Hi,
I'll be coming for a conference in the third week of June (San Diego). I'm thinking of spending 4-5 days (or a week) doing some hiking/nature photography. Yosemite has been on my bucket list but am open to suggestions.
I will combine this with photography and will mostly carry SonyA7 and couple of small lenses.
Do you recommend anything around?
PS: I'm used to hiking in the Alps / Scotland and also camping. Driving around is not an issue either.
Hi Prashant, I live in northern California and go to Yosemite now and then but rarely if ever in the summer due to the crowds. It may be too late to get a hotel or even a campsite within the park although there are options outside of it. Have you checked the web for accommodations? Now if it's on your bucket list I suppose you may feel drawn to it and I understand. You're probably aware that we are in the midst of a historic drought so waterfalls will be less than optimal although still running. If you go there I'd head up highway 395 through Bishop to experience the Eastern Sierra that Rowell was so fond of and then over Tioga Pass into Tuolumne Meadows. It will be somewhat less crowded than the valley up there at 10,000 feet. There is a gallery in Bishop of Rowell's and others work BTW.
However, Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks are closer to SD than Yosemite and equally beautiful. They are not accessible by vehicle from the eastern side of the Sierra however. They are somewhat less crowded than Yosemite due to the fact that Yosemite is on everyone's bucket list and they probably aren't. Even there you will need to start planning now for where to stay.
Other than that suggestion, I'd recommend doing some coastal explorations but that will probably involve the coast on the other side (north) of the LA metropolis (towards Big Sur) since I don't know much about the coast between SD and LA. If you were in SD in the winter the close-by deserts, particularly Anza-Borrego state park, would be the obvious choice but it will be blazing hot in June. Surprisingly though many Europeans make pilgrimages to Death Valley in the summer just to experience the 50 degree (Celsius) heat. To each their own.
Let me know if you have any specific questions. Good luck and start planning hard now.
Another thought: if you are feeling very adventurous then you could consider going south into Mexico's Baja California. Of course that would involve a very busy border crossing into a Spanish speaking country. It will be hot there also except along the coast as it is mostly desert. Can't help with the logistics and the pros/cons as I've yet to do it. It is on my bucket list but not in the summer.
If you have never been, I would consider a drive up highway 395 through the Owens Valley. Check out the Alabama Hills, the Bishop area, Mono Lake, head over Tioga Pass and see Tuolumne Meadows and even drop into Yosemite Valley. If it is on your bucket list, then go for it. Just try not to hit Yosemite Valley on weekend or you will be very, very disappointed by the crowds and hectic feel. Even weekdays in the summer get crazy. Just be prepared for it. That trip would more than fill your 5 days and leaving wishing you had a lot more time.
There is plenty of hiking in the eastern Sierra. Great trails out of the lakes above Bishop and really all along the Sierra. Things will be dry, but still pretty. If you go, drop me an email and I could suggest some trails you might enjoy.
Any of the desert areas will be rather warm that time of year. Way too hot for my tastes. But that might appeal to you.
I agree with Harley. Given your starting point in San Diego, the Sierra East Side would be a great trip. Here's a few suggestions from South to North along 395...
Lone Pine: The Alabama Hills and the Whitney Portal road up to Whitney Portal. The Mount Whitney Trail is gorgeous, but very crowded--a permit is required.
Independence: The road up to Onion Valley
Big Pine: The road up Big Pine Creek to Glacier Lodge. trails head into the Palisades group of mountains.
Bishop: The Mountain Light Gallery and Vern Clevenger's Gallery in town. The road up to South Lake, Lake Sabrina and North Lake.
Tom's Place: The Rock Creek Road up to Rock Creek Lake**. The trail into Little Lakes Valley is stunning.
Mammoth Lakes Area: Devil's Postpile, Rainbow Falls and Minaret Summit. You may have to take a shuttle.
Lee Vining Area: Lee Vining Canyon, Lundy Canyon and Mono Lake.
Yosemite via Tioga Pass: See Harley's comment.
If you have time, and want to go further north, there is Bodie (East of 395), Bridgeport (Twin Lakes, the Sawtooth Ridge), and Highway 108 up to Sonora Pass.
** Best pie on the planet at the Rock Creek Resort Café. It sells out early. :-)
As already stated if you've got the time you cannot go wrong traveling the 395 corridor. Opportunities are plenty even in the heat. The only place in June that won't be hot is the beaches if that's your style of work. I'm with the previous commenters here that have outlined all the best locales in the eastern sierras IMVHO........
