Yosemite Valley – Family Biking

Whether you’ve brought your bicycle or not, you can still see Yosemite Valley on two wheels.  Bicycle rentals (with helmet) can be arranged all year at Yosemite Lodge (372-1208) and summer only at Curry Village (372-8319).  More than eight miles of paved bicycle paths separate bicycle traffic from autos, and bicycling is especially good on the closed sections of roadway in the valley’s east end.

Suggested route: Curry Village to Mirror Lake – 2 miles.
From Curry Village Recreation Center, past the Stable and on to Mirror Lake. Park your bike just before Mirror Lake and walk the rest of the way in. You can take a swim, have a picnic, or just enjoy the scenery.  Check out the horses and mules in the stable on the way there.

Suggested route: Yosemite Lodge to the Falls – 5 miles
Yosemite Lodge, follow the path across the meadow and toward the Chapel. Continue past the Le Conte Memorial and on to Curry Village.  To loop around the Valley, head back to Yosemite Lodge by following the signs to Yosemite Village .

Try to avoid bicycling on busy valley roads that are often crowded with automobiles. As a rule, be cautious that distracted, sight-seeing drivers are not particularly attentive to bicyclists.  Apart from that, there are some fairly strict rules for bicycle use in the valley:

• Bicyclists should stay on paved bike paths and highways.
• No riding on trails and into meadows. Erosion and vegetation damage will result otherwise.
• Mountain and all terrain bicycles are permitted, but not allowed on unpaved surfaces in Yosemite Valley. Check at the Visitor Center for appropriate mountain bike routes.
• Ride to the right in single file.

Level 2 to 5 Bicycling

For road biking or mountain biking, Yosemite Mariposa County is full of great rides.

Lower foothill roads in Mariposa County offer beautiful scenery, generally good pavement, very little auto traffic, and a variety of grades to suit everyone. One caution, during summer, temperatures often hit the 100 degree to 105 degree mark. Another popular road (for bicyclists) is Highway 49N from Mariposa to Bagby to Coulterville. This highway has minimal auto traffic, steep grades, and spectacular views of the lower Merced River Valley.

For mountain bikers, many Forest Service roads in the Midpines area and farther south in Bootjack offer challenges and rewards. In the Midpines area the Yosemite Bug Hostel is a great place to get information, and they are friendly even if you aren’t staying there. They also rent Marin Mountain Bikes. The following ride is one recommendation by Doug of the Bug Hostel.

Briceburg Bike Loop

One recommended ride is the Briceburg bike loop, above the north side of the Merced River canyon. No forest cover, but lots of rolling plateau, so it is not difficult, 15 miles long. You can take the only left midway and cut that in half. The best views are from the last two rights onto ridges over the Merced.

Unless you need torture or are looking forward to an exhilarating downhill ride, drive up the Burma grade (1500 feet, five miles) and park at the first obvious fire road leading right at the top. Ride that fire road. There are some fire roads past the beginning of the loop on the right. Pass them for the later view areas. Pass the left hand road when it comes around and continue straight. From here there will be two right hand turns on fire roads that lead to vistas. Both are recommended, especially the latter. The third, or last vista right turnoff is a nice downhill all the way right, or better take the high one to the left with strange 70’s school desks thrown from the very end of the ridge. Looks kind of like a UFO landing place. The views are excellent into Yosemite, across the Valley or down stream.

Get back on the main loop and make the next dirt road left. This will take you down to the Briceburg dirt road where you left it through the woodlands all the way to your car.