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The most common questions about visiting Yosemite, answered.
Soaring granite peaks, abundant waterfalls, and groves of giant sequoia make Yosemite both one of the country’s most stunning national parks and one of its most popular, welcoming around four million visitors a year. Even those who don’t venture far from roads and vista points will be enchanted by legendary sites like Half Dome, Bridalveil Falls, and El Capitan. But it’s only on the park’s hundreds of miles of hiking trails that the entire, magnificent landscape unfolds like intricate origami. Set aside at least two full days to explore it all—we’ve got the essential information you’ll need to make the most of your visit.
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How Do I Get to Yosemite?
Yosemite National Park is 195 miles—about a four-hour drive—from the San Francisco Bay Area. Its western side has entrances, one via Highway 120, the other via Highway 140. There’s only about a ten-minute time difference between the two routes, but if you’re planning to stay outside of the park, Highway 140 between the historic Gold Rush town of Mariposa and El Portal has the most options. If you’re driving from the Lake Tahoe region between May and November, you can enter Yosemite through its eastern gateway (a two- to three-hour drive); the rest of the year, you’ll have to drive the long way around to one of the other entrances. The $35 fee per car is valid for three consecutive days.
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Do I Need a Reservation to Enter the Park?
In the summer months, Yosemite suffers from its own popularity. The park uses a reservation system to mitigate crowds at peak times—in 2025, advance reservations were required to enter the park between 6 am to 2 pm from June 15 to August 15, as well as Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends—but the rules seem to change annually. If you’re planning a visit in high season, be sure to look into current requirements well before your trip. If you can’t get a reservation, check back at exactly 8 am Pacific time seven days before your planned arrival. That’s when they release a new batch of reservations, which sell out almost immediately.
INSIDER TIPDue to deep National Park Service budget cuts, Yosemite is struggling to keep up with arrivals. Expect to wait in a long line if you arrive any time after 6 a.m., even if you’ve reserved a pass. If you can’t get a reservation, set your alarm for an early wakeup or join the queue to enter the park after 2 p.m.
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What’s the History of the Park?
The homeland of the Southern Sierra Miwok attracted its first tourists in the 1850s. Congress protected the epic landscape shortly after, in 1864, but the order didn’t stop the onslaught of ranching and logging operations spurred by the region’s growing population. By 1890, years of lobbying by conservationists like John Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club, paid off. Yosemite was designated the third national park in the U.S. The Buffalo Soldiers, the turn-of-the-20th-century all Black American cavalry, built much of the park’s early infrastructure and trails, but visitors didn’t begin arriving en masse until after the completion of Tioga Pass Road in 1929—an uptick that incited the park’s superintendent to order the last Indigenous village within its boundaries destroyed. In the years since, Yosemite has periodically expanded to include adjacent tracts of wilderness so that, today, it spans approximately 1,169 square miles and is home to thousands of plant and wildlife species.
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When Is the Best Time to Visit?
Yosemite is beautiful all year long, from the searing days of summer to the snowy ones of winter. The valley is accessible in every season, but most of High Country can only be reached when the roads are free of snow, typically early June through late October. While some lower-elevation hiking trails remain open year-round, most visitors switch to downhill and cross-country skiing or snowshoeing in the winter and early spring. Some campgrounds in Yosemite Valley remain open all year, as do its concessions, restaurants, and lodges.
INSIDER TIPMid-to-late February is the Yosemite Firefall, a natural phenomenon in which the setting sun sets Horsetail Fall aglow like a stream of molten lava. To keep up with Firefall crowds, park reservations are required most weekends in February.
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What’s Yosemite’s High Country Like?
Only open June through October, Yosemite’s High Country is an undersung section of the park. While it doesn’t have the sheer volume of iconic landmarks found in the valley, this higher elevation wilderness is just as spectacular. Among the area’s many highlights are the vast, swimmable Tenaya Lake on scenic Tioga Road; the granite dome-bound Cathedral Lakes; the vast, wildflower-teeming fields of Tuolumne Meadows; and Olmstead Point, a vista offering what may be the best view of Half Dome in the entire park. Although the coveted High Sierra Camp is shuttered this year due to budget cuts, developed campgrounds in Tuolumne Meadows, Porcupine Flat, and Yosemite Creek are open. Reserve a $10 wilderness permit to spend the night in the backcountry; they’re available by lottery 24 weeks in advance and cost an additional $5/person.
