In mid-June of 2020, my family made the trek from Southern California to Yosemite National Park for a relatively short-notice family vacation. If you’re unfamiliar with it’s location, Yosemite is about 3 hours east of San Francisco, 5 hours north-east of Los Angles, and 3000 miles from anywhere when you have two toddlers in the car (JK! The drive wasn’t that bad).
Dan and I visited Yosemite a few times when we were in our 20’s, once during the summer, and once during the fall. I would highly recommend both, and would also love to visit in the winter to test out some of the incredible cross-country skiing trails and snow tubing runs.
We probably never would have done this trip had it not been for Covid (silver lining alert!), as we had to cancel our annual summer trip to my parent’s house in Chicago when it became apparent that flying was too risky. We still wanted to enjoy our time off, and Yosemite seemed like the perfect, socially-distant destination.
Despite all of the restaurants being closed, and the toddlers refusing to sleep in their own beds, it was a really incredible trip. The scenery in Yosemite is unlike anything else in the world, and the entertainment value my kids provided when they screamed at deer, or hugged giant sequoias for the first time can’t be beat.
In this post, I’m going to break down where we stayed, what we did, and how we scheduled our days during our most recent visit. I’m also going to write a bit about what we plan on doing next time (because we are definitely going back), and what we would have done had we not been in the midst of a global pandemic.
Where We Stayed:
We stayed at this Airbnb in Fish Camp, which is about an hour south of the Yosemite Valley. If you look on a map, the town might appear closer to the park than that, since the southern park entrance at Wawona is only about 7 minutes away. However, once you enter the park from the south end, you have another 50 minute’s drive to the valley itself, which is where you’ll find all the best hikes and vistas. We really loved this rental, as it was kid-friendly (equipped with a high-chair, toddler bed, lawn games, and baby gate for the stairs) and had a nice, recently-remodeled kitchen for us to cook breakfast and dinner in.
We chose to stay in Fish Camp since most of the lodging in the park was closed, and we were driving in from the south. There are three other entrances to the park, and you would most likely use a different one if you were driving in from San Francisco (Arch Rock Entrance or Big Oak Flat Entrance) or from somewhere to the east (Tioga Pass Entrance). If you’re visiting in the winter, it’s best to check for closures before you plan your drive, as some of these roads are seasonal.
On our next visit, we would consider staying at the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite, which is also in Fish Camp, but was temporarily closed during our stay. Some of the locals we met gave this place rave reviews, and it offers more of a resort experience, with hotel room or cabin options, as well as a pool, spa and restaurant.
Must-See Attractions:
Bridalveil Fall Trail:
Hiking around this waterfall was probably my favorite experience of the trip. The trail-head begins right in the center of the valley, where Wawona Road and Southside Drive converge. You can park on the side of the road, and it’s a quick walk across the prairie to the base of the falls.
The whole trail is about .5 miles and is marked as “easy.” The trail was actually closed for maintenance when we arrived, so we spent the morning scrambling up the side of the lower falls (you might have to carry the littlest of littles, but it’s not very steep) to a relatively calm pool overlooking a slightly deeper one, into which some thrill-seeking teens were jumping (this is where you avert your child’s eyes so they don’t get any ideas).
My kids loved climbing around on the rocks and wading in the freezing water. From our perch, we could look up to the top of the falls and, when we got a good breeze, we were blanketed in mist. The experience was definitely supervision-heavy (you can’t exactly look away when your kids are playing in a waterfall), but totally worth it.
Lower Yosemite Fall Trail:
Lower Yosemite Falls
This is one of the most popular, and easily-accessible hikes in the park. It’s about a mile long, and stroller accessible. This hike is a little further into the park, just north of the Yosemite Valley Lodge. The trail was easy for my kids to walk, and they enjoyed stopping for a snack by the river. The view of the falls was incredible and its an amazing spot to stop for a family photo. (Which we would have done had we not been so scared of germs that we couldn’t bring ourselves to hand a phone over to a stranger…)
Since we were visiting during the pandemic, the park was nowhere near full capacity, and the shuttle bus wasn’t running. So, we were able to park at the bus stop and walk right in. However, if you plan on visiting during more normal times, it would probably be smarter to shuttle here, as there isn’t a lot of parking nearby. This map outlines where the shuttle runs in the park, as well as where you can park your car and hop on.
