Spring is the time when Yosemite's snow line at about six thousand feet begins to melt off and gives way to a dramatic costume change for one of the nation's greatest natural spectacles. The rivers swell and run heavily until they peak in late May so for the next couple of months the various falls which create such magnificent images, make their way in their most dramatic fashion in the spring as the head to the Mecca of all Yosemite tours, Yosemite Valley.
The mild spring temperatures make for optimal hiking conditions as Yosemite has yet to hit high tourist season to the trails are relatively uninhabited, yet the waterfalls are running - a greatly satisfying combination of three elements. The early spring hike will afford you some special sights, such as the Mist Trail which like the name implies gets the spray from two grand waterfalls along its route that create rainbows in the sunlight. The elevation means that some ice will remain and can make footing tricky in places, but the experience is well worth the effort as the remaining ice glistens spectacularly in contrast to the reemerging earth.
This week marked the reopening of Hetch Hetchy Road, El Porto Road, Big Oak Flat Road, Wawona Road and Mariposa Grove so Yosemite tours will be gearing up and building with each passing week, so the combination of beauty and solitude will be at their zenith in these precious coming weeks. Note, that the higher passes of Badger Pass Road / Glacier Point Road, and Tioga Pass reopen according to conditions and that can be as early as mid-May, but as late as the end of June. And if you are planning on hiking to Half Dome, the cable railings at the top are taken down during the winter months and don' get reinstalled until late May.
