How to spend 2 days in Yosemite
Yosemite, a majestic and inspiring National Park is really one of the must-see gems in the world. In my opinion, one of the best parks I’ve seen so far. Whether it’s your first time visiting Yosemite National Park or you’re a seasoned traveler, you’ll always find something new to do here. In all four seasons. And once you’ve been there, you’ll definitely want to go there again someday.
Spontaneous trips may be an adventure of a lifetime, but to really enjoy your trip it might require some planning. I’ll share with you some basic tips and a 2-day rough plan.
Start Planning
ENTRANCE FEE – Yosemite National Park is managed by the U.S. National Park Service, and lying in the western Sierra Nevada of Central California, bounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest. Yosemite is open all year round, 24 hours daily, but it requires an entrance fee. For example, a fee for one car is 30$ and is valid for 7 days. Or 15$ per person, if you are entering by foot or bicycle. If you are planning to visit more National Parks or even some recreation areas, I recommend buying an Annual Pass, America the Beautiful. It costs 80$, valid for a year and covers the pass owner and three accompanying adults. You can buy it when entering the park, or online at USGS Store or at Rei.
RESEARCH – Before you go, search for the places you want to see, things you want to do… It might help you choose where do you want to stay and how long can you stay there. Most important pieces of information you can find on a U.S. National Park Service site, a lot of interesting stuff and personal experiences from fellow travelers and bloggers, and my favorite, travel guidebooks. You never know whether you’ll have a reception on your phone, so it’s good to have some paper maps in your hand. I get most of my books from Book Depository, my favorite about Yosemite is from Lonely Planet: Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. It includes great information about all hikes, location, duration, distance and just everything you want to know. You also get a simple map while entering the park and it’s quite helpful.
TRANSPORTATION – If you are doing the bigger road trip and traveling around to see some other places, you will probably have a car. Which is, in my opinion, the best option. If you are staying in Yosemite Valley and want to visit the nearest sights that are reachable by shuttle bus, you probably don’t need a car. But if you want to see more, and if you are staying out of the park, you should definitely get a car. In peak season or on weekends it’s best to come early, before 9 am, to get a parking spot in the valley. While there, it’s best to use a free shuttle, which is really great organized. Keep in mind that the Valley Loop is one way, also the shuttle, so plan your stops ahead.
You can drive to Yosemite all year and enter via Highways 41, 140, and 120 from the west. Tioga Pass Entrance (via Highway 120 from the east) is closed from around November through late May or June. Hetch Hetchy is open all year but may close intermittently due to snow.
The state route 120 which leads to Tioga Pass is a great way to spend a day in Yosemite. If you want to do that, you must check whether the road is open.
WHEN TO GO – The high season is from June to August. Temperatures in lower areas can get up to 32°C, except in the higher altitudes. All park trails and facilities are open, but waterfalls can dry up entirely. Low season is from November to March. Winter snow close the high elevation roads and most facilities are closed. It’s best for winter sports activities. The shoulder season is probably the best, spring is the waterfall season and in April and especially May you can enjoy amazing waterfalls. It can get crowded on weekends and on Memorial Day. In Autumn you can enjoy in splendid warm colors, temperatures drop in late October.
Once you decide when you want to go and what you want to see, it’s easier to decide where you want to stay.
Where to stay
There are many options where to stay. You can stay right in the park in Yosemite Valley, but it can get quite expensive. Budget accommodation fills up fast, so you should look up for a reservation a few months earlier. You can stay in lodges or in one of the 13 popular campgrounds. If you are going skiing is best to stay around Mammoth Mountain. Our best option was to stay in Mariposa, a small town which is less than an hour away from Yosemite. It has grocery stores, restaurants, fast foods, gas stations… just everything you need. And it was also the best location for our further trip.
RIVER ROCK INN – this is where we stay during our trip, and we were really satisfied. Location was perfect, everything was clean and comfy. Staff was friendly, and, not to mention, they offered the best breakfast we had on our trip!
