My family spent a wonderful day in Yosemite National Park with my brother’s family. Between us, we have five kids and three children diagnosed with ADHD, ages fifteen, twelve, eight, seven, and five.
We planned ahead but still ran into snags. I’m happy to share with you what we’d do again and what entirely flopped!
Annie Eklöv
In this article we will cover the following;
- Where to stay
- Where to park
- What are the roads like
- What time to get there
- What the shuttles are like
- Where to eat
- What to pack for a day trip
- Itinerary option 1, for one day at Yosemite National park with kids (Without using the shuttles)
- Itinerary option 2, for one day at Yosemite National park with kids (Using shuttles)
- Good to know
Where to Stay while Visiting Yosemite Valley with Kids
Where to stay if you are ONLY visiting Yosemite National Park.
If you plan to visit Yosemite for several days, I suggest staying in Yosemite Valley. There are several options for different family needs and budgets. If you like camping I would camp in Yosemite and get the full nature experience. If you don’t want to cook all your meals there are restaurants you can eat at in the park.
You can book Yosemite Valley Lodge or book a place to pitch your tent (see the links below).
Where to stay when visiting Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks on the same trip.
We chose to rent a house in Fresno and visit Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Park. The place in Fresno was great for visiting Kings Canyon and Sequoia but not so great for getting to Yosemite.
We planned two days in Yosemite but only spent one day in Yosemite valley because it was a trying experience getting in and out of the park.
If you want to see all three parks, I suggest renting a house in Fresno, California, for a week but plan to camp in Yosemite valley one night. It isn’t worth driving in and out of the park if you want to explore more than one day.
I think the cost of missing one night at the rental home is still worth it. It’s nice not to pack up, clean everything, and move to a new house after your night in Yosemite.
You probably don’t want to take all your stuff with you camping, and often it’s better to pay for convenience if it means you’ll have a smoother, more harmonious vacation.
We booked through Airbnb but had trouble with one house (bugs and mice in the kitchen) and had to move. Unfortunately, it felt that Airbnb took the side of their hosts and was incredibly slow in helping us to get a refund and move to a new location.
We rented three houses in California, and one of them was a doozy. The other two were great.
Where to Park in Yosemite Valley
If you plan to visit Yosemite Valley by car on a day trip, arrive before 9 am, after which parking is usually packed. Parking is available at Yosemite Village, Curry Village, and near Yosemite Falls. If you find a parking space, plan to leave your car there; you will not be able to find another parking spot.
General road conditions in and out of Yosemite National Park
It takes at least 2 hr and 30 min to get from Fresno to Yosemite Valley. It took us longer, closer to 3 hours, because we had a 15-passenger van. It wasn’t the best vehicle to navigate the winding roads into Yosemite.
The windy roads made several in our party motion sick. My twelve-year-old sat moaning and holding a puke bag to her chin from the park entrance till we parked in Yosemite Valley (approx. one hour). The nondrowsy Dramamine she took in Fresno didn’t help much.
(We gave her a drowsy Dramamine on the way to Sequoia National Park, and she didn’t completely wake up till we filled her with caffeine at lunch)
To read more about planning a trip to Sequoia National Park, see the link below.
Finding a safe place to stop and let her out was hard. The roads were narrow, with a massive rock wall to our right and a steep drop-off six inches from the opposite lane. There were spots to pull over and let cars pass, but most were small and claustrophobic, or your car door opened over thin air!
From Fresno, we had the mountainside on our right side with a lane between us and a drop-off. On the way back, the sheer drop-off near the edge of the road (no shoulder and no guard rail) made me feel queasy, and I couldn’t look out my window!
The drive from the park to Fresno was so scary that we decided not to go back to Yosemite the second day as planned!
We gave our daughter a drowsy Dramamine on the way out of the park. She slept all the way to Fresno.
