Travel Answers about Yosemite: How Many Days in Yosemite? Where to Stay?
How many days in Yosemite National Park?
Yosemite Valley First snow of the season! (copyright 2010 JoshWillTravel)
Answer: It depends on how much of the park you want to explore. If you just want to see Yosemite Valley, you should allow at least three days. You should add more days if you want to really see everything! It also depends on how active a hiker you are because there are great things to do and day trips with varying degrees of difficulty you can experience. Ride the Shuttlebus and walk the valley, tour the valley in an open air tram, hike to Mirror Lake, picnic at Yosemite Beach, hike to the top of the waterfalls or around the rim of the valley, climb to the top of Half Dome or El Capitan. Visit Yosemite Village and the Ansel Adams Gallery and be sure to check out the The Ahwahnee Hotel.
Yosemite Valley, California (copyright 2010 JoshWillTravel)
Accommodations in the park range from tent and camp sites, RV sites, covered campsites, tent cabins, and hotel rooms. You need to make reservations for any of the concession vendors a long time in advance at nps.gov and there are lots of rules and regulations you need to be aware of before and during your visit.
REMEMBER YOU ARE IN BEAR COUNTRY!
Yosemite Valley, California (copyright 2010 JoshWillTravel)
There are other areas to see within the park or just outside: Tuolumne Meadows, Wawona Point (and historic Wawona Hotel), the Mariposa Grove and Tuolomne Meadows Giant Sequoia Redwood Trees:
Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia Redwoods (copyright 2010 JoshWillTravel)
Try skiing at Yosemite’s Badger Pass (in winter), visit Bass Lake, Oakhurst, and many others just outside the park. You should allow 1-3 days or more for each area depending on how active a hiker/camper/skier/snowboarder you are.
Yosemite in Winter (copyright 2010 JoshWillTravel)
If you want to experience the backcountry as a backpacker/camper you should plan 3-14 day trips. there are great areas in and around the park. I’ve been to the Tiltill Valley above Hetch Hetchy Loop and down the South Fork of the Merced in the Sierra National Forest, both of which were excellent backpacking trips! Be sure to learn the necessary skills and the park rules and regulations before entering the wilderness.
Yosemite Falls – Yosemite Valley, California (copyright 2010 JoshWillTravel)
You are also close to Lee Vining, Mammoth Mountain and Mono Lake State Preserve which are near the east entrance to the park.
View from the Visitor’s Center – Lee Vining, California (copyright 2011 JoshWillTravel)
See also John Muir Trail and the Yosemite Park website for more info.
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Good places to stay for families in the park?
Answer: In Yosemite Valley, the Ahwahnee Hotel is a luxury resort and the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls is more of a family hotel/motel. Curry Village has tent cabins and some hotel/motel type rooms as well.
There are a few campgrounds with covered camp sites, tent sites and rv sites if you want the full experience of “roughing it”.
Historic Wawona Hotel – Yosemite (copyright 2010 JoshWillTravel)
The historic Wawona Hotel and Tuolumne Meadows Lodge (tent cabins and campsites only) are both inside the park concessionaires on the rim of the valley. Near Wawona there is the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia Redwood Trees and skiing in winter at Yosemite’s Badger Pass and Toulomne Meadows and Tenaya Lake are worth the trip when the roads are open and there is a grove of Giant Sequoias there as well.
There are a number of hotels, condos for rent, cabins and campgrounds just outside the park too.
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All photos copyright 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 JoshWillTravel
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