Preston did a great job covering the hiking trails. Little Lakes valley is one of my favorites and as long as elevation doesn't bother you (trailhead is at 10,000 ft), it is an easy hike. Preston is also spot on about the pie at Pie in the Sky cafe at Rock Creek lake resort. They start selling the pies they baked that morning around 10:30 and they sell out fast. Stellar pies!!!!
I thought I'd add a bit about hiking trails for day hikes...These are some of my top picks...
1. Big Pine Creek:
There are two main trails from Glacier Lodge. The most popular one goes up the North Fork and heads into the main Palisades area. There are several gorgeous lakes, Temple Crag (13,000) and North Palisade (14,242). It is possible to hike to Sam Mack Meadow and return to Glacier Lodge in a long day.
The second trail goes up the South Fork toward Brainard Lake. The views of Norman Clyde Peak are astounding. Another nice day hike.
2. Sabrina Basin:
From Lake Sabrina on Hwy 168, the trail heads into the high country passing Blue Lake, and, if you keep going, up to Hungry Packer Lake below Picture Peak. It's about 12 miles round trip to Hungry Packer. Lots of big peaks and lovely alpine country.
3. Bishop Creek:
The trail head is at South Lake and heads up toward Bishop Pass, 12 miles from the trail head. Another trail branches off to the Treasure Lakes about a mile from South Lake. It's about 3 miles to the lakes. This was the first hike I did in the Sierra, way back in 1962, and my memories of this beautiful area are still fresh. Well worth the time.
4. Little Lakes Valley:
As Harley says, this trial starts at 10,000 feet, but the hike up the glaciated valley is stunning and relatively easy. There are several lovely lakes with Bear Creek Spire, Mounts Dade, Abbot and Mills rising above. It's a nice day hike up to Morgan Pass and back. Note: Get to the trailhead parking real early! This trail is very popular.
The Sierra has been called the "Gentle Wilderness", but isn't so gentle if bad weather sets in. Be sure you're prepared, just in case.
If you end up going up 395 along the eastern Sierra, I would encourage you not to skip Yosemite entirely. Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite can be done as a day trip from 395 in the Lee Vining area, the town closest to Mono Lake. The crowds are less and more dispersed there than they are in the Valley.
There is some free range camping in the Mono Lake area. You can ask for advice in the Mono Basin Visitor Center which is just north a mile from Lee Vining at most. (They also handle wilderness permits if you plan on backpacking.) The center is on the right hand side of the highway and well worth visiting for information. There is some car camping just a bit further north of there in Lundy Canyon towards the Sierra crest. You might also look along the June Lake loop for car camping and/or hiking, it's a 10-12 mile paved road on the west side of 395 north of Mammoth Lakes before Lee Vining.
...and since we're talking baked goods on the eastern side of the Sierra, be sure to visit Schat's Bakery in Bishop for all of your pastry needs plus sandwiches and other goodies:
Just in case you decide to do less driving and more photographing.... San Diego has quite a bit to see on it's own. Here are a few ideas in and around town.
Catalina Island : You can do day trips out of Dana Point. About a 40 minute ferry ride. Easy to find lodging for the night if you decide to stay. Great hiking, and decent restaurants.https://www.catalinaconservancy.org/
Anza Borrego State Park. Hike the Palm Canyon trail up to the waterfall after checking out the visitor's center. Check out Font's Point if you have a high clearance vehicle. Try Coyote Canyon for the flowers. We've been having some decent rain this week so the flowers should be pretty good. You can check here: http://www.abdnha.org/pages/03flora/reports/current.htm
Discussion
13 repliesI'll be coming for a conference in the third week of June (San Diego). I'm thinking of spending 4-5 days (or a week) doing some hiking/nature photography. Yosemite has been on my bucket list but am open to suggestions.
I will combine this with photography and will mostly carry SonyA7 and couple of small lenses.
Do you recommend anything around?
PS: I'm used to hiking in the Alps / Scotland and also camping. Driving around is not an issue either.
Thanks for your time,
However, Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks are closer to SD than Yosemite and equally beautiful. They are not accessible by vehicle from the eastern side of the Sierra however. They are somewhat less crowded than Yosemite due to the fact that Yosemite is on everyone's bucket list and they probably aren't. Even there you will need to start planning now for where to stay.
Other than that suggestion, I'd recommend doing some coastal explorations but that will probably involve the coast on the other side (north) of the LA metropolis (towards Big Sur) since I don't know much about the coast between SD and LA. If you were in SD in the winter the close-by deserts, particularly Anza-Borrego state park, would be the obvious choice but it will be blazing hot in June. Surprisingly though many Europeans make pilgrimages to Death Valley in the summer just to experience the 50 degree (Celsius) heat. To each their own.
Let me know if you have any specific questions. Good luck and start planning hard now.
