Yosemite’s Waterfalls In Rare Form
Posted March 31, 2006 by Robyn Suddeth
Yosemite is sometimes overlooked during all this excitement about great snowpacks and wet weather, at least by those of us whose springtime recreation is concentrated below its western gates, where the Tuolumne and Merced rivers start gathering more speed.  But the birthplace of these two rivers is just as dramatically affected by all this wet March weather as its lower-elevation offspring, and is currently putting on an amazing show.
It was something we always said we’ld do: drive the short half hour into Yosemite on days between river trips to go see the show last spring, taking advantage of our proximity to such an amazing place. But of course, day-to-day life always seems to take over, and we never actually went. So when I came upon this article the other day, ‘Tourists Flocking To See Yosemite’s Waterfalls‘, I was re-inspired towards that old goal.Â
Especially this spring, with storms in March bringing us back up to water levels of last year. According to the above article, resultant waterfalls are gushing over Yosemite’s granite walls with a force and grandeur not often seen, thundering past glistening patches of snow and springtime wildflowers.
For anyone planning a river trip in April or early May on the Tuolumne or Merced rivers, it would definitely be worth your while to also plan for a day in the park. From the Tuolumne, you only have to drive a short twenty minutes east on Highway 120, and from the Merced meeting spot Yosemite is about a half hour away on Highway 140. Maybe I’ll take my own advice and actually go this year too… wouldn’t want to miss a sunset like that one. (photo on right of Horsetail Falls)
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[All Photos thanks to the Yosemite Blog]