2 hr 15 min (93,8 mi) via CA-41 N and Wawona Rd
2 hr 32 min (120,3 mi) via CA-140 E
The condition of the roads with no guard rails, no shoulders, and sheer drop-offs is scary enough to warrant sleeping in Yosemite Valley if you plan to spend several days in the park.
Getting in and out of the park is tedious, nerve-wracking, and time-consuming.
To read about planning a trip to The Grand Canyon National Park, see the links below.
Optimal Times to arrive at Yosemite National Park
We got to the park slightly before 9:00 and had no trouble finding a good parking spot.
To get there before 9:00 from Fresno, we were forced to get everyone up at 5:00 and eat breakfast in the car!
Plan to park your car and leave it there all day. If you move it, you most likely won’t find another parking spot. If you arrive later than 9:00, you must park further away from the main attractions.
In the last few years, Yosemite National Park instated vehicle reservations for every car entering the park between 6:00 am. and 4:00 pm. (6:00 and 16:00). The park first insisted on reservations because of Covid-19, but this year they say it is due to road construction.
Note; park reservations may be obsolete in the future, but check Yosemite’s official website before you leave.
If you enter Yosemite before 6 am or after 4 pm, you do not need a reservation. If you enter the park before 6 am, you can stay for the entire day without a reservation.
If you plan to arrive after 4 pm, they ask that you do not arrive at a park entrance station until after 4 pm.
Note; there is no camping in the park outside of designated campgrounds. So, if you enter after 4 pm, you can’t just “sleep in your car” until the following day, but you can stay as late as you want.
Note; reservations are required for all travel through the park during peak hours, even if you aren’t planning on stopping. If you plan to drive through Yosemite National Park and don’t have a reservation, arrive at the gate before 6 am or after 4 pm.
This is what the Shuttles at Yosemite Vallery are like
The Shuttle Busses are nice and clean, stop often, and, best of all, they’re completely free! The Drivers are friendly and know the answers to most questions.
Getting Around Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley Shuttle – Summer Service
- Valleywide shuttle: This route serves all stops in Yosemite Valley, including lodges, food service, campgrounds, and trailheads. Buses arrive every 12 to 22 minutes from 7 am to 10 pm.
- East Valley shuttle: This route is limited to Yosemite Village, Curry Village, Pines campgrounds, and trailheads in eastern Yosemite Valley. Buses arrive every 8 to 12 minutes from 7 am to 10 pm.
Go Green – Ride the Bus
Please park your car when you arrive and enjoy the convenience of the complimentary shuttle buses. The eco-friendly shuttles will take you throughout Yosemite Valley. Best of all, they’re completely free! Buses are also available for trips to Tuolumne Meadows or Glacier Point. Download the Yosemite Valley Shuttle Bus Route Map and leave the driving to us.
Check the link above to see updated shuttle services for the current season.
Where to eat in Yosemite National Park
You can find anything from groceries to fast food to fine dining inside Yosemite National Park. I suggest booking several months in advance for the fine dining options. Most of the more excellent restaurants can be booked a year in advance.
We chose to pack our lunch and take it with us. We took turns carrying two medium hiking backpacks filled with food. This allowed us to be flexible and decide where and when to eat at the spur of the moment and avoid restaurant lines.
We ate on the beach of the Merced River. After eating, the kids played in the water while the adults rested on the picnic blankets.
What to pack for a day trip to Yosemite National park
- Take plenty of water! There are filling stations, but you can’t have too much water if it’s hot. You can’t always find a filling station when you want one.
- One-day pack or backpack for each traveler. Put a small backpack on each child with their water bottle and a selection of snacks. Their bag won’t weigh much and letting everyone carry little shrinks the bags the adults must carry.
- Lots of snacks.
- Lunch if you plan to picnic.
- First aid kit.
- Sun hats.
- Hiking boots or leather sneakers (it’s best not to wear mesh shoes or sandals if you plan to hike off the main paths).
- Shoes for bouldering. It’s wet on many rocks at Lower Yosemite falls, and you need shoes with extra bra grip to safely make it to the base of the falls.
