Mostly visitors to national parks do so in the summer months when the kids are on summer break from school and the family vacations are planned around the warm and sunny weather. And while that's true for a place like Yosemite National Park, anyone who is able to venture there in the "off-season" will be equally rewarded. The first benefit one will recognize upon entering the park is the lack of crowds, which along with the blanket of white snow, lends to the drama of the amazingly serene, wide-opened vistas, and helps you to secure a hotel room in the otherwise limited accommodations within Yosemite Valley.
The temperatures in Yosemite are relatively mild for a winter paradise and as long as you have waterproof clothing, you can enjoy a long list of winter activities. Many are unaware of the fact that Yosemite has a ski resort inside the park, but Beaver Pass which received a $2.5 million upgrade for this season, and offers ten runs for skiers and snowboarders, as well as snow tubing, in a rustic, casual, and friendly setting. Curry Village, at the north end of Yosemite Valley, has an ice rink in a dramatic setting given its proximity to Glacier Point and the surrounding massive granite rock faces.
You can get away from Yosemite Village with snowshoes that make it possible to enjoy many of the hiking trails available during the summer. With the Yosemite's white backdrop and the leaves off of the trees, wildlife is easier to spot, and nature walks led by the Ansel Adams Gallery will allow you to see Yosemite National Park as Ansel saw it - but in color. If you get up near Yosemite Falls a couple hours after sunrise, you can hear the wonderful sounds of ice cracking and breaking off as the day warms. While hiking or cross-country skiing, don't miss Mariposa Grove at the southern end of Yosemite Valley, and the giant Sequoia redwood tree known as the Grizzly Giant. It is estimated to be 2,700 years old and thirty feet in diameter. You can cross-country ski in numerous meadows amongst giant Sequoia redwood trees and go on overnight backcountry ski trips to cabins light on conveniences but heavy on adventure and communing with nature. But that's the point, after all, Yosemite National Park has always been designed to provide a place to commune more with nature than with people, so get out and meet nature, and embrace the winter opportunities to do so that far fewer people take advantage of in Yosemite National Park.
