Know Before You Go: Visiting Yosemite National Park

Yosemite ranks among the greatest natural wonders in the US—and the busiest, with about 4 million annual visitors. Most arrive during summer months and must navigate traffic congestion, an influx of tour groups, and California wildfire season, which runs through October. To ease wildfire worries and get access to most areas of the park, visit in late spring or mid-fall.

Winter can be a pleasant surprise, too, with Yosemite hiking trails snow-laden and seasonal events like the Bracebridge Dinner, an annual Christmas theater show in the Ahwahnee Hotel. From spring to fall, visit outside 9am–5pm to avoid traffic.

Did you know?: Most years, nearly 75 percent of visitors come to Yosemite during the busiest months, May through October.

Driving into or through Yosemite National Park requires a reservation during peak visiting periods: from July to mid-August between 5am and 4pm daily, and from mid-April to June and mid-August through October on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. These timelines can change as the park experiments with ways to counter congestion. Spending the night in the park, almost always requires reservations booked well ahead of time. But if you want to get into the backcountry, guides can provide gear and Yosemite camping tips.

Insider tip: All Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) bus tickets include Yosemite entrance (and reservation) fees.

During most of the summer, you can feasibly visit Yosemite solely on public transportation. You can take the Amtrak San Joaquins train to Merced, California, and transfer to the Amtrak Thruway Bus (Route 15A), which runs to the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center (a good place to pick up more visiting Yosemite tips) in about three hours. Alternatively, YARTS provides public buses to the visitor center from Sonora year-round and from Merced, Fresno, and Mammoth Lakes from May to September. From there you can take free shuttles around the valley—but no farther.

Yosemite comprises more than 1,000 square miles (2,590 square kilometers) of wilderness—getting from one side of the park to the other isn’t exactly a walk in the park. Choosing the right entrance can make or break your visit: You can enter via the Hetch Hetchy, Big Oak, and Arch Rock entrances from the west; the South Entrance on California State Route 41; or the Tioga Pass entrance from the east. Tioga Pass is open roughly from late May until November. Hetch Hetchy may close from November through March, and is the only entrance that closes from sunset to sunrise—the others are always open.

Many people opt to visit Yosemite independently, typically staying close to Yosemite Valley and maybe adding on a quick visit the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. Otherwise, they come to camp, backpack through the wilderness, or climb overnight.

However, tours can provide round-trip transportation from San Francisco—which can be a lifesaver for travelers with budgeted time—and the know-how to get around, whether that means seeing most of the park highlights in 1–2 days, hiking to waterfalls and viewpoints with guides, or even joining 4WD excursions.

Insider tip: Day trips from Fresno can leave more time for sightseeing than those from San Francisco, which is much farther away.

One day is the absolute, shoestring, meager minimum. That’s enough to start at the visitor center, take a short hike to Lower Yosemite Falls or Mirror Lake, and perhaps visit Mariposa Grove en route to the exit— without counting transportation to or from the park. But you really need two or more full days to experience this national treasure, and you can easily spend a week exploring different parts of the vast wilderness: Start in Yosemite Valley and venture farther afield to Glacier Point, Tuolumne Meadows, Half Dome, and beyond.

There’s hardly a poor vista anywhere in Yosemite, but you should start at the Tunnel View scenic point near the South Entrance, as it has unbeatable views of Yosemite Valley framed by the Wawona Tunnel. With commanding views of the valley, Half Dome, and Yosemite Falls, the Glacier Point overlook is close behind—but it’s accessible by car only from about May to October. If you can manage the hike, the view from Upper Yosemite Falls, reachable from trailheads near Yosemite Lodge or off Tioga Road, looks down on the entire valley from on high.

Whoever said the West Coast doesn’t have seasons? Yosemite has four distinct seasons: The dry, hot summer temps can sometimes reach 100°F (37.8°C) (though nights tend to stay cool), and icy, snowy winters sometimes shut down the entire park. Spring is mild, but the rainy season is wet. Whatever the Yosemite weather forecast, wear a comfortable base layer, sunglasses, and sunscreen, and carry a rain jacket and something warmer in case of cool spells or even summer thunderstorms. Always bring sturdy shoes or hiking boots; water shoes are great for spending time in the Merced River or natural pools.

If you want to spend the night in Yosemite, you can, but you must nearly always book reservations well ahead of time. Your choice of Yosemite accommodations options can range from a luxury hotel like the Ahwahnee to traditional cabins and lodges, canvas tent camps, ski huts, and many camping sites. Most campgrounds require reservations made at least two weeks in advance, though a small number, including Camp 4 and Wawona, offer walk-up sites from November to April. Overnight backpacking requires wilderness permits.

You can find accessible parking stalls and restrooms with family rooms near the Valley Visitor Center and additional parking at the Yosemite Falls lot and the Curry Village entrance. Wheelchairs are available for rent year-round from the Yosemite Valley Lodge front desk, and electric mobility scooters are available when safe weather allows. Additionally, nearly all the paved 2-way trails along the Merced River in the valley are accessible-grade. All shuttle buses have wheelchair lifts and tie-downs—and you can also always ask drivers for help getting on and off the bus.

• Is Yosemite better than Yellowstone? Not necessarily. You could hardly do better than visiting either of these national parks, but Yosemite could be a little more convenient. It's roughly a 4-hour drive from San Francisco, while Yellowstone is about 4–5 hours from Salt Lake City, a smaller metro area. Yellowstone is harder to visit during winter.

• Is it better to stay within or outside Yosemite National Park? If you can plan ahead of time and know exactly where you want to spend the night, staying inside Yosemite park boundaries is better for the experience and convenience. With that said, many visitors choose to stay outside of the park—Mariposa County is a popular choice—because there are more options.

• What is the closest town to Yosemite National Park? From the west, the closest town to Yosemite National Park is El Portal, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. Lee Vining is the closest town from the east, about 13 miles (23 kilometers) from the Tioga Pass entrance. Mariposa, Oakhurst, and Twain Harte are relatively nearby.

• When was Yosemite National Park founded? Yosemite National Park was founded by an act of the US Congress on October 1, 1890. Although it is among the first national parks designated in the US, it is third behind Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming (1872) and Sequoia National Park (1890) in California.