With an extended stay in the Bay Area of California, I knew that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go out to Yosemite at some point during my stay.

Details

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite is a National Park in the western Sierra Nevada in California. It was declared a national park in 1890 by an Act of Congress, with the federal government taking control in 1906 through a bill signed by President Teddy Roosevelt. All of this came as a result of the continued work and pressure from John Muir to preserve the park. This was the second national park after Yellowstone. It is the home to El Capitan, which is the tallest granite monolith in the United States, standing at 3,000 feet tall (second tallest in the world). Yosemite is visited by over 4 million people each year, who come from all over the world to see the deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, vast wilderness area, and more.

Itinerary

This was definitely the most difficult trip to plan due to the amount of time that it takes to get there (about 4 hours each way). Knowing I had to make the trip in one day, I debated a lot between driving and using a tour company. Here is a look into my brain for this debate:

I also considered the cost and determined that that driving might have cost a little bit less (considering the rental car price, cost to park overnight when I get back, gas, and park entrance fee), but probably not much less and definitely not enough to sway me in one direction. After a lot of back and forth, I decided that not having to drive and having the ability to relax or sleep on the road was totally worth it for me. There were two sights that I would have liked to see that weren’t going to be options on the tour (the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and the Glacier Point). Once we got to the park, both of these were marked as being closed due to winter conditions, so I was even happier that I decided not to drive (and would have been HELLA mad if I drove and those were both closed).

Gray Line Yosemite Tour

After researching and reading reviews on Trip Advisor, I decided to take my Yosemite tour with Gray Line. It was advertised as a 13.5-hour itinerary, including rest stops (30-minute stop mid-way in each direction), with a small guided tour (on the bus) and 3 hours of free time in the Yosemite Valley, before returning home.

The tour does offer hotel pick-up, but the check-in point was just a couple of blocks from my hotel, so I opted to make my way there on my own for the 6:30 am check-in (to avoid an even earlier pick-up). The bus arrived shortly after I did and we were able to board and wait for everyone else before make our 7:00 am departure time.

I was very fortunate because on the day that I took the tour (which was a Sunday), one of the most highly recommended tour guides per Trip Advisor, Antonio, was my driver. He told us that he usually drives on Saturdays, but that he’d been off for a week and picked up a shift on Sunday. YES! Antonio was an incredible driver/tour-guide and gave a very informative commentary during our drive, while still keeping things fun! He also gave us quiet time to just take in the beauty of our surroundings because, well, no one likes a guide that just talks non-stop.

We made extremely good time driving and encountered little traffic on the way there. Once we got to Yosemite, we were able to get into the park quickly (Antonio told us that sometimes they can wait in line for an hour just to pay and get into the park). Our first stop in the park was called “Inspiration Point,” which had the most incredible view of Bridalveil Falls, El Capitan, and the Half Dome.

After this stop, we made our way to the Yosemite Valley, where we were given time to go off on our own. I had reviewed the maps and picked out three trails that I was hoping to hike. I had planned to rent a bike to get around the valley quickly so that I could spend the majority of my time on the trails and not getting from place to place. Once I got off the bus, I made a beeline for the Yosemite Valley Lodge to rent my bike, only to learn that bike rentals were not going to be open until April 12 (I was about three weeks to early). Wrench-in-plan, I quickly reassessed and narrowed it down to two hikes. With the base of the first trail being about three miles away, I started booking it across the valley floor (blasting the Legally Blonde the Musical soundtrack, so I was actually singing and dancing my way across the valley floor) taking in the beauty surrounding me.

Note – there is a shuttle that takes you around the valley floor that can get you from place to place quickly if the park is not that crowded. Antonio gave us a copy of the following map that includes the trails and shuttle stops.

Trails

Mirror Lake/Meadow Details:

“2 miles/3.2 km round-trip to the lake; 1 hour OR 5 miles/8 km loop around the lake; 2 hours. You can begin at the Mirror Lake Trailhead (shuttle stop #17). From the shuttle stop, a paved trail leads directly to Mirror Lake. This loop follows Tenaya Creek beyond the lake, crosses two bridges beyond the Snow Creek intersection and returns past Mirror Lake. When filled in winter and spring, the lake offers beautiful reflections of surrounding cliffs.” You can also access the trail coming from the bike/pedestrian path, which intersects with the Mirror Lake trail.

