Yosemite lives up to the hype as a must-visit national park. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous, and there are a ton of great hikes for all skill levels. Given the size of the park, you’ll want to take at least a couple days to enjoy the area and its activities.
Distance: 7.2 miles; Elevation Gain: 2,217 feet; Difficulty: Hard
This hike is one of Yosemite’s finest. While challenging, you’ll be treated to great views of waterfalls, Half Dome, and Yosemite Valley. Especially if you’re visiting in Yosemite’s notoriously hot summer, you need to get an early start for this hike. It’ll take at least 4 hours with stops and is pretty steep. Some people are tempted to turn around once they make it up to Vernal or Nevada Falls, but we highly recommend doing the full loop. Our favorite view of the entire hike was past Nevada Falls along the Mist Trail, looking back at the waterfall and Half Dome.
This hike is surprisingly underrated. We loved the photo opportunities at both Sentinel Dome and Taft Point, and the loop connecting the two points is nice and shaded. It also offers some great views along the way. Somehow we were the only people on the trail, which made it all the more … exciting when a bear walked right in front of us on the trail (more on that below). If you don’t feel like doing the full loop, there are options to do out-and-back hikes to either Sentinel Dome or Taft Point. Out of those two viewpoints, we slightly preferred Taft Point. Both spots are great though.
More of a walk than a hike, the Lower Yosemite Falls Trail is a nice break from the challenging hikes in the area. We don’t consider this trail a must-do by any means, but it is a nice way to see Yosemite Falls if you aren’t doing the longer, more challenging Upper Yosemite Falls Trail. One cool thing about this trail is, when the water levels are low, you can walk almost all the way to the falls by jumping from rock to rock.
Viewpoints to See
Yosemite is so big that it is best to plan viewpoints to visit by area. Otherwise, you’ll be in the car all day. Below we have grouped our favorite viewpoints into three sections of the park: Glacier Point Road, Yosemite Valley, and Tioga Road.
Glacier Point Road
Glacier Point: At the end of Glacier Road is Glacier Point, which offers truly dramatic panoramic views of Yosemite Valley. All things considered, this was our favorite view in the park that could be accessed without a hike. It does take a while to get to this viewpoint from Yosemite Valley, so we recommend pairing this visit with a nearby hike (such as the Sentinel Dome and Taft Point Loop).
Washburn Point: Just down the street from Glacier Point is Washburn Point. Honestly, the views are very similar. That being said, you should definitely still stop at both, as we could spend all day at either point.
Yosemite Valley
Tunnel View: As you’re heading from Yosemite Valley to Glacier Point Road, you’ll approach the iconic Tunnel View. Make sure you don’t miss it. If you catch this viewpoint at the right time of day, you’ll get some awesome photos of the sun peeking through the valley.
Yosemite Valley View: The parking lot for this viewpoint is so small that you might miss it. Mark it on your map, though, because the view is beautiful. It’s unique in allowing you to get a photo of the mountains with a pond in front of them.
Bridalveil Fall: Admittedly, Bridalveil Fall was almost non-existent when we visited Yosemite because the area was so dried out. Most of the time, though, it is an iconic spot that is well worth a visit.
Tioga Road
Olmsted Point: Perhaps our favorite viewpoint along Tioga Road was at Olmsted Point. While you can get a nice photo from the parking area here, the best views are about a quarter mile walk. You should see some stairs and a sign directing you to the viewing area, which sits on a large rock and looks into Yosemite Valley.
Tenaya Lake: The pristine water of Tenaya Lake is a nice contrast from the dry, mountainous terrain that makes up most of Yosemite. You can even swim in the water if you dress appropriately. We unfortunately were just stopping by, but it is still worth a quick visit to get some photos and relax.
Half Dome View: This pullout sits on the road connecting Yosemite Valley and Tioga Road. It’s a unique view of Half Dome and worth a stop if you plan on making the trek out to Tioga Road.
Other Tips & Tricks
Burger and Fries from 1850 Restaurant & Brewery
Where to Eat: The food options in Yosemite Valley are limited. Sure, there’s a Starbucks along with a few overpriced park restaurants, but we’d recommend packing protein bars to keep you going while you’re in the park. Outside of the park, your best bet is picking restaurants close to your accommodation. We stayed in the Midpines / Mariposa area, so we were able to enjoy the above average, reasonably priced food at 1850 Restaurant & Brewery and Don Ruben’s Mexican Restaurant.
Where to Stay: Despite what we said about the park restaurants … we would totally stay in the park if given the opportunity. It’s just so much more convenient. Unfortunately we were visiting Yosemite pretty last minute just after the 4th of July, so everything was booked up. If like us you need to stay outside the park, map the address of your accommodation to the Yosemite Valley visitor center. Most of the park’s attractions are close to that landmark, so it will be a good barometer for the amount of driving you have to do every morning and evening. Our Airbnb in Midpines was nice but almost an hour drive each way, which was not ideal for sunrise starts or relaxing ends to long days of hiking.
Getting Around: You need a car. That’s all there is to it. To avoid spending most of every day in that car, though, we highly recommend planning out your stops each day. Everything in Yosemite feels very far apart.
Start Early: Yosemite can get very crowded and very hot. To help mitigate both of those issues, we recommend starting early. Temperatures were reaching triple digits by noon every day when we visited, so we would have struggled to do all of our hiking if we had started later than 7am each day.
Bear Safety: We stumbled across two bears during our visit to Yosemite. The first walked across the Sentinel Dome and Taft Point Loop Trail about 10 feet in front of us. The second was a bit off the Mist Trail minding its own business. Pay attention to park guidance regarding food and how to safely handle these situations. The bears in the park are black bears and generally are scared of humans, but that can change if the bears get a taste of human food.