3 Days In Madera County

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The email came in April. Your Half Dome permit application was not selected.

Savannah had been eagerly awaiting the verdict. She’d researched this famous Yosemite hike hike, studied the permit windows, planned her outfits, and figured out the best application strategy. She’s 14. She was more organized about this California trip than anything before. When the no came through, I braced for the disappointment.

“Okay,” she said. “Let’s plan the Majestic Mountain Loop instead and add two new national park badges to my collection: Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon.” Yep, making this region even more special is three incredible national parks as neighbors. Why wouldn’t you do all three in one easy road trip. We planned for five days. m

There’s a version of Yosemite most people experience. Valley hotels difficult to find availability in, bumper-to-bumper along the Merced River, Half Dome from Glacier Point, the same six photos at Tunnel View. Savannah has been on that trip (and loved it; hence the return). She was seven when we brought her here. She remembers the waterfalls, getting caught in a snowstorm on the Hetch Hetchy hike, and me carrying her for a lot longer than I should have. Or is that me that remembers that?

This time she didn’t need carrying anywhere. She helped plan which hikes we were doing and how long we’d spend at each stop. The base this time wasn’t in an RV north of the valley. It was Bass Lake, 45 minutes south, in Madera County. A cabin at Miller’s Landing Resort with lake access, a deck, and none of the Valley chaos.

It turned out to be a much better plan than the one we’d lost.

Note: This was the first part of our mother-daughter California road trip spending three nights at Yosemite/Madera County, and two nights at Visalia, the perfect base for Sequoia NP and Kings Canyon NP (Both are paid partners for the trip) After this Majestic Mountain Loop, I surprised her with tickets to see the WNBA Dallas Wings play the Golden State Valkyries in San Francisco. She never misses a Dallas game on TV and since San Francisco is so close I could not NOT weave it in for her! More content on this trip is coming! 

Base camp: Bass Lake and Miller’s Landing Resort

We arrived at Bass Lake, our base camp for this section of our road trip in the early afternoon and did what any sensible person does after a travel day: went straight into the lake.

I’d assumed snowmelt meant cold. I was wrong. The water was refreshing in the way that lake water is when you’ve spent a morning in airports, not the kind that makes you gasp and get straight back out. We walked five minutes from the resort, found a small cove along the shoreline, and spent an easy hour there while the afternoon light moved through the pines. You can also hire paddle boards, kayaks, and boats if your budget and time allow. And you can eat a delicious lunch from Millers Landing – we opted for burger and salad – before you head out.

The cabin at Miller’s Landing Resort was exactly what this kind of trip needs. Two bedrooms, a full kitchenette, open-plan living space, and a deck with a partial view of the lake. That deck became the organizing point of our mornings. Coffee there, Savannah reviewing the day’s plan on her phone, me doing a bit of work before we headed out. BTW, they gave us a packet of local ground organic coffee from Sunnyday upon check-in and it was some of the nicest coffee I’ve had!

For a Yosemite trip, basing at Bass Lake works in ways that aren’t obvious until you’re actually in it. You’re 45 minutes from the south entrance (near Mariposa Grove), which moves faster than Arch Rock in summer, and 90 minutes from Yosemite Valley.  You can come home after a full hiking day, swim, sit on the deck, and actually decompress instead of spending another hour in traffic to get to your room. Plus, Bass Lake wasn’t overcrowded, and you had plenty of restaurants and amenities either at the lake or nearby Oakhurst, a Yosemite gateway town.

Before you leave the lake area, do the Way of the Mono Trail. It’s a one-mile return loop and easy underfoot. The payoff is panoramic views over the lake and a proper introduction to the Mono people who lived in this region long before anyone else. The interpretive panels along the trail are worth reading slowly.

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad Moonlight Special

I didn’t know what to expect from a three-hour evening logger steam train ride through the Sierra Nevada. Dinner, a narrow-gauge logging railroad, live music. I thought it would be pleasant.

It was genuinely wonderful.

The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad Moonlight Special has been running for years, and the whole setup leans into the history of the operation without being precious about it. We had BBQ dinner before boarding (steak and chicken, and it’s actually good, not novelty-good). Then we climbed into the log caboose and headed into the forest as the light started failing with the train conductor informing us of the history and life of the lumberjacks. 

What I hadn’t anticipated was what it feels like to be in those trees at dusk on a train that used to work for a living. The pines close in on both sides. The whistle breaks the quiet. For thirty seconds at a stretch, with the right light through the windows, it looks like a place asking you to pay attention.