YOSEMITE’S SCENIC WONDERS – this beauty is located in Yosemite West, closer to the Valley and appropriate for larger groups. And for longer trips, so you can take a day off from hiking and enjoy what this house offers you.
YOSEMITE VIEW LODGE – another one with a great location, just 20 minutes from the park. It’s dog-friendly and they have a swimming pool.
What to do & see
There are plenty of activities you can do, hiking, cycling & mountain biking, rock climbing, camping, horseback riding, swimming, rafting, canoeing & kayaking, caving, hang gliding, skiing & snowboarding and many more. You can book guided sightseeing and hiking tours or you can explore by yourself. Yosemite offers a range of informative and inspiring walks and talks to learn about Yosemite. There are also a lot of organized activities and programs for children. Many of that information you can find online or at the Visitor Center in Yosemite Valley.
If you have only two days and want to explore as much as possible, here is a 2-day itinerary. It’s full of beautiful sights and easy or moderate hikes. You need a car, good hiking shoes, water & snacks, warm clothing (depends on when are you going), a waterproof jacket or a raincoat, and a camera to catch beautiful moments.
Day 1 – Yosemite Valley
TUNNEL VIEW – Tunnel view is one of the most famous scenic views in Yosemite, from there you can see El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls, Three Brothers, and Half Dome. If you are entering the park via State Road 41 (from Yosemite West, Wawona…) you will drive through the tunnel and after you get out you see the view. The best road to enter the Yosemite is the State Road 140 (from Mariposa) where you do not drive through the tunnel, but can easily drive to this scenic lookout. There is a small parking available, but it’s best to come early, or late in the afternoon to catch a sunset.
BRIDALVEIL FALL – this 189m high waterfall flows all year and it’s usually the first waterfall you see in Yosemite. First, you can see it from the Tunnel view, but you can also get closer. There is a small parking spot near, and a short and easy hike to the fall, the distance around 0,8km roundtrip. Its peak season is in spring, so you might get wet getting closer. Some portable raincoat would be a great accessory.
SENTINEL MEADOW – driving to Yosemite Village, you will pass by Sentinel Meadow. Parking is available along the road. A great stop for a short walk. You can even do the whole Sentinel Meadow & Cook’s Meadow loop, you can continue walking and get to Yosemite Village by foot.
YOSEMITE VILLAGE – If you are going by car you should arrive as early as possible and park somewhere near the Visitor Center or other nearby parking spots. In the Visitor Center, you can get some maps or any other information about your visit. In the Village, there is also Valley Wilderness Center, Yosemite Museum, restaurants, grocery store, gift shops… From here you can use a shuttle to all your next destinations.
LOWER YOSEMITE FALL – If you are walking from the Valley Visitor Center, follow the bicycle path to shuttle stop #6 and begin the trail. Consider walking the loop in a clockwise direction for best views of Yosemite Falls. It’s an easy and short, 1,6km loop trail. In spring you can get a bit wet standing near the fall, but it’s often dry from late July or August through October. Stay on the paved trail all the time to stay safe.
VERNAL FALL – if you have only one day in Yosemite and it’s spring, I’d say go to the top of Vernal Fall (and even further to Nevada Fall). Vernal Fall is only 96 m tall but it is among the most powerful waterfalls in Yosemite. It cannot be viewed from the valley floor by car. To see it you must get on the trail. And it’s really worth it. Hiking along the Mist trail and getting totally wet, but then reaching to the top to see a spectacular view, it’s… just speechless.
The trail starts at shuttle stop #16, and you can go to Vernal Fall Footbridge where you can see the fall from below. This trail is moderate, the road is paved, but it gets quite steep. It’s a 2.6 km round trip, with an elevation of 120m, and it could take from 1 to 1,5 hours walking.
But once you are there, it’s just a must to continue on Mist Trail up to the top of the fall. This trail is strenuous, you must have really good hiking shoes, a raincoat or a jacket, maybe some spare socks and a t-shirt. In spring it can be very dangerous, slippery and wet. But if you take it slow and be careful where you step, it’s totally doable. The whole distance from the shuttle stop to the top of the fall is 3,9 km round trip (via Mist Trail), with elevation gain 300 m. All together it could take around 3 hours.
