California's ICONIC PARKS

Home to jaw-dropping views and landscapes, the Golden State’s National Parks are a must-visit

- Aletia Gilbert and Helena Cartwright

Approximately a four-hour drive from San Francisco sits Yosemite National Park, famed for its giant, ancient sequoia trees, vast hiking trails and out-of-this-world waterfalls. Its imposing granite walls were carved by massive glaciers around two million years ago and it really is the crown jewel of America’s national parks.

In its lower elevations, this park has one of the longest hiking seasons of any park attraction. It has more than 800 miles worth of trails of differing lengths, for various abilities. One of the longest, hardest, but most spectacular is Half Dome via the Mist Trail. It’s a 15-mile round trip, which will probably take you a full day to complete, but once you reach the top, you’ll get amazing views of the valley.

An easier hike, which should be on your list, is the Mirror Lake Hike. It’s an easy 2.4 miles, where as the name suggests, you’ll see a mirror image of the valley around you reflected in the water. It’s truly breathtaking.