The train stopped in the middle of the forest in Lewis Creek Canyon. Everyone got out and sat around a campfire. The Sugar Pine Singers band played, moving through different eras of music, and the whole crowd sang along. Some people danced. Savannah and I sang every word we could. It was much more fun than a 14-year-old would officially admit to, and she admitted to it anyway.

Logistics: arrive at 6:15 to give yourself time for the Thornberry Museum and the old flume before boarding. It gets cold once you’re moving through the trees. Bring a jacket even if the afternoon is warm. It’s a 30 minute drive from the resort. 

A Yosemite day, done right from the south

We left Miller’s Landing just before sunrise. This is the single most important thing I’ll tell you about the Mist Trail in Yosemite National Park. Go early.

The south entrance (Highway 41 through Oakhurst) is consistently faster than Arch Rock in summer. Buy a digital park pass in advance. And from the footbridge where the trail begins to the top of Vernal Falls, you’ll be climbing in relative quiet if you’re there before 8am. We were nearly alone on the way up.

The Mist Trail to Vernal Falls (2.4-mile return / 1,000 ft gain) is Yosemite’s most popular hike. We were extending it to Nevada Fall, the waterfall above that feeds Vernal fall (5.4-mile return/ 2,000 ft gain).  

As soon as we started the trail and passed by a collection of boulders on the side I was reminded of Savannah’s incredible memory as she shouted, “Oh I remember climbing on these!!” Seven years later here we were adding to her epic collection of memories, this time going a little further and harder with her dreams at the helm. 

The rainbows on the 350 granite steps up to Vernal Falls are what most people hike the Mist Trail for. I’ll get to those. But what the hike actually is, from start to finish, is a sustained climb. You don’t ease in. From the footbridge, you’re going up. The whole way. And the staircase to Vernal is steep, soaked in spray, and doesn’t apologize for either. 

A word on safety: the granite is wet throughout that section and the trail runs right beside moving water. People are injured here every year, and worse than that. Stay on the trail. Wear appropriate shoes. Stay out of the water above the falls. The park means it. One look at that raging river rushing over the edge had me questioning the sanity of people thinking a quick swim is a smart idea. 

We reached the top of Vernal Fall and stopped for a snack and a soak of the views. From down in the valley, Vernal Falls looks like a postcard. From the top, it looks like physics demonstrating something powerful. We captured a photo of Savannah standing in the same spot as seven years earlier.

Savannah wanted to keep going. Up the switchbacks to Nevada Falls – the next best thing to Half Dome. The trail to the top of Nevada is the same one Half Dome hikers climb for their first two miles. We went up pausing for a few rest breaks along the way. Altitude here may have you gasping if the endless climb does not. 

Finally, we reached the top and enjoyed the outstanding views, capturing them on all our devices. We lamented not being able to continue to half dome for a bit before realizing how lucky we were just to make it to this glorious point.

We still had one more thing to make it epic though. Instead of looping back on the John Muir Trail, we came back the way we came. Because of the rainbows.

By the time we were descending, it was around 10:30am. The trail was packed. But what happens on those 350 steps when the sun hits the mist at the right angle is a succession of rainbows hanging in the spray, right across the pathway, and you walk through them. Savannah called it her favourite thing, full stop. She was talking about it for days after. 

She had my DSLR. She’d started using it at the beginning of the trip and by this point she wasn’t putting it down. Stopping to frame shots, adjusting angles, observing life through the viewfinder. A new hobby was starting up in real time, and I just watched it happen.

After we came down, we drove through the valley at a different pace. The short walk to Lower Yosemite Falls. A picnic in the meadow opposite El Capitan, watching rock climbers moving up the face. They really do look like ants. You have to peer carefully just to find them. We decided that would never be on our bucket list. What would be on our next visit however (with Yosemite there is always one more) would be floating down the Merced River on tubes. #HowTranquil

We stopped at Tunnel View on the way in at sunrise and again on the way out in the afternoon. Both times are worth it. The morning gives you mist and quiet. The afternoon gives you the valley fully lit, which is better for photos and harder to leave.

The last thing we did before leaving Yosemite was Glacier Point.

I wasn’t expecting it to hit me the way it did. We’d had a big day and I was tired, my 50-year-old legs had felt every one of those steps. And then we stood at the overlook, and Half Dome was right there across from us, and below us the entire valley the glaciers carved. Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls, the exact falls we’d climbed that morning, visible from above.

