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Will be going to Climb Mt. Whitney and want to get some good picture of Half Dome. I would hike Half Dome but am scared it will be a zoo. What are the best hike in Yosemite to get good pictures of Half Dome?

Depending on what side of Half Dome you want:

Clouds Rest from the Sunrise Trailhead
Drive up to Glacier Point
North Dome from Hwy 120

What does Mt Whitney have to do with pictures of Half Dome?

fedak wrote:What does Mt Whitney have to do with pictures of Half Dome?

Whitney is why I will be in California, just want pics of half dome, but its not my main objective, so not willing to invest a ton of time on some 15 mile hike, just the drive plus a 3 to 4 hour hike at most.

Half Dome is a good preparatory climb/hike for Whitney, at least it was for me back in 1970, and I see for some others.

Yes, but he wasn't interested in hiking Half Dome- just taking pictures of it.

Whitney is why I will be in California, just want pics of half dome, but its not my main objective, so not willing to invest a ton of time on some 15 mile hike, just the drive plus a 3 to 4 hour hike at most.

This then depends on where you are driving to Whitney from.

Clouds Rest is over your time limit (But would be my top recommendation)
North Dome from Porcupine Creek can be done in 3-4 hours.
Both of those are convenient if you are driving down 395 from Reno or heading across 120 from the Bay Area/Sacramento.
(As is the backside view of Half Dome from Olmstead Point on 120)


Glacier Point and the Valley Floor are drivable, but both will be one to several hours out of your way by any route.

And if you are heading up from LA, Vegas, or AZ I'd skip Yosemite entirely.

Here is the view from the top of snow creek out of the mirror lake trail head

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhendersonphotography/4545134452/" title="Half Dome from the top of Snow creek trail by jhendersonphotography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4545134452_35cf78d4d3_o.jpg" width="600" height="400" alt="Half Dome from the top of Snow creek trail" /></a>

taken in april of this year

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhendersonphotography/4545139342/" title="Half Dome by jhendersonphotography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4545139342_68ed002931_o.jpg" width="600" height="400" alt="Half Dome" /></a>

from the campgrounds near the village a couple days later

hope that helps

fedak wrote:

And if you are heading up from LA, Vegas, or AZ I'd skip Yosemite entirely.

What would you recommend? Flying into Vegas Wed. at 11am. Looking to bag Boundary Peak as part of highpointing, and hiking Whitney on Saturday the 24th. Fly out Monday the 26th around noon. What are some good day trips. I don't mind driving. I will actually be camping at June Lake the night of the 21st and 22nd. Looking for stuff to do on the 23rd and 25th.

gwave47 wrote:

fedak wrote:

And if you are heading up from LA, Vegas, or AZ I'd skip Yosemite entirely.

What would you recommend? Flying into Vegas Wed. at 11am. Looking to bag Boundary Peak as part of highpointing, and hiking Whitney on Saturday the 24th. Fly out Monday the 26th around noon. What are some good day trips. I don't mind driving. I will actually be camping at June Lake the night of the 21st and 22nd. Looking for stuff to do on the 23rd and 25th.

If you're doing Whitney on the 24th, you might want to spend a day hiking up at Horseshoe Meadows to help you acclimate a little. The trailhead starts at 10,000 feet, and you could take some easy hikes out of that area up to some nice meadows.

(Horseshoe Meadows is accessed from Whitney Portal Road, which is the road that takes you up to the Mt. Whitney Trailhead).

Gusto

Mt Hoffman would be nice. Can see half dome, clouds rest, lyell, conness..

The view from Mt. Watkins, an easy 2 miles from Highway 120


From North Dome, about 5 miles from Highway 120

gwave47 wrote:

fedak wrote:And if you are heading up from LA, Vegas, or AZ I'd skip Yosemite entirely.

What would you recommend? Flying into Vegas Wed. at 11am. Looking to bag Boundary Peak as part of highpointing, and hiking Whitney on Saturday the 24th. Fly out Monday the 26th around noon. What are some good day trips. I don't mind driving. I will actually be camping at June Lake the night of the 21st and 22nd. Looking for stuff to do on the 23rd and 25th.

fedak's last post was an excellent one if seeing Half Dome is what you like. Otherwise though, there are just TONS of things you can do between Whitney and Yosemite. You could spend a year doing daytrips. Mono Lake, Tioga Pass, Devil's Postpile, White Mountain, Langley, or anything out of one of the other two dozen trailheads in the area.

Panorama trail or 4 mile trail to Glacier Point

gwave47 wrote:What would you recommend? Flying into Vegas Wed. at 11am. Looking to bag Boundary Peak as part of highpointing, and hiking Whitney on Saturday the 24th. Fly out Monday the 26th around noon. What are some good day trips. I don't mind driving. I will actually be camping at June Lake the night of the 21st and 22nd. Looking for stuff to do on the 23rd and 25th.

If you are going to be at June Lake, you can cruise up Tioga Pass and hike Mt. Dana and spend some time at 13,000 feet. Should take 2-3 hours to the top, nice steep hike, nothing hard.