That was the question that someone posed today in a photography forum I read:

We will be visiting Yosemite for approximately 7-8 hours one day the 2nd week of October as part of a weeklong trip to Tahoe (we live on the East Coast). I have been to Yosemite before (many years ago), she has not. Although we know it would take much more time to truly experience Yosemite this is the maximum time we can spend so we are looking for the top spots so we can make the most of the short time we have there.

(There was a bit more that I haven’t included here – the poster also would be staying in Mariposa the night before, and needed to drive across Tioga Pass and be in Tahoe that evening… and wanted to do photography along the way!)

Having visited the park for decades, and for an amount of time perhaps totaling well over a year altogether, and still getting to know the place, my first reaction was to ignore the question or respond with a wise-crack one-liner. Frankly, I don’t think it is really possible to do real photography of “the park” during a seven-hour visit. (With careful planning it would be possible to photograph a subject or two perhaps, but that is a different issue.) In any case, I suppressed my instinct to respond along the lines of “are you kidding!?” and instead tried to provide a realistic outline of what this experience might entail. While I’m spoiled, living only hours from the park, I do understand that others may find themselves in the area and not want to miss at least having a brief experience with such a place. And perhaps the way-too-brief visit might be enough to encourage such visitors to find a way to return for a longer visit.

So, with all of that in mind, here is what I wrote, slightly modified for this post:

You are asking quite a lot here… for a seven hour visit that will include at least 3-4 hours of driving… from Mariposa, into and around the Valley, and then up and over Tioga Pass… plus leaving enough time for the remaining hours-long drive to Tahoe.

Too bad, I’m afraid.

To be honest, the odds that you’ll be able to do much beyond “record-my-quick-visit” photography in the park are slender given the amount of time you’ll be there, your tight schedule, and the fact that you’ll be there mostly during the “blah light” time of day. To some extent, I’m inclined to recommend that you not make photography your primary goal – one reason being that trying to “get those photographs” will distract you even more from you brief opportunity to actually see and experience the place a bit. I photograph in the park frequently, so I know where and how to shoot, and I would not try to do real photography under the conditions you describe.

Having said all of that, the broad outlines of your visit must be:

1. The drive from Mariposa will take you roughly one hour. Start 90 minutes before dawn or so, allowing for a dawn arrival. You might as well head straight for  the iconic “Tunnel View,” the parking lot at the east end of Wawona Tunnel, and take in dawn from there. (Unless you can find a restaurant that is open this early, I’d carry food to eat on the road. On such a short visit you probably can’t afford to spend a lot of time lingering over breakfast. Or lunch…)

2. From that point you can do a quick loop around the Valley in your car, perhaps stopping briefly to get out at places like Bridal Veil Fall (which will likely still be flowing), the meadow near the chapel, perhaps a quick stop at Ahwawhnee Meadow to gaze at Half Dome for five minutes, and possibly the short walk toward Yosemite Falls. (The fall will likely not be flowing very strongly, but this year some water may still be coming over it.) You would be hard pressed to do all of this and actually see anything in less than a couple of hours.

(The drive alone from the Valley to Lee Vining, on the east side of the Sierra, takes about two hours. I presume that you also want to see the drive north towards Tahoe. By this time of year the sun goes down early, so you have a total, including twilight, of little more than 12 hours of daylight. If you cross Tioga Pass by mid-afternoon., it will be dark long before you arrive at Tahoe.) With that in mind…

3. Leave the Valley and head up Big Oak Flat Road toward highway 120, a.k.a. Tioga Pass Road. It takes close to a half hour to arrive at this junction if you don’t stop, though you may want to briefly stop at a pull-out or two. One view before the largest tunnel on the road looks back toward Bridal Veil Fall and another shortly before the turn-off to Foresta provides an impressive view back to Half Dome and El Capitan.