Mirror Lake/Meadow Experience:

This is a fairly easy and flat trail, but I am so glad that I decided to take this one. Even at this time (tail-end of winter in Yosemite), the lake was so beautiful, as it reflected all of the surrounding mountains. You also can see an amazing view of Half Dome. This was definitely a popular trail choice, but it was not so crowded that it was annoying. Since I had walked the 3+ miles from the parking lot, I was a bit pressed for time, so I only walked around the lake about halfway before turning around and heading back (obviously stopping for pictures along the way). I decided the best option for me at this point was to catch the shuttle to get me the three miles back to the other side of the valley to the Lower Yosemite Falls.

Lower Yosemite Fall Details:

“1.1 miles/1.7 km loop trail; 30 minutes. You can begin at the Lower Yosemite Fall Trailhead (shuttle stop #6). This short, easy walk rewards visitors with spectacular views of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. This waterfall may be dry in late summer and early fall. Expect lots of spray in spring and early summer.”

Lower Yosemite Fall Experience:

This trail is also very easy and pretty flat, taking you to the very bottom of the falls. As you make your way up the trail (which loops connecting both ends to the main road) there is a spot to stop off and view from further back where you can see both the Lower and Upper Falls. Then once you gat to the top of the trail, there is a footbridge where you can view the Lower Fall. Directly at the base of the waterfall, there are tons and tons of very large rocks that scatter the hill down to where the trail is. The rocks are fairly easy to navigate to climb up closer to the base of the waterfall but increase in size as you get closer to the waterfall. Some people were climbing all the way to the base, but I went up about 3/4 of the way then stopped and turned around to make my way back down. There is a lot of spray from the waterfall, so use caution, as the rocks can be a little bit slippery. This was a very busy trail with lots of people. Once I made my way back to the trailhead, I had about 10 minutes to spare, so I made my way back to the bus so that I wouldn’t get left behind!

Other Trails:

These are some other shorter, easier trails that I considered during my trip. Depending on the amount of time that you have, there are other additional longer (and more difficult) hikes that you can also add into your itinerary!

• Bridalveil Fall
• Vernal Fall Footbridge (this is the other one I really wanted to see!)
• Sentinel and Cook’s Meadow

From there, we hopped back on the bus, making two more stops near the base of El Capitan and then at Valley View for some last photo ops! The ride home was very peaceful with little commentary from Antonio and (luckily) a pretty worn out group. After our stop for food, Antonio put on The Sandlot, so we were a happy bunch! We made really good time on the way back again (what luck!) and were back in the city and dropped off around 8:30 pm. On some nights, the return is as late as 10:30.

Transportation

Self-guided via car – see discussion above!

Tour company – see discussion above! There were several other tour companies offering a similar trip, so shop around to find the best for you. I do highly recommend Gray Line after my experience.

What to Bring

Pack up a backpack with the following essentials:

• Make sure to pack plenty of water, especially if you’re going to hike one of the longer trails.
• I also recommend having some food (my choice is a protein bar and a piece of fruit).
• Bring sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat to protect yourself from the sun.
• Pack a rain jacket, as it rains quite a bit during certain parts of the year and can be very wet throughout the park.
• I also always recommend traveling with a portable charger to ensure that your phone is fully charged, whether to take pictures or for emergencies!
• Don’t forget to bring something to take pictures of the amazing views, whether that is just your phone, a camera, a GoPro or all of the above!

What to Wear

I highly suggest wearing comfortable clothes and dressing in layers. Check the weather for the park, as the temperatures can fluctuate throughout the day and the park is quite cold in the mornings during the winter/early spring months. Plan to wear shoes that you can hike in for extended periods of time (hiking boots if you’re a pro or good non-slip, water resistant sneakers if you’re not).

Thanks for visiting! Check out my other San Francisco day trip itineraries below and come back soon for even more!

• San Francisco Day Trip Muir Woods and Sausalito
• San Francisco Day Trip Santa Cruz