Panorama for newbie family day hike?

[hotrod4x5]

Do yourself a favor and rent rafts at Curry! On another trip, with the same family, rather than major hikes, we rafted two days. This was very enjoyable and all had a good time. The first day, we all had our own rafts. I had purchased a sizable raft, actually coast guard certified to carry 4 people, and I bought smaller ones for each of the kids.

The second day, after deflating the rafts for the bus ride back, I exploded our oldest daughter's raft, so she got the big one, and we rented one for us, and the younger kids. One of the smaller rafts was delegated to carry our ice chest.

If you have your own raft, all you have to do is rent one of their life vests and it includes the bus ride back. You do have to deflate your raft to put in the storage compartment.

And be sure and bring your bikes or rent them. The bike paths are very nice, although some morons do use them as hiking trails, so be mindful of that.

Another thing you might do, and I am not sure how old your kids are, is attend a marshmallow campfire talk at Happy Isles. We did this and they had plenty of marshmallows and we all had a good time. The ranger had a guitar and sang songs.

[bill-e-g]

I love the story about the "ex-wife".



In all honesty.. it won't matter what you do... you won't forget it.

I'd suggest these:
- Up Mist to top of Vernal
- Mirror Lake
- Sentinel Dome
- Grizzly Giant in Mariposa Grove
- to Tuolumne Fall above Glen Aulin

all these are not super difficult

Don't worry about seeing it all...
Have fun

[sierranomad]

I'd recommend that, hot or not, you allocate some substantial time for Yosemite Valley. The Falls are still running well (in fact it made the world news last night). Yes, it can be crowded (try to go midweek), and hot, and smokey (from all those blasted campfires), but there really is something very special and unique about the valley.

In fact, with only 3 days I might want to spend the entire time in the valley (assuming it's your first time there).

[Wisconsingal]

I just did this hike with my 15,13 and 7yo girls. We do hike but are flatlanders. Took the bus up and started around noon. It is mostly downhill but there is, I'm guessing, about a mile of 1000 ft elevation gain. That was a bit ruff especially at the time of day with heat and sun. I had bought my 7 and 12yo hydration packs and for them it was a new toy and sucked them DRY at this point. That was the turning point for us. They now both had to pee like race horses and begged me and my 15yo for our water. Lesson learned about water. My 7yo was in tears by the time we reached the mist trail from thirst. Only made worse by having ALL the water around you and no way to purify.

A good Samaritan named Dennis came to our rescue after seeing her so miserable. Gave her his water and a candy bar. Completely recharged, we finished by 6pm.

Bless you Dennis wherever you are!

After visiting Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, Olympic and Crater lake on this trip, this was the favorite hike of all us even with the water disaster.

IMHO it is a must do. On the trail your face to face with half dome and to me it was almost a religious experience. Completely breathtaking. YNP is so beautiful from the panorama trail it really should be experienced.

It isn't a walk in the park but it's worth the effort. Hiking the Half Dome has always been on my bucket list and my girls always have rolled their eyes at me when I mention it. When we finish Panorama I told them I think that's as close to the half dome I'll ever get. Their response: No way! We got so close I want to go to the top!

[sierranomad]

I'm glad that you had such a moving experience on your hike. I have a passion for Yosemite, and it makes my heart feel good when others are similarly moved by it. I hope you're able to come back soon.

Thank you for relating your experience.