Quick itinerary check please

Question

Hello,

Family of 4 Heading to Yosemite 23 - 26 July - unfortunately over a weekend but sounds like any day is busy in Yosemite in the summer!

Current plan is to drive from SF on Friday 22 July and stay in El Portal before entering the park early on Saturday morning (we are staying curry village and yvl so don’t need a park reservation)

Current plan:

Saturday - drive early and head along Tioga Road to do Tenaya Lake, perhaps Tuolumne Meadows, Olmsted Point (with some hikes etc), then drive down into the valley on the Saturday evening. That way hoping to avoid some of the crowds at the weekend in the valley

Sunday / Monday - valley based

Tuesday - drive out via Mariposa Grove ( on to Carmel)

Still a high level plan but wanted to check it made sense before delving deeper - love to hear your thoughts! If we do Tioga road first would it make more sense to try and stay near the Big Flat Oak entrance or stick with El Portal and the Arch Rock entrance?

Thanks in advance

PacificNWFamily · Accepted Answer

Hi

Pretty good.

Staying in El Portal is probably a few minutes faster to access Tioga Road.

I suggest stopping at Olmsted Point first, and walk out the trail you will see to the left. Then drive past Tenaya Lake, maybe stopping for views as you drive east from Olmsted Point. Continue to Tuolumne Meadows and park in an open parking lot. Enjoy the hike or hikes of your choice. I don't know how much distance you want to cover when you're around 9,000' elevation, but fairly easy hikes/walks might include Pothole Dome, Twin Bridges, or Soda Springs.

At the moment, there is extensive road work happening on Tioga Road. The locations where the contractors are currently working and thus the pilot car section will not be the same at the end of July. Just bring your patience and willingness to choose another hike, depending on what is open / available.

Here is a basic map & hike description, but be aware that it is not entirely accurate this summer. No parking for Lembert Dome. No shuttle. https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/tmhikes.pdf

YosemiteHikes.com is my favorite hiking website. Also download the NPS app.

When you drive west down Tioga Road, this would be a great time to enjoy Tenaya Lake. Can you bring some inflatable tubes to lounge in the lake? The big map shows a picnic area at each end of the lake. https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/YOSEpark2003.pdf

ALTippet · Answer

According to https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/roadwork.htm there shouldn’t not be any Tioga Road construction related delays during the weekend. So if you drive Tioga Rd on Saturday, you should avoid delays. And if you start early from El Portal, delays at the Arch Rock entrance should be short. The only concern would be elevation so given it’ll be your very first day at elevation, drink plenty of fluids and take it easy with hikes at Tuolumne Meadows (all bodies are different so this may not be an issue for you).

Given you will be enjoying Yosemite Valley restaurants the rest of your stay, it may be a good opportunity to try food in Lee Vining if you go that far. Many people enjoy seeing Mono Lake if they can squeeze that in (though it makes for a long day/drive).

The short trail at Olmsted Point that PNWF mentioned will provide a closer and more expansive view of half dome. So good to have the opportunity to enjoy the park.

AFC7619 · Answer

That’s great - many thanks to both of you!

Quick itinerary check please - Yosemite National Park Forum

Quick itinerary check please

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