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Bicycling
Bicycling is a great way to see the park from the road!
Follow the winding Merced River, ride up to waterfalls,
take a thrill ride down the hill from Glacier Point, visit
alpine meadows. You can get to a good number of scenic attractions
by bike, and bicycles are a good way to move from location to location
while in the valley. The only restriction is that bicycles are not
allowed off-road, so you must use paved paths or roads.
Most trails are on the valley floor, but you can
ride on park roads to outlying areas if you are careful. There are
12+ miles of paved paths alongside roads, through the campsites,
etc. Bikes (beach-cruiser types) are available
for rent from the park concessions vendors. Rates are $5.50/hour,
$21.00/day at Yosemite Lodge or Curry Village. Rental stands are
open from spring through the fall (no winter rentals), weather permitting.
For more information, call the Yosemite Lodge bike stand at (209)
372-1208. You can also bring your own bicycle with you. Common-sense
tip: take a lock if you do.
Some more serious rides are possible as well -- for example from
the valley floor to Tuolumne Meadows, a challenging
hill climb of about 40 miles R/T, with a 5,000 ft elevation, or
to Glacier Point, another rigerous ride of about 40 miles R/T, also
around 5,000 ft elevation. The return downhill is quite a blast.
If you want to find out about organized rides in Yosemite, contact
the Sierra Fat Tire Association, a mountain bike
club in the Southern Yosemite area whose members ride in and maintain
trails in the Sierra National Forest. Their address is P.O. Box
3413, Oakhurst, California.
Rules:
There are a few park rules for visitor safety and to protect park
lands and property:
• Bikes are allowed only on paved bikeways and park roads
(unless the road is closed to bicycle use).
• All bikes are prohibited from pedestrian and hiking trails.
• Bicyclists must obey all posted traffic signs and travel
with the flow of traffic when on roadways used by automobiles.
• Rental bikes may not be ridden to either Mirror Lake/Meadow
or Lower Yosemite Fall.
• Helmets are required in park for all riders under 18 (CA
law), but are provided free with rentals.
 View
a map of the Park
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