This place is really meaningful to us! It is where we met and where we have grown and intertwined our lives together! It is a big place and can be overwhelming to visit, so we've compiled some recommendations for our friends and family visiting! We hope that you'll spend a little extra time during your visit exploring all that Yosemite has to offer!

Yosemite Valley is home to many of the iconic granite monoliths that people think of when they see Yosemite National Park! Many are also surprised to know that Yosemite Valley makes up only 5% of the entire national park! This area is a great place to do a little sightseeing and is one of the more accessible parts of the park (with lots of flat trails, parking, and amenities).

This is one of the most iconic viewpoints in all of Yosemite and chances are you've seen this view in a picture before! This spot overlooks Yosemite Valley, with El Capitan, Clouds Rest, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall in the distance.

To say that Tuolumne Meadows is our absolute favorite place in the park is truly an understatement! This is where Chris spent 10 summers living in a canvas tent cabin with little to no cell service and working as a campground ranger. As the name suggests, Tuolumne Meadows features a large meadow expanse with a river that casually snakes through the landscape surrounded by forests of lodgepole pines and granite domes. This quieter region of Yosemite is the gateway to much of the parks rugged and vast backcountry that is only accessible by foot.

Getting here from El Portal/Yosemite Valley is a scenic 90-minute drive, with expansive views of the high country and great vista points like Olmsted Point and Tenaya Lake!

If you're visiting Tuolumne Meadows, you might as well pop over to the Eastern Sierra for some really otherworldly landscapes!

Glacier Point is a beautiful and accessible vista point that gives you an up close view of Half Dome, with panoramic views of Yosemite's endless back country. This is one of Lora's favorite sunset spots for painting, taking photos, and hanging out! It's a place that can make you feel small and inspire you to dream big simultaneously!

Have you ever seen a giant sequoia? As the name suggests, they are amongst the largest trees in the world and are truly unmistakable when you see them! Sequoias grow in special groves together at certain elevations within the park.

Mariposa Grove is an hour drive from El Portal/Yosemite Valley. If time is tight, you may consider checking out Tuolumne Grove right along Tioga Road. Though a smaller grove (and lesser foot traffic than Mariposa Grove), it still features some magnificent sequoia trees to help you get your fill!