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How Do I Hike Half Dome?
The most iconic hike in the park, Half Dome is an intense 10- to 12-hour journey that culminates in a 400-foot ascent along cables fastened to the sheer cliff. If you’re up for the challenge (and not afraid of heights), the payoff is worth the effort, with truly outstanding panoramic views from the valley to the High Sierra—but to get there, you’ll have to plan ahead. Half Dome can only be hiked between Memorial Day and mid-October, and there are two different lottery systems for the permit required to do it: a preseason option that offers 225 permits daily (applications must be submitted between March 1-31), and a daily lottery for which you can apply for 75 last-minute permits two days in advance. There is a non-refundable $10 fee to apply and another $10 fee for the actual permit.
INSIDER TIPTo complete this hike, you need to start early—like with the rising sun, early. If you haven’t reached the top of Half Dome by 3:30 pm, you’ll have to turn around; the route is far too dangerous to attempt in the dark. The park also recommends skipping the final cable ascent if there are storm clouds or if the rock is wet, the reason behind nearly every fatal fall recorded on the trail.
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Is There Food and Water Available?
There is a market and several restaurants in Yosemite Valley, though some are only open in the warmer months. Find something for everyone at the Yosemite Valley Lodge, including the Base Camp Eatery food court, the casual upstairs Loft at Degnan’s, and the upscale Mountain Room. Sandwiches, burgers, and the like are available at the Village Grill (next door to the Village Store, which has groceries and prepared food to go), as well as at the Meadow Grill and Curry Village Pizza Patio & Bar, both in Curry Village. Options are more limited in High Country. The Tuolumne Meadows Grill and the dining room at White Wolf Lodge are seasonal, but small markets and gas stations at El Portal, Crane Flat, and Wawona are open longer. There are water refilling stations around the park, typically near bathrooms, concessionaires, and campgrounds.
INSIDER TIPDownload the official NPS app in advance for the exact locations of Yosemite’s water refilling stations (and other useful tidbits). Take screenshots of the information you need so you’ll have it when your cell phone coverage goes out.
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What Should I Do With Trash and Recycling?
Those aforementioned deep budget cuts wreaking havoc at Yosemite’s entrances are also making it difficult for park workers to keep up with basic maintenance. Litter is one of the biggest problems, with trash cans frequently overflowing before they can be emptied. Do Yosemite a much-needed solid by keeping any trash or recycling you generate and disposing of it outside the park. If that option doesn’t appeal to you, always put trash and recycling in (or, if full, next to) designated receptacles. It’s never okay to leave trash on trails or in the valley.
INSIDER TIPBlack bears are masterfully skilled at stealing food and garbage left out overnight. If you’re at a campground, stash anything with a scent (including toiletries) inside the designated bear box or a locked vehicle. Portable bear canisters are required for backcountry camping.
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Will I Have Cell Reception?
There is some limited cell phone service in Yosemite Valley—especially on the eastern side near Yosemite Village—but there’s no guarantee. You won’t find any coverage at all in the High Sierra and backcountry. If you’re hiking or wilderness camping, consider bringing a satellite messenger or PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) for emergencies.
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What Sort of Wildlife Will I See?
There are more than 400 species of animals in Yosemite National Park, including black bears, bighorn sheep, red foxes, and mountain lions. While you’re not likely to encounter these somewhat elusive large mammals, mule deer are everywhere (especially in the late afternoon), along with four types of squirrels, chipmunks, and fence lizards. Birders can watch more than 262 feathered species, from the American dipper and mountain chickadee to the red-breasted nuthatch and great gray owl.
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Where Do I Spend the Night?
Yosemite currently has two historic hotels open for overnight visitors, the luxe Ahwahnee and the family-friendly Yosemite Valley Lodge. Curry Village, which has cabins and glamping tents (some of which are heated), and the Camp 4, Upper Pines, and Wawona campgrounds are also open year-round. Other campgrounds in the valley and High Country are available in warmer months. There are plenty of places to stay right outside the park, as well, including the Airstream glampground AutoCamp Yosemite in Midpines, the Tenaya at Yosemite resort in Fish Camp, and Oakhurst’s storybook Chateau du Sureau and boutique Sierra Sky Ranch.