trail riding in yosemite national park, trail riding in tuolumne meadows, yosemite national park
Story and Photos by
Kent & Charlene Krone
Adventures�
Ride Yosemite!
Charlene Krone rides past Upper Cathedral
Lake, with Cathedral Peak in the background.
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prep tips.
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Hitch up, and head to Yosemite National
Park’s Tuolumne Meadows,
the crown of the High Sierras.
Yosemite National Park, located in California’s
Sierra Nevada Mountains, offers miles
of trails, serene meadows, mountains towering
to 14,000 feet above sea level, deep
canyons, and free-flowing, pristine rivers.
Essentially, you can ride most of the 800
miles of trails in the park, unless they’re
closed due to hazardous conditions. Yosemite
maintains four campgrounds for campers
with private stock.
The crown of the Sierras, a vast plain of
meadows surrounded by lofty peaks, is Tuolumne
Meadows, which features a horsefriendly
environment. Here are two great
rides from the stock camp at Tuolumne.
The Tuolumne River Trail. Take the horse
access trail, and turn left (east) to the Lyell
Fork of the Tuolumne River Trail. The trail up
the Lyell Fork is the John Muir Trail; this section
coincides with the Pacific Crest National
Scenic Trail.
This is an easy first ride. Starting at an
8,600-foot elevation, there’s very little elevation
gain for the first eight miles. If you
access this trail from the Dog Lake parking
lot, there are three bridges to cross in the
first couple of miles. After the third bridge
crossing, don’t turn left and follow the river,
as we did; instead, go straight.
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