A traveler's guide to Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a U.S. National Park in California. Granite, waterfalls, and a valley that defined the national park idea.
Tunnel View, Glacier Point, and a valley floor that floods with cars. The High Sierra is the other Yosemite. Reservations have become part of peak summer. Go midweek, go early, or go to Tuolumne California.
When to go
May–June for waterfalls; September for granite without the crush is the window most visitors aim for. Shoulder seasons mean fewer cars at trailheads. Winter can close roads; summer can fill parking lots by 8 a.m. Check NPS alerts the night before you drive in.
How to see it
Start with tunnel View and a Valley View pullout. Then mist Trail or the valley falls loop in runoff season. If you have a second day, glacier Point when the road is open. Keep one spare hour for tuolumne Meadows if you want sky instead of traffic.
Park practicalities
An America the Beautiful pass covers entry at most national parks. Timed-entry reservations are used at several busy parks in peak season — book those before lodging. Wildlife has the right of way; 25 yards from most animals, 100 yards from bears and wolves.
If you only remember this
- Peak-season day-use reservations are real. So are bear boxes. Use both.
- Download offline maps. Cell service drops in most parks.
- Bring layers. Elevation and wind change the day faster than the forecast.
- Enter the park early. Famous lots and shuttles fill first.