food, candy, and sundry you typically find at a gas station food mart.
Gas: There's no gas along Glacier Point Road; your nearest alternative is Wawona, 17 miles (27 km) south of the Glacier Point Road turnoff.
Bathrooms: There are outhouse-style bathrooms scattered all along the Glacier Point Road, including at Summit Meadow and most of the trailheads. Until repairs are completed at the Glacier Point bathrooms, however (and they seem to have been underway for several years now), the only available plumbing is at Chinquapin, the turnoff where the Glacier Point Road begins. In the winter you can also find working bathrooms (and food, too, for that matter), at Badger Pass.
Hikes Along Glacier Point Road:
| Trail | Distance miles (km) |
Elevation Change feet (meters) |
Crowd Factor | Scenery Factor | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-Mile Trail | 4.7 (7.5)* | 3,200 (975) |  |
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| Bridalveil Creek | 5.5 (9)* | 100 (30) |  |
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| Dewey, Crocker, & Stanford Points | 7.8 (12.5)* | 300 (90)* | |
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| Glacier Point | 1 (1.6) | < 50 |  |
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| Illilouette Falls | 4 (6.5) | 1,400 (420) |  |
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| McGurk Meadow | 1.8 (2.9) | 100 (30) | |
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| Mono Meadow | 1.2 (2)* | 300 (90) |  |
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| Ostrander Lake | 12.4 (20) | 1,600 (490) | |
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| Panorama Trail | 8.5 (13.5) | 3,200 (975) | |
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| Pohono Trail | 13 (21)* | 3,700 (1,130)* | |
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| Sentinel Dome | 2.2 (3.5) | 500 (150) | |
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| Taft Point and the Fissures | 2.2 (3.5) | 200 (60) | |
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| Washburn Point | 0.1 | 15 (5) | |
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| Westfall Meadow | 2.8 (4.5) | 100 (30) | |
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* For hikes that have more than one possible route, this table lists distance and elevation for the shortest route. Or the longest one. Whatever seemed more useful at the moment.
Hikes by Thumbnail
