Tunnel View is another insanely popular (aka crowded) location in Yosemite. You literally can't miss it. You have to drive right past it as you enter the park. It's super easy to just pull off the road, hop out of the car, and take in one of the best views in the entire park. That's why EVERYONE does it! Fortunately, for you, there is a way to escape the crowd and get an even better view all to yourself.
If you've read any of our other Yosemite write ups, you likely have detected a theme centralized around avoiding people in Yosemite. This is probably the most crowded National Park in the states, so it pays to know how to escape the crowd. Tunnel View is one of the locations where the crowd is particularly bad. All the images taken above are at the same spot just 50ft away from the Tunnel View parking lot. Luckily this spot is fully hidden from view to anyone in the parking lot. To get here, walk to the back corner of the parking lot, near the trash cans. Start walking up the rock face. Careful, this rock face can get slick with any sort of precipitation. Once you go up about 30ft, there will be a grouping of short trees. Walk through the tree tunnel here and you should see a massive dead log on the other side. Once you spot the log, you've made it. There aren't really many opportunities to stray off the path, so you should have no issues. This is one of our favorite spots in the park, so don't be a dick and leave it as you found it (or better).
Tunnel View is great any time of year. Even during snowstorms, with 4WD you can get to tunnel view. Both sunrise and sunset are epic here, however we particularly feel like sunrise tends to provide the best views. You also won't have to fight for parking. Starting as early as 9am, this parking lot can get hectic. The sun rises over the horizon you face as you stare down tunnel view so you usually get some pretty dynamic lighting.
Tunnel View is one of the best views in the park and also the easiest. You're gonna drive right past it anyway so you might as well stop and hop out of the car. Since this spot is so accessible, you guessed it, its almost always crowded as hell. The earlier you get there the better off you'll be, however it almost always has a bit of a crowd. Even at 1am there are still 10-15 photographers taking astro photos. If you know where to look, it's easy to escape the crowd. Want to know where exactly? Just scroll up.