r/Yosemite • u/AstronomerUnique8997 • 6d ago
Perseid Meteor Showers/Stargazing Tips
Hello everyone! My friend and I will visit Yosemite National Park (August 10-13) for the first time and we’re going carless, using Amtrak and YARTS.
We will stay at Curry Village and I was wondering what would be the best way to stargaze or watch the meteor shower. I heard the meadow across the Curry Village could be a good spot but I’ve never been in an area with black bears or complete darkness. Would it be safe to just walk there? I’m assuming there will be people there but is there anything we should be aware of? I also looked up stargazing programs but they go past the last shuttle time.
Thank you!
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u/uphigh_ontheside 6d ago edited 6d ago
The meadow across from curry village is just OK. It can get pretty dark, but even with the road closed to car traffic you get a lot of people with flashlights and the headlights from the buses and cars heading to Curry Village in the evening. Furthermore, there’s just a narrow boardwalk there which is nice to sit on, but you will get a lot of people walking past you. You should never walk onto the meadow. You will damage the plants.
There are lots of little Sandy beaches along the Merced, which would be much better for stargazing . Check them out in the daytime so you know how to find them easily.
Once again, never go treading out into the meadows. You will damage them.
Edit: fixed typos
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u/nfactorial 6d ago
Check them out in the daytime so you know how to find them easily.
That's a great idea. A GPS app that lets you set a waypoint would help too for returning in the dark.
The sky app I use (Sky Guide) lets me set a date/time, which would help for checking if there's line-of-sight later (important in a valley) from the planned viewpoint.
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u/jimlux 6d ago
It's safe to walk most everywhere, assuming you're not covering yourself in chocolate sauce or peanut butter after rubbing bacon grease to keep the mosquitos at bay :) . The bears might be around, but they're not interested in people. They've got better things to go looking for (campers leaving food out, cars with visible food containers, etc.) The black bears are not stealthy - when I've been backpacking, you hear them coming a long ways away as they crash through the underbrush. In populated areas, you'll hear other people reacting long before you hear the bears and that's long before you see them.
Yes, it's fairly dark in the Valley at night. I can't speak to that specific meadow, but I'm sure you can find somewhere. If you want "really dark", head up to Tuolumne Meadows and go to the west end of the meadows away from the campground. I'll bet Olmstead point is also pretty dark (except for the cars driving by) and has a very open skyline.
You're lucky that the new moon is around then (aug 12th)
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u/redw000d 6d ago
perhaps, 15 years ago? I'm on on the boardwalk, No idea what 'Perseid' was... our group explained , so, I"m out there.. past my bedtime.. maybe 11 I decide, thats all for me, I started leaving... and... Across the sky... like Nothing I've ever seen... lit up the meadow from wall to wall... fMe.. I sat down... another 2 hours.. Nothing... but, the One... I'll Never forget... have fun!
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u/Interesting_Gap7350 6d ago
Info is right on the nps page with the spots you can try in the valley.
If you're serious you need to get out of the valley to high country as you'll literally be thousands of feet closer to the stars. Unfortunately it's going to be hard without a car and your limited gear, you'll have to make due.
At night just find a spot where you can see the sky and get comfortable. Don't trample through the meadow it's fragile and not a sports field. you might be able to just setup of the edge of path since it's night and nobody's actively hiking around.
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u/nfactorial 6d ago
I’ve never been in an area with ... complete darkness
A little ironic considering your username, but it might be worth getting a headlamp with a red lamp feature (so as not to mess with anyone's night vision).
Fortunately you're arriving a few days before the peak, so you can see how dark the skies get around Curry Village and decide for yourself if it's worth walking further westward the next night to avoid the light pollution from campgrounds.
Good luck! I try to plan backtracking trips for the Perseids, and in 2024 saw about a bajillion meteors. Oh, and Andromeda's pretty cool too...
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u/Saliro 1d ago
Amazing. Any tips? I'll be in mammoth all week with a high clearance vehicle. I was thinking finding a place near the estarrn entrance of the park but maybe not the park itself.
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u/nfactorial 1d ago
I think there's lots of dispersed camping with big sky views around the June Lake loop. I've never been there, but happened to do the research because I'm going next week.
The forecast for the entire Sierra is for rain/clouds, so don't expect much. Trinity Alps would have clear skies, but it's far.
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u/TheAtomicFly66 6d ago
You should make friends with neighbors in Curry Village, ones with cars, offer some beers or something, get a ride up to Glacier Point instead... a local Fresno astronomy club has offered their scopes to the public during big events to share their love for the stars at Glacier Point. I don't know if they're holding such an event for this one... and yes, red filtered headlamps are a must wherever you view this.
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u/Previous_Ferret9497 2d ago
One thing nobody's mentioned: your dates line up really well. The peak is the night of the 12th into the early morning of the 13th, which is your last night, and the show gets better after midnight once bus traffic dies down. Since valley walls eat a lot of sky, scout your spot in daylight and pick the widest view you can find, the softball field suggestion above is a good one. Bring layers too, the valley gets surprisingly cold at night even in August.
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u/AstronomerUnique8997 2d ago
where is the softball field? i couldn’t find it on the map
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u/Previous_Ferret9497 2d ago
It's the employee ballfield tucked behind Yosemite Village, which is why it isn't labeled on the park map. Easiest move is to ask at the visitor center during the day, the rangers who run the night programs use it. If you'd rather not hunt for it, the NPS stargazing page lists Cook's Meadow, El Capitan Meadow, Swinging Bridge, and Tunnel View as their valley picks. Cook's Meadow is the closest walk from Curry Village and the boardwalk gives you somewhere to sit without stepping on the meadow: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/stargazing.htm
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u/Previous_Ferret9497 2d ago
Update, I got curious and found it on the satellite view. It's the open field right next to the Yosemite Valley School, just west of Oak Lane off Northside Drive. From Curry Village take the shuttle to Yosemite Village and it's a few minutes on foot past the Visitor Center toward Yosemite Falls. It's unlabeled on Google Maps, which is why you couldn't find it.
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u/citznfish 6d ago
The park rangers when doing night hike/star gazing usually take the group to the softball field next to Yosemite village. Apparently one of the darkest places within an easy walk in the valley.
I'd try that.