The attractions of the city are endless; from Alcatraz to the Museum of Modern Art you could spend weeks exploring everything on offer. Attractions aside however, San Francisco is a great jumping off point for many of America’s national parks.

High in the mountain passes the ski season is in full swing, and for $10 a pair of snow shoes makes the walk through deep drifts less of a challenge. Trails crisscross the park from these passes through the forest to the tranquil lakes deep in the valley.

Standing above the valley itself are the ancient groves of giant sequoias. Larger than their coastal Redwood cousins, many of these colossal trees are thousands of years old. The January snow accentuates their enormous presence creating a stark contrast between the white floor and the deep red of the sequoia trunks.

The main road through the park winds it’s up way up the valley sides to the Tunnel View outcrop. From here the road gives way to the most impressive of all Yosemite views – a smooth but immense granite channel curving into the distance; the lasting passage of an ancient glacier. The forest sweeps dramatically from the sheer face of El Capitan and along the valley floor towards distant peaks, while pale slivers in the valley walls reveal a scatter of waterfalls across the vista.

The most incredible time to visit is in the early morning to watch the sun rise over the rim of the famous Half Dome peak. Morning dew and ice, thickened from a cold night deep in the valley, soak shoes and trousers chilling bodies to the bone. The cold is worth it though, for a different perspective of park life. Birds chatter and mammals rustle in the undergrowth as mist rises from Mirror Lake, hanging in limbo a foot above the still water. The valley walls begin to take on a pink tinge as the sun rises behind the granite mountains, blending into pale umber then amber before the sun rises full above the valley.