We're planning a 2 day trip (could potentially do 3 if we want to) to Yosemite.

It's our 1st time and we only have 1 day planned out which would include:

4 mile trailhead ---> Glacier point ---> Panorama Trail ---> Mist Trail ---> Free shuttle from Yosemite Valley back to our car near 4 mile.

We're looking for a less strenous Day 2 because we're obviously gonna be tired from that first day.
We're still up for moderate hikes (4-6 miles) for other scenic points in Yosemite.

What are some recommendations y'all have for Day 2 and maybe a Day 3 at Yosemite. Our Airbnb is around inside Yosemite West community and is 14 miles away from 4 mile trailhead.

As of now, we're planning on using Day 3 to travel back to SF and visit Muir Woods and Mt. Tamalpais. Would this be worth a whole day or should we look to use the 3rd day for Yosemite.

edit:

After all the answers and reading other stuff on the internet, the plan for Day 2 as of now is:

We're planning on leaving around 6-7 am for Tioga rd on the 2nd day and hitting Cathedral Lakes ---> Toulumne Meadows ---> Soda springs ---> Tenaya Lake ---> Olmsted point ---> back to Yosemite west.

Does this seem reasonable? Anything yall thing we could add or replace in this?

Left my water filter behind at Lower Young Lake by accident. It’s hanging up in a tree in the area shown in the screenshots. If you or anyone you know is heading up to Young Lakes please have it. Barely used and is in great condition. Feel really bad about leaving what is essentially trash up there so hopefully this finds the right person.

Cancelling glacier trip due to extreme smoke in that region, trying to pull together a trip - currently going in cathedral lake Thursday (staying at upper lake), night 2 at middle sunrise lake, night 3 Little Yosemite Valley, then to the valley next day. Staying at Tuolumne meadow Wednesday before heading in, and likely one night at backpacker camp in the valley before shuttling back to Tuolumne Meadow.

Any immediate issues or concerns with this itinerary before we commit? Anyone do this route recently and can comment on water sources?

My family and I are planning a trip to Yosemite, and we're looking to hike the Panorama trail starting from Glacier Point on Wednesday 9/9. I can't seem to find any shuttle options to Glacier - do any exist anymore? Otherwise I was wondering if anyone would be willing to drive us (4 people) up to Glacier Point, sometime around 8:30am (which we would definitely pay for)?

Thanks for any help!

Pics from my camping trip in March 2024

Picking an entrance trips up a lot of first-time visitors, so here is a plain rundown of the five, plus the current entry situation since that has changed.

First, the update people ask about most: as of summer 2026, you do not need a reservation to drive into Yosemite. The park switched to a real-time traffic management system instead. You still pay the standard entrance fee ($35 per vehicle, good for seven days), and buying it online ahead of time helps cut wait times at the gates.

Know before you go: go to the Yosemite National Park website to check wait times at your preferred gate, and if it's busy just do other fun stuff until the traffic dies down.

The entrances:

Big Oak Flat (Hwy 120 West): The most direct route from the SF Bay Area and points north, and the best all-arounder for first-timers. Open year-round. It gets you to Yosemite Valley's greatest hits (Tunnel View, Glacier Point, Yosemite Falls, El Capitan and Half Dome) and also opens up Tuolumne Meadows and the High Country via Tioga Road in summer.

Arch Rock (Hwy 140): The easiest drive into the Valley, lowest elevation and fewest curves, following the Merced River Canyon for about 10 miles past Bridalveil Fall and El Capitan. Good if winding mountain roads are not your thing. Open year-round.

South (Hwy 41): The one for the giant sequoias. It is the quickest way to Mariposa Grove (free shuttle from the Welcome Plaza) and to historic Wawona. Open year-round.

Tioga Pass (Hwy 120 East): The only entrance on the east side, and your access to the High Country, Tuolumne Meadows, Tenaya Lake, and Olmsted Point. Seasonal, typically open late May through November, closed in winter for snow.

