Tuolumne Meadows:

Polished granite domes tower over the Tuolumne River as it winds it's way through the subalpine Tuolumne Meadows. Although the Yosemite Valley is just over the ridge to the south, Tuolumne Meadows is on average 20 degrees cooler than the Valley, and has much fewer visitors.

One visitor - a gentleman from France - claimed that this was the real Yosemite. I disagree. Yosemite National Park has several personalities: The tacky tourist trap that is the Valley, the subalpine beauty of Tuolumne Meadows, the impressive Hetch Hetchy reservoir and the Grand Canyon of Yosemite, Wawona and the Mariposa Grove. Each is unique and together make the whole that is Yosemite. To single out one over the others is a grave disservice to one's self.

Click on the map for a larger view