There is plenty of hiking in the eastern Sierra. Great trails out of the lakes above Bishop and really all along the Sierra. Things will be dry, but still pretty. If you go, drop me an email and I could suggest some trails you might enjoy.
Any of the desert areas will be rather warm that time of year. Way too hot for my tastes. But that might appeal to you.
Lone Pine: The Alabama Hills and the Whitney Portal road up to Whitney Portal. The Mount Whitney Trail is gorgeous, but very crowded--a permit is required.
Independence: The road up to Onion Valley
Big Pine: The road up Big Pine Creek to Glacier Lodge. trails head into the Palisades group of mountains.
Bishop: The Mountain Light Gallery and Vern Clevenger's Gallery in town. The road up to South Lake, Lake Sabrina and North Lake.
Tom's Place: The Rock Creek Road up to Rock Creek Lake**. The trail into Little Lakes Valley is stunning.
Mammoth Lakes Area: Devil's Postpile, Rainbow Falls and Minaret Summit. You may have to take a shuttle.
Lee Vining Area: Lee Vining Canyon, Lundy Canyon and Mono Lake.
Yosemite via Tioga Pass: See Harley's comment.
If you have time, and want to go further north, there is Bodie (East of 395), Bridgeport (Twin Lakes, the Sawtooth Ridge), and Highway 108 up to Sonora Pass.
** Best pie on the planet at the Rock Creek Resort Café. It sells out early. :-)
Have a great time!
--P
Yes, Sierra must be a great place to visit as well. I will research a bit more on driving/camping/hiking etc. Meanwhile any suggestions are welcome!
1. Big Pine Creek:
There are two main trails from Glacier Lodge. The most popular one goes up the North Fork and heads into the main Palisades area. There are several gorgeous lakes, Temple Crag (13,000) and North Palisade (14,242). It is possible to hike to Sam Mack Meadow and return to Glacier Lodge in a long day.
The second trail goes up the South Fork toward Brainard Lake. The views of Norman Clyde Peak are astounding. Another nice day hike.
2. Sabrina Basin:
From Lake Sabrina on Hwy 168, the trail heads into the high country passing Blue Lake, and, if you keep going, up to Hungry Packer Lake below Picture Peak. It's about 12 miles round trip to Hungry Packer. Lots of big peaks and lovely alpine country.
3. Bishop Creek:
The trail head is at South Lake and heads up toward Bishop Pass, 12 miles from the trail head. Another trail branches off to the Treasure Lakes about a mile from South Lake. It's about 3 miles to the lakes. This was the first hike I did in the Sierra, way back in 1962, and my memories of this beautiful area are still fresh. Well worth the time.
4. Little Lakes Valley:
As Harley says, this trial starts at 10,000 feet, but the hike up the glaciated valley is stunning and relatively easy. There are several lovely lakes with Bear Creek Spire, Mounts Dade, Abbot and Mills rising above. It's a nice day hike up to Morgan Pass and back. Note: Get to the trailhead parking real early! This trail is very popular.
The Sierra has been called the "Gentle Wilderness", but isn't so gentle if bad weather sets in. Be sure you're prepared, just in case.
--P
There is some free range camping in the Mono Lake area. You can ask for advice in the Mono Basin Visitor Center which is just north a mile from Lee Vining at most. (They also handle wilderness permits if you plan on backpacking.) The center is on the right hand side of the highway and well worth visiting for information. There is some car camping just a bit further north of there in Lundy Canyon towards the Sierra crest. You might also look along the June Lake loop for car camping and/or hiking, it's a 10-12 mile paved road on the west side of 395 north of Mammoth Lakes before Lee Vining.
http://www.erickschatsbakery.com/
Torrey Pines State Reserve. I think that the Guy Fleming trail has to be one of the most scenic coastal views of Southern California. Lots of good trails here. https://plus.google.com/109859442064778291246/about?gl=us&hl=en
Catalina Island : You can do day trips out of Dana Point. About a 40 minute ferry ride. Easy to find lodging for the night if you decide to stay. Great hiking, and decent restaurants.https://www.catalinaconservancy.org/
Anza Borrego State Park. Hike the Palm Canyon trail up to the waterfall after checking out the visitor's center. Check out Font's Point if you have a high clearance vehicle. Try Coyote Canyon for the flowers. We've been having some decent rain this week so the flowers should be pretty good. You can check here: http://www.abdnha.org/pages/03flora/reports/current.htm
You can Google these too for more info:
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park
Laguna Mountain Recreation Area
Palomar Mountain State Park
Mission Trails Regional Park
Potato Chip Rock
Hotel Del Coronado
The list goes on....