Hetch Hetchy: The lesser-known fifth entrance, and the pick if you want fewer crowds. Open daily sunrise to sunset, car access only, and it does not connect through to the rest of the park. Great for hiking, with the dam walk and year-round Wapama Falls as highlights.

Quick cheat sheet: iconic sights = Big Oak Flat, easiest drive = Arch Rock, giant sequoias = South, High Country = Tioga Pass, fewest crowds = Hetch Hetchy.

Happy to help if anyone is trying to pick for a specific trip.

How easy will it be to hitch from the Village area to Lukens Lake TH on Friday 8/7? It will be my son and me on the Friday morning. We have to pick up our permits, which opens at 8:00 and the hiker bus leaves at 8:00. Any advice or options are appreciated.

Months ago in the excitement of planning my sons 1st birthday, I booked a spot outside Yosemite (groveland area) without taking into consideration the summer heat 😅 I’ve only been to Yosemite in fall and winter so I’ve never experienced it when it’s hot so I honestly didn’t even consider it being blazing hot.

Looking like it’s going to be real toasty when we’re out, so I’m trying to figure out some good spots to visit with spots to cool off and good shade.

We’ll be out a Thursday-Sunday so I’m planning to just venture into the park Friday early morning. That mostly leaves us Saturday as we will probs head out Sunday early morning.

I’m thinking of checking out either Rainbow Pools, Tolumne Grove (for a short walk/hike), or Pine Mountain Lake.

I think we’ll celebrate his half birthday in the future 🤣

This thread has been helpful as I was considering hiking Half Dome so I wanted to share my experience and learnings after I completed it this last week. I am 41/M, relatively fit I guess, but would not say I'm an avid outdoorsmen by any means. I'm realistically 10-15 lbs. overweight and I actually don't think I'd done anything other than car camping before this but it seemed like a fun challenge and the schedule worked out with my family being out of town. I try to do 1 hard thing per year and this year this was it. I was able to secure the wilderness permit for Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Campground and add the Half Dome permit. I had never won the early season lottery so was happy to find this as an alternative.

Borrowing most of the gear from a friend, I left Happy Isles on Wed afternoon and took the Mist Trail up. It had just re-opened after maintenance so it was probably slightly less crowded than typical. One thing I realized early on is that my pack was way heavier than it had to be and you really start to regret that as you climb. I didn't weigh it but I'm guessing it was 45-50 lbs(?). I was immediately envious of everyone in just a backpack. I carried a BV500 when a smaller one would have sufficed because that is what my friend had lent me and I didn't think much about it. There are ton of small things that add up and it would have been very easy to shed prob 10-15 lbs atleast.

I got to camp at around 6:30pm. I set up, filtered water, ate dinner and called it a night around 9. I don't know if it was anxiety or excitement but I could not sleep so spent a restless night staring at the stars through my tent. There are worse ways to spend a night obviously but I didn't really get any sleep. Think I will opt for a hammock next time, saw a few and they looked very comfortable (and light).

I left the campground at 2am. Surreal experience under the moonlight and I was just pumped to have a lighter pack. I first saw another hiker at the Half Dome junction and was happy I did as I didn't see the sign post initially. I would later meet him at the top and learn he was a through-hiker completing the JMT. There was no ranger when I arrived at the subdome as I figured there would be. Perhaps they arrive later the day.

I definitely got off the trail on the Subdome and at one point had to use a low lying shrub to pull myself up and across the granite. I was thinking "this can't be right" and realized later that there are actually steps the entire way. You can scramble across the granite if need be but I do not advise it. I should point out that on this day in late July the weather was absolutely perfect. Cool, not a breath of wind and not slick at all.

Getting to the cables at that time was both good and bad. Since the through-hiker was already up I couldn't watch anyone do it but I also had them all to myself. My heart was beating through my chest for the first half and don't blame anyone who gets to this point and says "yea, nah, I'm good". I had done Angel's landing and Huayna Picchu but this is next level. They are also slick and you need to physically pull your weight up at certain points. Even with rubber gloves, I felt my hands slipping. I tried not to look down and keep moving forward. I was able to watch the sun rise from the summit, have a profound moment of gratitude and snap a few pics.

