Yosemite 5 day trip at end of march?

[Ananda t]

Hello,

I haven't been to Yosemite this early in the season before, but I hear it is cold and snowy. My sister and I are planning a trip to Yosemite at the end of March. There has been a descent amount of snow this year, so I don't know if we should plan on a trip that is lower elevation to avoid the snow? I just want to go on a hike that is really epic because we are taking a week off to do the backpacking trip. We tried the Grand Canyon, but it was fully booked 6 weeks ahead. Any other ideas for an epic wilderness experience without the really cold snowy conditions at the end of march?

I saw this old post on a similar topic, but I don't know about any of the mentioned trips. Does anyone know which ones are on the scale and quality of Yosemite or the Grand Canyon?

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=6167

Thanks,
Ananda

[Trevor Wilson]

One of the national parks in southern Utah might be a good bet and have less snow although the altitude still gets pretty high – Zion, Canyonlands, or Bryce. I believe Zion is a little lower in elevation than the others so maybe most of the snow would be gone by late March?

[Bob Gross]

Yosemite is a great place to go at the end of March, as long as you are on snowshoes or X-C skis. The high country will be snow-covered. Yosemite Valley will be free of snow, but that is less of a wilderness and more of an urban slum.
–B.G.–

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