Wawona Road

CA-41 enters the park at the South Entrance Station and becomes the Wawona Road.

Immediately beyond the entrance station is a T intersection. The access road to the Mariposa Grove goes right. The Wawona road heads left.

The road passes by the Wawona Hotel. This is the southernmost of the park's lodging facilities. See the Lodging Page.

The Chilnualna Falls Road is on the right. This road leads back to some private residences and finally the trailhead for Chilnualna Falls. This is a 4 mile moderate hike one-way. Due to the low elevation, it can be very hot in summer. However, if you are in Yosemite when the higher country is still snow-bound, this hike may well be accessible.

The Wawona Campground is on the right. As with the hike above, this area can be weedy and hot in the summer, but its distance from the valley leaves a chance, albeit slight, that the campground may have a vacancy.

A road to the left leads to Yosemite West, a private community.

The Glacier Point Road leaves the Wawona Road to the right. In a park full of world-class vistas, the best is probably at the end of this road. Glacier Point is impossible to comprehend, or photograph adequately, but an attempt is at the left. In my opinion, the view from Glacier Point is the best in the United States, so do not miss this area.

The road enters the Wawona Tunnel, a 0.8 mile span. Prepare yourself for a shock..

The road exits the Wawona Tunnel and presents your first view of Yosemite Valley, dubbed Tunnel View. If the air is clear, this is nearly as overwhelming a site as the view from Glacier Point. In fact, many people debate which of the two is better, but there is no doubt that both are on the short list of must-see vista points worldwide.

As the road nears the valley area, there is a large parking area on the right for Bridalveil Fall. This is one of the valley's crown jewel waterfalls. Unlike Yosemite Fall and a number of others, Bridalveil normally flows year-round, albeit at much lower levels in the late summer and fall.

The road becomes one-way as it heads into Yosemite Valley. The Wawona Road ends here. For information on the valley roads, visit the Yosemite Valley Network.