Pohono Bridge

No matter how you approach Yosemite, it’s a bit of hike between the entry to the park and finally arriving there. As you descend into the Valley on 120, you’ll catch your first glimpse of Half Dome, go past Cascade Falls, see the signs for Tolumne Meadow and the Merced Grove. But it doesn’t feel quite like you’ve arrived until you reach the bottom of the descent, turn left and eventually take the right toward Southside Drive and cross Pohono Bridge. It’s a beautiful spot, but parking is scarce. Good thing most people just drive right by in their rush to get to Bridalveil Fall and all the other better-known spots. If you take the time to get down to the Merced on the west side of the bridge, you’ll see this view of Cathedral Rock rising in the distance. And you will start to understand this place.

Pohono Bridge crosses the Merced River not far from Bridalveil Fall — a stone arch that has carried Yosemite's Valley Loop Road since 1934, the kind of infrastructure that was built to look like it had always been there. The bridge is named for the Ahwahneechee word for Bridalveil Fall, "Pohono," meaning puffing wind.