A good oiled mountain road makes the scenic Hetch Hetchy Valley a short,
2-hour drive by car from Yosemite Valley, a distance of 38 miles each
way over the Big Oak Flat Road. This road is a 1-way control road for
the first 4 miles after it leaves the Valley near El Capitan. This
one-way section is a road of rare charm and beauty with superb views
over the Valley. It passes through fine stands of Sugar Pine and Red Fir
and the Tuolumne Grove of Big Trees. The road continues on through one
of the finest stands of sugar pine left in the world.
A fine paved road extends from Mather down to the Hetch Hetchy Dam, a
distance of 9 miles, where one may see San Francisco’s gigantic 300-foot
Hetch Hetchy Dam and water supply. The valley is similar to Yosemite,
with tumbling waterfalls and precipitous cliffs surrounding a lake 7
miles long. The San Francisco Recreation Camp is located at Mather, near
the park line.
[Illustration: Men are dwarfed among the giant columns of the
Mariposa Grove of Big Trees.]
Visitors using the Big Oak Flat Road are urged to see the wonderful
panorama of the High Sierra from the fire look-out tower, 1½ miles over
an oiled road just west of Crane Flat. The fire guard on duty will be
glad to explain the points of interest and show visitors how fires are
located and put under control.