THE RIVER!
I knew there was a river running through the Yosemite Valley, because I had visited before. I also thought that the river was what had initially formed the valley, but a booklet I acquired at the gift shop (which was targeted at elementary-aged kids), informed me that the valley was actually formed by glacial activity.
Regardless, and despite my loose “knowledge” of said river, I didn’t really think about it as an “attraction,” when planning our trip. However, in typical family trip fashion, it ended up becoming THE attraction for my kids.
Sentinel Beach
On our first day, we stopped at Sentinel Beach for lunch, and ended up staying for hours. There was a sandy beach for resting, and the river was cool, and slow-flowing. We collected rocks, chased butterflies, and watched some fly-fishermen at work. We didn’t bring bathing suits, so we let the kids play in their birthday suits and the hubs and I tried our best not to get completely soaked.
Cathedral Beach
The next day, we came armed with towels and bathing suits and stopped at Cathedral Beach. The views at both spots were incredible, but this one really took the cake. Max and I took a nap on the beach while Dan and Margot forded the river, chased some ducks, and entered into an impromptu “log rolling” competition with some local kids. If I had to ask Margot what her favorite part of the trip was, this would definitely be it.
What We’d Do Differently:
River Tubing
The next time we visit Yosemite, I definitely plan on spending a day tubing down the river. During both afternoons that we spent at the beach, we saw tons of families floating by on tubes and rafts having what looked like one heck of a time.
When the kids are older (they have to each be over 50lbs), I plan on looking into the Curry Village Raft Rentals. Families can rent a raft, and schedule a driver to pick them up at the end of the run. The season to do this is short (only late June – August), and it’s best to call beforehand to make sure conditions are still good (when the snow pack is gone, so is the river).
I would also consider buying my own river tubes (like these ones from Amazon) and floating without a guide or ride. Several families we met had taken this route, largely due to the fact that raft rentals and shuttle buses were in short supply. Some of the families we chatted with had left their bikes at the end of the float, hiked up-river all day, and then spent the afternoon floating back. Another group had been dropped off up-river by grandpa, and he planned on meeting them with the car several miles away. Floating on your own definitely takes some planning and creativity, but it’s also pretty idyllic.
Lodging Options
It’s a dream of mine to one day stay at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley. This hotel is a historic landmark, and is absolutely stunning. It is rustic and elegant and the views are unreal. The rooms are a little pricey (starting in the $300s), but you get what you pay for in terms of location and accessibility. But a word of warning: this hotel needs to be booked way in advance, as it tends to fill up for the summer pretty quickly, oftentimes with repeat visitors.
If you’re looking for more rustic lodgings, there are a ton of interesting camping options in the valley as well. On one of our hikes, we passed through Curry Village, which offers some basic hotel rooms, cabins, or platform tent rentals. I think we’re going to look into a cabin here for our next trip, and would consider the tents, had a family of campers not let us know that the village can get a little noisy at night, and the tent’s walls are made of, well, canvas. (Prices start in the high $100s.)
Biking:
I didn’t realize how bike-friendly the Yosemite Valley really is until I visited this time around. This was probably because we didn’t bring a stroller, and my kids complained about walking A LOT, so I was very envious of all the biking families whose kids were tucked safely (and quietly) into trailers.
There’s a 12-mile paved trail that runs up and down the center of the valley, as well as Exchequer Mountain Bike Park (for mountain bikers, obviously) and Stockton Creek Preserve Bike trails.
We were gifted the Burley Bee bike trailer by some friends a while back, and it would have been perfect for this trip. If we make it back before the kids outgrow this trailer, we will definitely be bringing it, along with our bikes, and maybe some headphones.
Take A Look, It’s In A Book!
If you can’t make it to Yosemite anytime soon, but still want to bask in it’s beauty or learn about it’s historic and ecological significance, I’ve linked a few books (all of which we own and love) about Yosemite, and the people and animals who call(ed) it home.
As always, thanks for reading and let me know in the comments which national park we should visit next!
The Books (Click to Purchase):
