Unique Places in Yosemite National Park

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Tioga Lake is not part of Yosemite National Park, laying just outside the Tioga Pass Entrance Station but you could not fault yourself for thinking you are still in the park. The glacial lake is stunning and the only reason it is not overly crowded is its distance from Yosemite Valley. It surely would be packed if more accessible. That is fine with those who do flock there. With a campground, good fishing, and abundant scenery, not everyone needs to be in Yosemite to feel they are some place special. We were pretty bowled over when we drove by this beauty on our way to Mono Lake and Bodie State Park. I would certainly consider camping here the next time I am in the area!

Located on Route 120 at over 9000 feet, don't plan on doing it in winter!

Here's a brilliant idea. Let's dam up a valley that looks a lot like Yosemite Valley so we can have drinking water for San Francisco to use. And then, how about if San Francisco only uses a little portion of it? That's what happened to Hetch Hetchy in the early 1900's despite the effort John Muir put into protecting this valley. It's pretty, in a manmade way and the drive up is interesting. It's the only place I've had to stop on the road because cattle wouldn't move. Free range cattle.
It's strangely quiet here also...for some reason there are very few birds and you take for granted the noise they create in the summer. It's VERY hot, though at the same elevation at Yosemite Valley, it gets warmer earlier, holds in the heat longer and has milder winters. A little microclimate, if you will. It is interesting that the water from here flows to SF by gravity only...
But this is where you would have the best opportunity to climb up the waterfalls, if you want to do that. We didn't see more than 4 people out here on a normal, hot summer day.

Treat yourself to an old fashioned Victorian breakfast while you're in Yosemite. This is a very old historic hotel that offers a fabulous brunch in a wonderful quaint setting The food is great, and the atmosphere is cozy. Try a dessert called Apple Betty, it is so delicous. Custard, apples and whipcream, how can you go wrong? The Wawona is an Historic landmark and worth seeing on its own even without the brunch. You can rent a room, but I would not recommend it in Winter, the rooms are freezing. However, the property is very picturesque at Christmas time.

If you drive up to Glacier point you will be able to look straight (and I mean straight) down into the valley. Glacier point is roughly above the Curry Campground and it is reached by a road that is closed in the winter and spring.
You also get a wonderful view of all the falls except Bridalveil from Glacier Point as well as Half Dome and El Capitan.

This place is a little hard to get to, but definitely worth the (rough) trip. It requires a permit and a 4 wheel drive vehicle but most likely you won't see anyone else there, except the Rangers. We went up to the lake, took a canoe around it and spent the night by the water. When you are in the wilderness in Yosemite, you tend to find the lakes are pretty cold (like Tanaya Lake) but this one is warm and it was great to swim there. Usually, we would just go in Merced River which was freezing so this was a nice change.
On your way there, watch out for the free or open range cattle...they just stand in the road forever.

If you're looking for something decent to eat, you can head out Yosemite's southwestern Arches Rock Entrance and take Highway 140 around 40 miles west through El Portal and Midpines to the town of Mariposa.

The Miners Inn is not only a hotel, but it also has a decent restaurant and a separate bar where the night we were there, the karaoke was blaring in all its off-pitched glory.

I had a French Dip and it was actually pretty delicious! You'll find a partial menu at the link below.

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Hidden behind the Valley Visitor Center and the Yosemite Museum is the recreated traditional cultural presentations of the Ahwahneechee, the native people of Yosemite Valley, who called the area "Ahwahnee" ("Place of a Gaping Mouth"). Looking up from their villages to the surrounding valley of waterfalls and cliffs with magnificent trees, one does have to say the mouth does gape. There are many fine recreations that are still used for ceremonial practices.

Yosemite Valley is seven miles long and one mile across at its widest point. The valley was formed through a geologic process that began about 500 million years ago in a process that began when this land was submerged under water. Somewhere around 50 million years ago (give or take) , Yosemite's rolling hills and streams began to develop in the area. Within the next 40 million years (as the crow flies), the submerged Sierra Nevada rose, tilting westward and increasing the flow of the Merced River, carving the valley into a canyon.