Trip Date: 11/29/2011
Location: Yosemite National Park - Yosemite Valley
Permit/Pass: By private car, van, pickup truck, or RV - $20 per car. Valid for unlimited entries to Yosemite for seven days.
Trails: NPS Valley Map, NPS Hiking Map
Directions: (See here for directions to the park.) Driving north on Highway 41 (Wawona Rd.) from the southern end of the park, look for an access road on the right about a mile before the Tunnel entrance to the valley (we drove past, then turned around at the Tunnel View parking lot). You can park on this side or across the road. Look for a gate a short ways up the access road. This is where you'll start the hike.
Synopsis: There are few more spectacular entrances to a national park attraction than the Tunnel View entrance to Yosemite Valley. For this reason the place can be a zoo, especially on summer weekends. If you want just as good a view without the crowds - probably without anyone else at all - take the short little hike up to Turtleback Dome, and take your time.
Trail sequence: access road / off-trail / access road
Type: Loop (with off-trail travel)
Distance: 1.3 miles
Rating: Easy (factors: off-trail scrambling)
Trail Notes: You may have to try a few times to find the correct path behind the service buildings, but from here the dome is just a few hundred feet to the northwest.
Turn by Turn:
-- Follow the access road as it heads pretty much toward the east (with a couple of switchbacks), then turns to the northwest as it approaches the service buildings near the south side of the dome.
-- Behind the buildings there are several use trails. Pick on and work your way to the northwest for about a football field before you reach the dome itself.
-- Be sure not to disturb the web-cam. Enjoy the solitude and views, then either retrace your steps back down the road or alternatively, pick a path down the granite slabs to the southwest of the buildings and scramble your way to a return to the road. (We chose to head to the southwest and met the road about two-thirds of the way down.)