Many who have been to Yosemite National Park are familiar with “Tunnel View”, considered by most to be the best view of Yosemite Valley in the park. But as wonderful as that view is, its fame has just as much to do with its accessibility as the grandeur of the view, as anyone in a vehicle arriving from the southern entrance will enjoy that vista. But a less well know yet equally impressive view from the south up through Yosemite Valley’s landmarks can be from a different vantage point at Dewey Point, three-thousand feet above the Merced River. And if you can make it in the winter by cross-country skis or snowshoes, you’ll find a view seen by only the hearty few.
In the winter, the Glacier Point road closes to vehicles and opens to snowshoes and cross-country skiers with ten miles of it being cleared and groomed up to the top. Running off of it are ninety miles of wilderness trails to explore. The most popular of the trails in winter are the two which lead to the spectacular Dewey Point: Ridge Trail and Meadow Trail. The Ridge Trail is the more challenging of the two, as well as being slightly longer, so Meadow Trail sees a larger number of users. Depending on your ability and interest, you can choose between them, but they meet back up for the final mile before Dewey Point. It’s roughly a seven mile round trip no matter how you cut it, and cross-country skiers can plan for a round trip time of four hours. Yosemite provides trail assistance by clearly marking the trails with yellow markers in the trees to remove navigational concerns so that you can just enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.
Whichever trail you choose, you’ll be afforded glimpses along the route of the Yosemite Valley below but the full panorama is left until you reach Dewey Point and then it bursts into full dramatic view. Some gasp; almost all are speechless. It’s that spectacular. El Capitan is seen looking down upon it and Half Dome as well as the surrounding notable mountain peaks are sprinkled about in the white landscape in air so clear that all the peaks look deceptively closer than they are actually. In fact, you can see Mount Diablo from here and that peak is one hundred and fifty miles to the west. It’s an unforgettable view of Yosemite Valley and worth whatever effort you put into getting there in the winter.