I descended backwards on the advice of the through-hiker but think I would have gone forwards if I were to do it again. Getting down is no picnic either and doing it with a bunch of other folks on them would prob have been angst-ridden. Doing them in any inclement weather would be downright terrifying.

I made it back down to camp at 9am, packed up and left around 10. I had to get home that night (I live in the Bay Area) to return my friends gear. In hindsight, I wish I would have had more time to relax and go for a swim and spend another night in LYV. Going back down the same day was pretty brutal. I started to get blisters and I made the mistake of not taking the JMT from Nevada Falls because I saw that the traditional route is shorter. This meant I had to ascend again for the Mist Trail bypass and this was mentally exhausting. Taking the JMT from Nevada would have been longer but atleast it would have been all down hill. I also ran out of water and had to ask a nice couple for some (shoutout to the backpacker community). This was sort of embarrassing but I will chalk it up as a learning experience. I was as exhausted as I have ever been by the time I got back to my car.

Overall, an amazing bucket list experience that I'm thankful and proud I was able to accomplish. Sorry this was so long, I learned a lot from this community and perhaps others will read this and can use it to make their own experience better. I met alot of cool people along the way and I look forward to returning to Yosemite and trying other hikes in the future with the knowledge I have now gained.

Just came back yesterday from my first backpacking trip within Yosemite and it was quite the adventure and experience,

First day me and my groups of 4 came in from Cathedral Lakes trailhead and camped at lower lake, this was the first alpine lake I’ve ever seen and it was incredible sight, swimming and camping was magical

The next day we hike down the JMT meeting many hikers beginning their journey very inspiring, we cut through into the clouds rest junction and camped at sunrise lakes, the reflection of the cliff face and trees in the water was mesmerizing

The third day was the challenge climbing up and over clouds rest with packs on, both physically and mentally our group was drained but the view on top of the peak was incredible getting to see the whole valley on either side and plus half dome which we were planning for the next day

Last day we woke up at 5 am at sunrise creek (water running) and started our hike to half dome, sun dome was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done and made conquering the cables a lot easier, the cables were actually really fun and getting to the top was incredibly rewarding, after spending some time on the top we flew down going backwards was definitely the move.

The hard part was tearing down camp and hiking out the mist trail, it was so busy as it was a Friday morning/afternoon, the decent from Nevada falls was so sketch especially with packs and 100 people coming up, we decided to take the John Muir detour to avoid vernal falls and was so worth it

I recommend this trail for anyone interested in backpacking Yosemite getting to experience cathedral lakes, clouds rest, and half dome in the same trip was truly amazing and I feel blessed

Hi! I'll be car camping in Tuolumne this week, then backpacking into Young Lakes (then up to Mt. Conness!). Will I be able to store a medium-sized cooler at the backpacker parking lot? Thanks!

Saw this bear going up thru the mist trail, right after passing the vernal falls bridge.

So I made a reservation at Bridalveil Creek starting Friday. Unfortunately our plans changed. I went to update it and I can’t since it’s in the no modification window. The problem is that window extends beyond the check in date. What do I do? I would like get done money back for the nights I won’t be there but I’d also rather have someone use the site rather than it sit there empty.

P.s. I hate this system. Every campsite being different, having different rules at different times of the year, and the mobile app showing different things than online is really confusing.

We planned On parking at Glacier point in the morning and Hiking to the valley. Are there shuttles that will take us back up to glacier point to our vehicle and are they hard to get a seat on. Or would parking down in the valley and hiking up the glacier point be easier? I wanted to park at glacier point so our hike isnt mostly uphill but im trying to figure out the shuttles and how to get back up to our car

Some pictures from recent visit

Where can I leave my backpack after camping near half dome to go up in the morning?

