was told to move here Even though Yosemite is near Fresno....But ok.

Im looking to take a trip down to Yosemite for a week... Anybody know of some easy to moderate trails? Or a good campsite?

Thanks!

 

Hey Conradfreedumb, being that Yosemite is a National Park, there really aren't any off-road trails within it but there are quite a few just out side of the park. If you're coming in from the 395, there's a nice easy and beautiful trail near Mono Lake that'll take you up to the Kavanaugh Ridge and there's a couple near Mammoth that'll take you up to the Laurel Lakes or Wheeler Ridge. From the Fresno side, there are a bunch of trails up near the Shaver Lake area. Most are pretty tough but if you're looking for something on the easy to moderate side, I would recommend the Brewer Lake trail. As far as campsites go, I'm unfortunately not too familiar with what Yosemite has to offer - sorry.

 

Thanks dude. I think since I'm doing a week in yosemite I can divert maybe somedays (or on the way up there). I will check out mono lake.

Any tips for a new to off-road-er guy?


EDIT: I hate typos

 

Sure, the single best way to break something is to drive too have a heavy foot on the gas on technical sections or drive too fast on the trail in general. Take your time and try to keep your tires on the rocks/obsticals rather than to try and straddle them. Also, if you have an air compressor, do yourself a favor and lower the psi in your tires to about 10-15 psi. This will make your ride a lot more comfortable and allow you to have more traction. The trails up near Mono Lake are easy but beautiful and I think you will have a great time. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you out

 

Also, some of those trails, like Kavanaugh Ridge, are high in elevation and your JK will be working pretty hard to climb fairly tame grades. Putting it in 4-low when you start to feel real sluggish will give you your power back.

You should check out "Backcountry Adventures: Northern California" by Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson-- there are some nice, tame trails listed in that book. There are some on the western (Wawona) side, just outside the Park, that have views of Half Dome and El Capitan without the Yosemite crowds.

Have fun!