What to do in Yosemite

If you have 1 Day in Yosemite:

Just have one day to spend in Yosemite and want to make the most of your time? Your best bet is to devote a few hours to securing some additional days in Yosemite.

If, however, you're still unable to free up more time, you're not completely out of luck. We’ll try to help you make it as full a day as possible.

This tour will definitely take a full day.

Mariposa Grove (closed in winter)

The Mariposa Grove is easily the largest and most famous of Yosemite's Giant Sequoia groves, and the Grizzly Giant and California Tunnel Tree are the most popular attractions here. They're near the top of the 2.2 mile (3.5 km) lower loop trail. We recommend continuing to the upper loop in most cases, but time may not allow on this trip. Rather than hike the loop you may want to take the tram tour. Learn the secrets of the sequoias and their unique environment in a one-hour interpretive tram tour of the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. The audio tram tour is available in five languages and audio description. Available spring to fall, conditions permitting. Fee for tour is subject to change but, runs about $24 per person.

Tunnel View

If you're making your first visit to Yosemite, this is an essential stop. Approaching from the south, it's a turnout just after you emerge from the tunnel with Yosemite Valley in full view. The Tunnel View, subject of several million photographs annually, provides a spectacular overview of Yosemite Valley, including El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall.

Bridalveil Fall

Just about one mile past the Tunnel View is the pull out to Bridalveil Fall. Bridalveil Fall is the tallest waterfall along Yosemite Valley's southern rim, 620 feet (189 meters) tall. There are good views of it from several places in the valley, but it's easily worth the short hike to the base of the fall to see it up close. If you do hike all the way to the base in the Spring or early Summer when the falls are full, you'll get drenched with spray, so you might want to bring rain gear. It's also worthwhile to take the fork of the trail that crosses a pair of stone bridges over Bridalveil Creek below the fall.

Yosemite Valley

Park your car in Yosemite Village and ride the free shuttle bus around Yosemite Valley to popular destinations. Be sure to stop at the Valley Visitor Center and Yosemite Museum to learn more about Yosemite’s story and view the park’s award-winning, 23-minute film Spirit of Yosemite. The popular Valley Floor Tour is a two-hour open-air tram tour that takes you past many of the Valley’s unique features. Another great way to see any area of the park is to meander along a trail, bike path, or meadow boardwalk. Pick up the self-guiding trail brochure, A Changing Yosemite, in front of the Valley Visitor Center and follow the trail posts around Cook’s Meadow

Yosemite Falls is visible from much of the valley -- visit the Swinging Bridge for a particularly good photo opportunity of the upper falls. The short walk to the base of Lower Yosemite Fall is well worth it, especially during the Spring season, when the waterfall thunders down the Valley wall. (If you want to see the entire falls at once, we suggest taking the Sentinel Dome hike near Glacier Point)

Glacier Point (Closed in winter)

Although you can mix up the order of the other stops on this tour, we recommend leaving Glacier Point for the last stop, so you can enjoy the sunset here. From Yosemite Valley go South on Highway 41 then take the Glacier Point Road. It is about a 20 minute drive to the parking lot at the end of the road. It's a rewarding place to sit and watch the peaks change colors after a long day's driving and hiking. There's a cafeteria / gift shop at the trailhead, so you can grab a snack, settle down, and enjoy the ending of an event-filled day in Yosemite.

From here it is just a short drive back to A Bed of Roses Bed and Breakfast where you can enjoy a massage in the full body electronic massage chair, a dip in the pool, a luxurious soak in the hot tub or a glass of sherry. There are many restaurants just a few minutes from A Bed of Roses.

If you have 2 Days in Yosemite:

(check for winter closings by emailing us at bedofroses@sti.net)

Consider the suggestions for one day, but perhaps choose two areas of the park to explore in depth. Take a hike on the Mist Trail, Sentinel Dome or Taft Point. You might enjoy the features of Yosemite while pedaling a bike, floating on a leisurely raft trip, or riding on horseback. Travel back in time on a horse-drawn stage ride or during a blacksmith demonstration in Wawona.