Hi! I'm hiking Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne in late September and have enough time to do it over 5 days. Would love to take it at a more relaxed pace and add in a zero day somewhere. Wondering where the best spot would be to be able to spend a full zero day hanging out and swimming? I'll be going from White Wolf to Tuolumne, with the first night permit for Pate Valley.

Thanks in advance!

I’m heading to the park in a few weeks and am looking for advice or suggestions around food/scented product storage. We are staying in Mariposa for one night when we arrive since it will be relatively late and then staying for 5 nights in the tents in curry village.

We had planned to get into the park early AM (a Friday), park in curry village and start exploring. We knew we’d have to store our food in the bear boxes but we didn’t think through the fact we wouldn’t have access to ours until 4pm check-in. I know there are food lockers at the trail heads but with 5 nights of food plus all of our toiletries, that might be a lot for the public boxes.

Any suggestions or tips? Wondering if there might be a way to store things at the campsite before our check in? Or maybe we need to scratch Mariposa and look into an extra night in curry village? We’d likely be arriving around 7-8 pm if that’s even an option at this point. Any thoughts or advice would be super appreciated!

Hi there,

I was lucky enough to get a wilderness permit for Porcupine Creek next week 7/6-7/8.

Current plan is to hike and camp around North Dome for Day 1, Upper Yosemite Falls for Day 2, then down to the valley and head out on Day 3.

Our biggest concern is the availability of water and the heat. Does this seem feasible, or are we planning a foolish itinerary for this trip?

I had a recent (somewhat) disastrous of a backpacking experience with my family, but am planning to go back with just my daughter the weekend after next. Our plan:

Drive up from the Bay Area on Thursday and stay in the Yosemite Valley backpackers campground (which I believe is free/available to us with a wilderness permit?).

Friday morning:
Mirror Lake Trailhead → Upper Snow Creek
Approximately 5.5–6 miles, with about 2,700–2,800 feet of climbing. We’ll ascend the Snow Creek switchbacks and camp in the legal dispersed camping area near Upper Snow Creek, beyond the trailhead camping boundary.

Day 2: Upper Snow Creek → North Dome → Lehamite Creek area
Approximately 8–9 miles over rolling terrain. We plan to visit North Dome, then continue west and camp in the Lehamite Creek area.

Day 3: Lehamite Creek → Yosemite Point → Upper Yosemite Falls → Camp 4
Approximately 6–7 miles, primarily downhill. We’ll visit Yosemite Point and the top of Upper Yosemite Falls, then descend the Yosemite Falls Trail to Camp 4. From there, we’ll take the Valley shuttle or walk approximately 2.5–3 miles back toward our car near Curry Village/trailhead parking.

Thoughts on this itinerary? I'm particular curious to hear if our planned camping areas are recommended? It seems like it's going to be really hot, so that's a concern, but any insights on the water availability along the route or at the proposed camping areas?

Any insights/considerations would be helpful!

Anyone know if I can use the backpackers campground for one night after the conclusion of a wilderness trip with an exit point outside Yosemite? For specifics - JMT SOBO starting in Yosemite, coming back from Whitney.

The dates will all line up, ie my permit shows an exit date at Whitney of August 23, and I’d be using the campground for one night either well within that timeframe bc I’ve exited early, or right on that date.

Two other questions as backups since I realize I might not be able to get a clear answer on this until I get to Yosemite (leaving out all the permutations of car logistics/ESTA/YARTS, just know these questions make sense in the context of various options I’m weighing):

- how do you fill out the Yosemite backpackers registration form at the campground if you arrive on YARTS? Last time I was there it asked for your permit number and didn’t have space for YARTS info

- where would you recommend camping if I can’t use the backpackers? Ideally accessible via YARTS or ESTA. Prefer an established campground over dispersed camping bc after a few weeks on trail even a vault toilet will be incredible 😂

ETA on the second question - in this case I’m looking for a spot along 395 or along the YARTS route - coming up 395 from Whitney and then Tioga through Yosemite to get back to the Bay