>>903348yeah, it's still in yosemite national park, but not in yosemite valley. the park itself is bigger than australian capital territory, while the valley is only about 5 square miles.
the valley is the most dramatic and iconic part of the park, but also the most crowded and developed.
next up in popularity are glacier point road (runs along the south rim of the valley, overlooking it-highlights are taft point, sentinel dome, and glacier point) and tioga road (goes to the high country, closed nov-may-highlights are tenaya lake, tuolumne meadows, and lembert dome).
hetch-hetchy is the next tier down in development and popularity, but the valley there is flooded with an artificial lake that you can't swim in or boat on.
living ~3 hours away and having been all over it dozens of times, i recommend you deal with the crowds and see yosemite valley at least 1 day. then branch out and start finding quieter parts of the park.
and i highly recommend reservations far in advance. rangers are aggressive about ticketing stealth campers, even well up trails and in the woods, and backcountry camping also requires a reservation and must be at least 4 miles from a trailhead.
additionally half dome requires a permit, limited to 100/day, reservable 6 months in advance via lottery, and they fill up fast for august. if you miss out do clouds rest. or better yet, do both.
