Yosemite Valley is the place where you can get some great views of the sourrounding mountain peaks you can also experience some great hiking in Yosemite. Most of the hiking trails in Yosemite lead you far from the Yosemite Valley floor, but there are some easier hikes that can be easily accessed from the Valley. The easiest and most popular hike is the Mirror Lake hike. This is by far the easiest trail in Yosemite. Mirror Lake changes dramatically with the changes of seasons at Yosemite. The views you get to see at Mirror Lake all depend on when you hike this trail.Spring and beginning of summer are the best times to hike to Mirror Lake
Spring and the beginning of summer is the best time to see Mirror Lake. Otherwise, you might be wondering why they call it Mirror Lake, and why is this trail so popular.
In the spring and summer, Mirror Lake is exactly what its name suggests: a mirror. A perfect mirror I might add. If there is enough water in the lake, you can clearly see the surrounding mountain peaks reflected in the water.
Yosemite mountain peaks are seen reflected in the still waters of Mirror Lake.
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Mirror Lake is just a little stream in the winter
I have visited Yosemite in mid November and I was surprised to find only a little stream instead of the beautiful Mirror Lake. What happened? Well, it’s simple ! Not enough water. However, come spring and with all the snow melting and feeding the Yosemite falls, Mirror Lake will become again the perfect and beautiful mirror.
Deer crossing the little stream that becomes Mirror Lake in early spring.
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How easy is the Mirror Lake trail in Yosemite?
It’s probably the easiest trail from Yosemite. If all you want to do is to stop at Mirror Lake then this is probably comparable with the easiest hikes you have ever done. This trail is paved and wide and you will find lots of people on it. This is a great trail for small children as well because it’s short and it has lots of things to draw their attention. I love this trail in the spring !
La Purisima Mission is one of the 27 California missions that line up the California coast from south to north. Located in Lompoc, La Purisima is actually a state park and it has been extensively reconstructed to better capture the feel of the Mission times. With lots of things to offer for the entire family, La Purisima Mission Park is a great tourist stop for the California traveler. Read on to find out what is worth seeing at La Purisima.
The mountains around San Luis Obispo Bay area hide Avila Beach very well. But if you’re willing to get off the beaten path and get off the freeway you will be rewarded greatly with stunning views of the ocean and a relaxed atmosphere in one of the little known California beach towns. Avila Beach, California is the perfect beach town. It’s small, clean and simply beautiful!
Pismo Beach is one of those hidden tourist jewels that is within easy reach but bypassed many times by tourists. The California coast is just beautiful off the 101 freeway in the Pismo Beach area. The fact that many larger tourist attractions like San Luis Obisbo and Hearst Castle are so close, most tourists just pass by Pismo Beach on their way up north. What a mistake! Pismo Beach is just an amazing stop even if you have only few hours to spare. Pretty soon I’ll post my detailed Pismo Beach travel guide, but for now 
We visited San Francisco a few times and we loved it every time. This time however it was in December and it was raining hard and the San Francisco Bay was covered in thick fog. We ended up mostly driving around but we were still able to walk around Fisherman Wharf area and enjoy the sites. San Francisco is spectacular despite the rain. Read on to find out the main tourist attractions in downtown San Francisco.
Lots to see in Palm Springs and the surrounding areas. If you make sure you don’t visit Palm Springs after middle of May and before middle of September, you will have a great time in the Palm Springs area. If you come during the summer, you will be confined inside your hotel where the air conditioner will make the temperature bearable.
Lake Tahoe is one of the most popular attractions in California. It is mostly known as one of the best winter resorts in the world. However, Lake Tahoe is a great family vacation spot in the summer as well. We found Lake Tahoe to be very relaxing and family friendly. My family found great things to see and we enjoyed the beautiful views and places to visit. This article contains our favorite places to visit in Lake Tahoe.
Every year the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California puts on the best show. Entitled the Tournament of Roses, this amazing parade is all about flowers and in particular about roses. We always wanted to go to the Rose Parade, but with two small children coming out in the very early hours of the morning just to get a somewhat decent seat, is out of the question. So, we opted to come see the floats in what is called the Post Parade event where you come admire the floats that have been parked on a couple of wide streets. Is it really worth it? Well, read on to find out.
Sometimes when traveling you get to witness amazing things that you were not planning to see at all. This is what happened to me when going to the beach again at Point Mugu State Beach in California. I have brought some relatives of ours to the beach since they have not been in this part of the state. When we got there, we noticed that the waves were pretty rough and very loud (about 10 feet high). The water was breaking very close to shore, which made it pretty hard for us to enjoy the water. Eventually we decided to head back home since we couldn’t really play in the water much.
We wanted to go to the beach one weekend and we decided to go to Point Mugu since we haven’t been there in a long time. Since I have forgotten to take cash with me, I couldn’t park at the state beach and ended up parking right next to the Mugu Rock and then went down to a small rock beach nearby. We ended up having a great time and saw a sea lion and lots of pelicans. My daughter loved the trip.
We have visited UCLA in the winter on a sunny December day. Even though the day was short, we had a great time. I always like visiting the UCLA campus, regardless if it’s summer or winter, school day or weekend…I just love it. Maybe it’s because I graduated from UCLA myself…yeah it’s because of that. However, I believe anyone can enjoy visiting the campus for a day, including your children.
