3 Days in Yosemite. What should we do?

Reader Ken writes in:

“We’re an active family of four (kids are 12 and 13 years old) who has always enjoyed day hikes. One of the best vacations we ever took was to Yellowstone. We just decided to go to Yosemite in June of 2006. I made the following reservations at various locations in Yosemite.

I figure we’ll try to leisurely take many hikes around each of these areas during our three day stay. Any tips for us based on your knowledge and experience?”

Ken plans on staying one day in Tuolumne Meadows, one day at Curry Village and the final day at the Wawona Hotel. A pretty rounded itinerary I think.

Here are my recommendations:

June is a great time to visit the Valley and teenagers (no matter how much they may whine about being away from their friends) end up having a great time.

Tuolumne Meadows: Cathedral Lakes. It’s a little rough at first but just keep telling yourself “it’s all downhill on the way back”. At a little over 3 miles in and 3 miles out it makes for a decent day hike. In June expect there to still be some patches of snow on the trails. If we get some record snow fall like last year you might not want to attempt any trails in the Tuolumne Meadows area and save your energy for the Valley. A little easier trek might be following the trail that circumnavigates Tuolumne Meadows. There’s a ton of beautiful stuff to see. If you feel you have enough time take the short jaunt out the east entrance of the Park and down Tioga Pass to Mono Lake. While you’re there why not eh?

Yosemite Valley: Nevada and Vernal Falls. Simply stunning. If you attempt to go on to the cables up Half Dome be forwarned it’s a strenuous hike that most people except the extremely fit tend to take in a two day trip. Also around the Valley there’s Bridalveil and Yosemite Falls as well as Glacier Point. All are fabulous and on the “must see” list.

Wawona: Giant Sequoia. They’re big. Real big. The sequoias are stunning and will give you a neck ache from looking up so much but they’re worth it.