If you have enough time, you can continue to Nevada Fall, it’s another 2,5km further from Vernal Fall. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for that. And I definitely want to go to Yosemite again.
MIRROR LAKE – when you come back from Vernal Fall trail, you can take a shuttle and go to the next stop, shuttle stop 17#. That’s where you start a trail to Mirror Lake. Only when you come in spring or early summer, you get to see why it’s called ‘mirror’. It beautifully reflects Mt Watkins and Half Dome. This is an easy, 1 hour, 3.2 km round trip to the lake and back, 8 km loop if you go around a lake. If you have time, you can continue further. The trail continues along Tenaya creek into Tenaya Canyon loop.
Day 2 – Tioga Road (Route 120)
This road is usually opened from late May to November. Before you go, you should check Tioga Road opening & closing dates. If you are doing this tour it’s best to go all the way through Tioga Pass to Mono Lake. And check the temperatures, because on Tioga Pass can be a lot colder than the Valley. We were there in late May, in Valley it was up to 25°C, but on Tioga Pass, it was only 2°C. Don’t forget to fill up at Crane Flat Gas Station.
There are plenty of places to see on Tioga Road, unfortunately, we had a bad weather, mist, and fog, we couldn’t see 5 meters in front of us in some places, so we missed some nice sights and longer hikes. But there are plenty of other short hikes on the way.
TUOLUMNE GROVE – This is Yosemite’s second most visited grove of giant sequoias. There is also a tree you can walk through, known ass Tunnel Tree or Dead Giant. This trail is moderate, just because when you are returning you are going steep uphill in some places. Otherwise, it’s a great interpretative nature trail. It’s a 4 km round trip, all together it could take around 1,5 hours. And you can add some time to admire the great giants.
OLMSTEAD POINT – This is a scenic viewing area which offers a view into Tenaya Canyon. More about it you can find here. Unfortunately, while we were passing this point, we didn’t see anything. Here is the view we had at that time.
TENAYA LAKE – It’s a beautiful lake for a range of activities in the summer. You can go walking a 4 km loop around a lake. Begin at the parking lot on the lake’s east end and take the accessible boardwalk trail to the popular sandy beach. In late May was still very cold, and again foggy, so we just made some nice mystic looking photos.
LEMBERT DOME – It’s a granite dome rock formation near Tuolumne Meadows. There’s a parking lot at the trailhead, which is also the trailhead for the Dog Lake trail. It’s a short hike, 4,5km round trip, but it’s relatively steep, you are climbing a mountain so you need to be careful. It takes around 2-3 hours. So if you don’t have enough time, you can just spend some time at the bottom of the dome.
TIOGA PASS & TIOGA LAKE – Tioga Pass s a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains. State Route 120 runs through it, and serves as the eastern entry point for Yosemite National Park, at the Tioga Pass Entrance Station. It is the highest, 3,031 m, highway pass in California and in the Sierra Nevada. Tioga Lake is a small glacial lake about 3 km north of the Tioga Pass entrance.
MONO LAKE – This one is actually out of the Yosemite Park, but once you are driving the Tioga Road, it’s still a very nice place to visit. Mono Lake, North America’s second-oldest lake, is a large, shallow saline soda lake. The lack of an outlet causes high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake. These salts also make the lake water alkaline. The best-known features of Mono Lake are its dramatic tufa towers. Over time, rainfall at Mono Lake did not keep up with evaporation, and minerals in the water built up.
I hope you will enjoy your trip to Yosemite as much as we did. If you have more time, don’t miss some other great views and hikes such as Upper Yosemite Fall, Inspiration Point, Taft Point, Sentinel Dome, Glacier Point, Half Dome, Lukens Lake…
Appreciate what nature offers, leave no trace, just take photos and make memories.
Here you can find some items with my hand drawing of Yosemite Tunnel View, click on a photo for more information:
