Yosemite National Park adds custom mule trips at Tuolumne Meadows

If you want to cover a lot of spectacular high-country terrain at California’s Yosemite National Park without lugging a heavy pack, try letting a mule do the hard part. The park’s stables at Tuolumne Meadows have added a custom overnight mule trip to the area’s scenic Water Wheel Falls.

The trips will begin after the stables open for the season, which is typically around the same time as the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge opens. That date depends on conditions; it is tentatively set for July 8.

Water Wheel Falls is a backpacker destination that is made easily accessible by riding the mules. It is 18 miles round trip, with a 1,200-foot elevation gain and loss. The trips will run from approximately mid-July to September, weather permitting.

Riders stay at either the backpackers campsite at Glen Aulin or the High Sierra Camp at Glen Aulin, which requires reservations through the lottery system. But some riders may find availability for the camp after the lottery by calling the park concessionaire, DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, at (801) 559-4909.

For a look at life in the High Sierra Camps, check out “Yosemite’s back-country hikers have seen the light.”

The cost of the custom overnight mule trips varies, depending on where riders stay and the size of the group. For two people, for instance, the cost for the guide, two riding mules and one pack mule would be $670 per day.

In addition to the custom trips, the stables will offer two-hour rides and half-day rides; the latter goes to Twin Bridges above Tuolumne Falls. Also available are pack trips to the High Sierra camps.

Contacts: After the stables open, contact Toulumne Meadows Stables, (209) 372-8427. Until then, for general questions, contact the High Sierra Desk at (801) 559-4909.