I could see how steep it really was. I could see the full vertical distance we’d climbed and how far we still had to go if we did the half dome hike. And I could see what ten thousand years of ice does to a landscape when it decides to move through it. It quietly overtook Tunnel View as my favorite view in Yosemite National Park. 

We drove into Oakhurst for dinner at South Gate Brewing Co. They have a gluten-free beer. They have a burger with bacon and egg on it. If you’re Australian and you’ve been away from home for a while, this combination on a menu after a big hiking day is not a small thing. Savannah had the fried chicken sandwich. We drove back to the lake, got ice cream from the cafe, ate it on the deck, and slept well.

Note: Consider the America the Beautiful Annual National Park Pass. For us, visiting three parks on this Majestic Mountain Loop, an annual parks pass for $80 made sense. Yosemite costs $35 per day and Sequoia & Kings Canyon $35 together. Now we have the incentive to visit more USA national parks as the entrance fee is covered.

Oakhurst & Bass Lake: A day with no hiking in it

Bee’s Bakery Cafe in Oakhurst is buzzing in the morning. Every local in the place knew exactly what they were ordering. The food is good, the menu diverse with plenty of gluten free options, and the coffee is good. We loved our yummy breakfast burrito and avocado feta toast with a fried egg!

After breakfast, we visited a couple of stores in Oakhurst for shopping. The gift stores and antique shops are worth a look. We came home with a few things that aren’t souvenirs in the fridge-magnet sense, more in the “I actually wanted to keep this” sense. Don’t miss Artifacts and Oakhurst Giftworks.

Then we went axe throwing.

We drove to Yosemite Axe Throwing, looked at each other, and realized neither of us had brought closed-toe shoes. This is a requirement. There is, I should tell you, a thrift store right next door. We found walking shoes for $6 each and heart-print socks for $2 each. It was not planned. It was better for not being planned. It was a laugh at ourselves and our new shoes kinda moment and new memory made. 

The throwing: we were terrible at first. Axes hitting the floor, spinning sideways, doing nothing that resembled intent. By the end of an hour, we were both hitting the target consistently. There’s a specific moment when it clicks and the axe goes where you meant it to go, and that moment is genuinely satisfying.

Worth knowing: the reclaimed wood in the targets comes from trees hit by drought and bark beetle damage in the region. Nate Hodges, the 2024 Timbersports World Champion, is part of the operation. If he’s on site, get a few minutes with him. If he’s not, ask someone about the wood. It’s a good story.

Idle Hour Winery and Kitchen was lunch. The owner, Anna Marie makes her own wine from grapes sourced across the region. I enjoyed chatting with Anna Marie and learning how COVID gave birth to the kitchen side of her winery. I had a chardonnay, paired perfectly with the light roasted artichoke salad. Savannah had the Italian-style Chicken Piccata. 

The menu is Mediterranean and the kitchen earns that description. If I was not traveling with Savannah I would have easily been persuaded to linger over a charcuterie board and wine tasting flight. We sat inside near the AC because there was a heat wave running through. If it’s cooler when you visit, the outdoor seating looks like somewhere you’d want to stay for a long afternoon.

The evening took us back to Bass Lake. Burgers and a lake view at the Forks Resort, which has been there for 99 years under the same family for 85 of them. The light went soft and golden and the lake was calm. A good way to end a great time in Yosemite & Madera County.

The teen verdict

Savannah’s list of what she’d come back for, in no particular order: the rainbow stairs, the full Half Dome experience, axe throwing, swimming at Bass Lake, and Glacier Point.

I asked what surprised her. She said the railroad. A campfire sing-along in the middle of a Sierra Nevada forest was nowhere on her radar as something she’d enjoy, and it ended up being one of her favorites.

She also came home as a photographer. Or the beginning of one. She had the DSLR for three days and the composition improved noticeably over the trip. By Glacier Point she was thinking about light.

The close

We didn’t get Half Dome. The lottery gave us a 20% shot and it said no, and so we built something else. And have kept the dream alive by getting half way there and keeping it on the list for a future lotto win. 

What we built was a trip a 14-year-old actually chose, actually led, and would actually do again. She came home with a new hobby, a pair of thrift-store shoes she genuinely loves, and a specific thing she wants to return to.

The sieven-year-old version of Savannah needed carrying on the trail. This one was 200 feet ahead of me on the switchbacks above Vernal Falls, waiting at the top with my camera.

That’s the metric that mattered. These are the memories that strengthen our bond for life!