The Mist Trail

From Yosemite Falls, head to the Mist Trail, which is at the eastern edge of Yosemite Valley. You can catch a free shuttle bus in Yosemite Valley directly to the trailhead, or you can park at Curry Village and walk an extra .75 miles (1.2 km) to get there.The Mist Trail has three natural turnaround points, and you can choose any of them depending on how tired you are or how late it's getting. Unlike the Bridalveil and Yosemite Falls trails, which are mostly flat, each segment of the Mist Trail involves some significant climbing, so if you're not in great shape, you may want to wait and see how you feel as you reach various points along the trail.The first stop on the Mist Trail is at the Vernal Fall Bridge, a mile (1.6 km) from the trailhead. This bridge offers a view upstream of the Merced River and Vernal Fall, although the view of the fall is getting gradually obscured by trees.From the Vernal Fall Bridge, it's another 0.7 steep but spectacular miles (1.1 km) to the top of Vernal Fall, where you can look down on the fall, then sit beside the Emerald Pool and dry out (not for nothing is it called the Mist Trail).From the top of Vernal Fall, it's another 1.8 miles (3.4 km) to the top of Nevada Fall. Although the trail continues on from there to Little Yosemite Valley and Half Dome, this is the turnaround point for the Mist Trail. You can either return the way you came or swing right and return via the John Muir Trail, which meets the Mist Trail again just above the Vernal Fall Bridge. The Muir Trail includes a memorable view looking back to Nevada Fall, and we recommend seeing it if you've got time.Most hikers on the Mist Trail turn back after reaching the top of Vernal Fall. If you continue to the top of Nevada Fall, you won't have it all to yourself, but you should find things far less crowded.

Taft Point and the Fissures

This is a relatively short (just over 2 miles/3.5 km round trip) hike to a heart-stopping overlook with a sheer drop off over the valley's south wall. If you've driven into Yosemite Valley and been knocked out by the towering immensity of El Capitan, you won't want to miss the chance to visit Taft Point and look down on it.

Sentinel Dome

The Sentinel Dome and Taft Point trails depart from the same spot along Glacier Point Road. After hiking to Taft Point, you can return to the road and then take the Sentinel Dome trailhead, but we recommend returning just part way along the Taft Point trail and then taking the well-marked fork that leads you to Sentinel Dome via the valley rim. (The distances of the two trails are similar.) You likely won't notice the elevation changes along the Taft Point trail, but you will feel the climb to Sentinel Dome. While the Taft Point trail leads you to a spot on the valley rim where you'll see a view primarily of western Yosemite Valley, Sentinel Dome has 360-degree views for miles and miles.


If you have 3 days in Yosemite:

For a three-day trip, you could visit all areas or spend your time becoming intimate with one. If your goal is to cover as much of the park as possible, don’t miss Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point, the Tioga Road, Tuolumne Meadows, and the Mariposa grove of giant sequoias. Travel Highway 120, Tioga Road (closed in winter, check with us at bedofroses@sti.net for scheduled opening dates) where spectacular scenery, vast meadows, and mountain lakes await you. Choose places to stop, picnic, hike, and spend more time based on what appeals most to you. Stop at Olmsted Point for incredible views of Half Dome, Clouds Rest, and Tenaya Canyon.

Olmstead Point

This is one of the shortest hikes in Yosemite. But despite that, most visitors don't even bother to walk the quarter mile (0.4 km) to Olmstead Point; they're content to soak in the views from the parking lot, which are arguably as good as the views at Olmstead Point itself.

Tenaya Lake

If you're feeling lazy or you don't want to ford the lake's outlet at its western end, you can skip the 2.5 mile (4 km) lake circuit and just hang out on the beach at the east end of the lake. The best views, however, are looking back east across the lake from the western beach.

Tuolumne Meadows

We recommend leaving Tuolumne Meadows until the end of this tour so you can spend sunset wandering through it. It's worth it.