- Yosemite National Park, CA
Camp Curry ice skating rink at Yosemite is my pick for one of the top ten ice rinks in the United States, hands down. Can you say location, location, location? For six bucks you can skate for two hours, skate rentals included, and take in the beauty of Yosemite Valley.
Half Dome graces the skyline as well as snow covered redwood trees. Unfamiliar with Half Dome? Check out Ansel Adams’ photographs. After a skating session or, in my case, during the skating session, you can give your feet a rest beside the roaring bonfire with a cup of hot cocoa. My ankles weren’t accustomed to my once-every- three-years ice skating expedition. In fact, they were screaming for mercy.
But the kids kept on going . . . except Jack. This was his first time on the ice and he was a very determined skater. He held onto an orange pylon for balance and tried his very best to skate around the rink. But he soon tired and gave up. I don’t think he noticed the great scenery. He was too busy staring at the ice.
- Sledding at Yosemite, CA
Next we headed over to the stables and found a great sledding hill. We finally found something Jack’s speed . . fast. It’s a good thing we brought our plastic sled and boogie board with us from Southern California. Yes. I said boogie board. With limited snow gear, sometimes you just gotta improvise and it worked great!
Other highlights from our trip included building a snowman in a meadow and hiking to lower Yosemite Falls falls for a drop-dead postcard view of the waterfall.
Our three day stay came to an end much too soon as we barely began to explore the endless activities at Yosemite like skiing at Badger Pass, nature hikes with a Park ranger, enjoying dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel dining room . . . and on and on.
My son, Nick, said it best, “I had an awesome time. It was much more than I ever could have imagined.”
For more information GoCalifornia
Tags: ice skating, National Parks, Parks, sledding, Travel, Yosemite