4. Turn right onto Tioga Pass Road, where there is a gas station, the last one until you reach Lee Vining. (You’ll pay dearly for gas from this point on, through Lee Vining and the town of Bridgeport – perhaps as much as $1 above the prevailing rates elsewhere.) Don’t bother stopping at the big trees grove shortly after you turn right onto Tioga Pass Road – as beautiful and amazing as these trees are, you won’t have enough time to hike to them and back. As you continue on up Tioga Pass Road, you might want to make a very brief stop to quietly enjoy 5-10 minutes at Siesta Lake – it will be on your right as you round a curve in the road and it is obvious. I guess your next stop would likely be the iconic Olmsted Point viewpoint, from which you can see the “back side” of Half Dome in one direction, and Tenaya Lake and many domes and peaks in the other. You might also see a marmot or two here.

5. Continue on to Tenaya Lake and make a brief stop somewhere along the shoreline, then continue to Tuolumne Meadows. All facilities at Tuolumne will be closed by this time of the season – in fact I think the camp ground itself should be shut down by October. The wilderness permit station will be open and a few rangers are still around. The store and eating establishments will be closed. (Hope you packed a lunch!) The self-service gas station may also be closed for the season by now. Make a few stops in this area, perhaps including the first pull-out when you arrive at the Meadows, one other that you find interesting along the meadow, and maybe a brief stop near the base of Lembert Dome and the bridge across the Tuolumne River.

6. Continue on up toward the pass, which is about 11 miles away from Tuolumne. A couple of miles from the pass there are some beautiful sub-alpine meadows and the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne runs close to the road. It is worth a stop to take a quick look at the sub-alpine and alpine scenery and perhaps enjoy the silence for a moment. A similar stop at the pass is worthwhile, and there are interesting views in several directions from the pass.

7. Begin the descent towards Lee Vining past Tioga Lake. It is easy to pull out here and see some interesting views. Shortly you will pass the Tioga Pass Resort. They may still be open and serving food. (They used to stay open until mid-October, but last year closed earlier.) If you did not pack a lunch, they have good sandwiches and so forth in this quaint little lodge. Continue on past Ellery Lake and then begin the very steep descent into the chasm of Lee Vining Canyon, where the fall aspen colors may be starting. Since you are in such a rush, you may have to enjoy them from a distance, but do stop if you see good colors. (The aspens are the main reason that many of us head to the Sierra, especially the east side, this time of year. Lee Vining Canyon tends to change a bit later than other aspen locations in the eastern Sierra.)

8. A few minutes later you’ll arrive at the junction with highway 395, your route north to Tahoe. Near the junction is the “world-famous” Mobil station with its Whoa Nellie Deli. If you are hungry, it is worth a stop. There are also eating places in Lee Vining. I often stop for coffee and a snack (and wireless access) at “Latte Da,” which will be on your left as you head north through town.

9. Mono Lake is right next to Lee Vining. This is an impressive and important place, and you might want to make a quick stop at the visitor center and perhaps at the turnoff that is very close to the road as it skirts the lake a bit after that.

10. The rest of the trip up the east side of the Sierra is also quite scenic. In early October there will almost certainly be large stands of aspen trees impressively changing color. (I often spend at least a full day just photographing the aspens along this section of the road. Actually I spend many days each fall photographing these trees throughout the eastern part of the range.) Right after Lee Vining you will ascend to Conway Summit, and you can stop here to see a very large number of groves. You’ll obviously have to forego other interesting sights like the ghost town of Bodie and so forth.

In the end, I would not try to make this a real photography expedition. You’ll have far too little time, and you will miss too much else. Just think of it as a nice drive through incredibly scenic country. And as you make this drive, think about how wonderful it will be to come back some time with sufficient time to actually see the place!

Important note about the weather: By late September and early October, the first Pacific winter-type storms of the season may begin to track across the Sierra. They can drop a few inches of snow. While the odds are that the weather will be beautiful and even warm, if one of these fronts comes across and drops a few inches of snow in the high country, the park service will temporarily close Tioga Pass Road until the snow melts. The closure could range from a few hours to a day or so. If this happens, you’ll have to make some quick adjustments in your plans so that you can travel to Tahoe along the west side of the Sierra.

One more thing. Why are you staying in Mariposa? People do that at other times of the year when it is super-crowded in the Valley, but you should be able to get accommodations in the Valley in early October – or at least hold out for a cancellation and keep your options open. It would make a huge difference to be able to arrive in the Valley the previous evening – you could even experience that Tunnel View visit at the classic sunset time of day.

Good luck!