Chicest Picnic Part 2: Cathedral Beach, Yosemite Valley

I posted last year during my “Chicest” series that the chicest picnic I’ve had was in a poppy filled field in Ulsan, Korea. Well, that picnic has met it’s match and I simply must addend my post.

I’ve been to many amazing places in the world, but little did I know one of the most amazing I’ve ever seen was in my own backyard of California. Yosemite is really that stunning.

At the foot of the imposing rock face of El Capitan is a swath of golden sand lining the Merced River that flows through the Yosemite Valley. This place is called Cathedral Beach, and it has won the title of my chicest new picnic spot.

As we sat on the riverbank one summer day, eating sandwiches and tossing an occasional potato chip to the nearby ducks, Steve and I marveled at the overwhelming grandeur of the mountain rising steeply above us, and it’s equally stunning reflection peeking up from the calm shallows below. Ducklings waddled by in formation (safety in numbers, right?) and butterflies flittered past in the sun dappled afternoon. After lunch, we found a grassy secluded spot to nap.

As I lay in the warm riverside grass watching feathery dandelion seeds float on the breeze, the only sound I could hear was the river trickling over mossy stones and the clicking of Steve’s camera as he attempted to digitally capture this matchless afternoon.

Cue Disney film music here…it was that perfect.

For more gorgeous Yosemite photos, check out the Nomad’s photo essay here.