- Extra socks. It can be extremely dusty, especially on trails that were recently burned.
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- Picnic blanket
- Sunblock shirts
- Swimming suit
- Dramamine if you have motion-sick family members.
- Gatorade powder in case someone gets dehydrated.
- Candy if you need something to lock young children along the trails.
- Paper map of the area and a paper map of the trolly system (the wifi isn’t the best).
Itinerary for one day in Yosemite National Park with kids. (Without getting on a park shuttle.)
We had kids ages five, seven, nine, twelve, and fifteen on these walks.
- Find a parking spot in Yosemite Village in Yosemite Valley (It’s not too far from the Lower Yosemite Falls.) Get there before 9:00 am. Plan to leave your car there all day.
- Use the communal bathrooms close to the main parking area, and fill water bottles if you emptied them on the drive.
- Walk to Lower Yosemite Falls. It takes about 20 min to get there, and it’s paved all the way to the bridge (stroller friendly). At the bridge, you’re met with a stunning view of the falls.
- Take older kids bouldering to the base of the falls. My seven-year-old had a blast bouldering with my husband, as did my twelve-year-old and my fifteen-year-old. I was also bouldering but slowly because my shoes were slippery. Wear shoes with a good grip. Many of the rocks are wet.
- Enjoy the Falls up close.
- Boulder back to the bridge. (Take a different route back. It makes the experience more fun.)
- Eat a snack and gaze at the waterfall
- Walk towards Sentinal Bridge and cross the bridge. (A 12-minute walk to Sentinal bridge for adults.) This walk is stroller friendly, but you need to lift the stroller on and off the bridge.
- Eat lunch on the sandy banks of the Merced river.
- Let your kids play in the water, skip rocks, or even swim while you enjoy the views.
- Walk to the Yosemite Valley Chapel. The chapel is the only building left of an old town. Read the placks and signs to understand the history. (From Sentinal Bridge to The chapel takes about 5 minutes for adults.) This walk is stroller friendly.
- See the Chapel.
- Walk part of the Yosemite Valley Loop Trail to Cooks Meadow. This walk will probably work for most strollers meant to be used in the great outdoors, but not with small travel strollers that have small wheels.
- Enjoy the Meadow. (From The Yosemite Valley Chapel to Yosemite Village is about a 13-minute walk for adults. Don’t forget to stop and enjoy the meadow.)
- Use the same bathrooms where you started the day in Yosemite Village.
- We returned to the car. At this point, it was between 2:00 and 3:00 pm. We had a long drive back to Fresno (the roads are not friendly after dark). The kids ate a snack in the car, and we ate a late dinner when we returned to the rental house.
- I suggest going to see the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Village. I wanted to see this, but our youngest kids were worn out. Parents can take turns feeding kids a snack picnic outside and looking at the old photos.
- You may continue to walk along the Yosemite Valley Loop Trail if you aren’t ready to return to your car. You can go back to the car whenever you like but plan on leaving when you have daylight left for the entire drive out of the park.
This Itinerary is made with a Stress-free day in mind. You do not need to rush. Enjoy each part of the park and spend time swimming, eating, and enjoying the views from your picnic blanket!
Itinerary for one day in Yosemite National Park with Kids (Using the Shuttle System)
- Sunrise Hike to Sentinal Dome (closed 2022) Alternative: Sunrise Hike Columbia Rock.
- Glacier Point (Closed 2022) Washburn Point Overlook. …
- Yosemite Valley Free Shuttle.
- Rent Bikes in Yosemite Valley.
- Lunch at Meadow Grill.
- Bike Ride through Yosemite Valley.
- Dinner at Basecamp Eatery.
The Sunrise Hike may be too much for little kids (Kids that are too big to carry, yet too small to walk longer distances themselves)
If you have children who can’t do an early morning hike, start at Glacier point.
Good to know about Yosemite National Park
We filled water bottles near the restrooms in Yosemite Village, but we didn’t see another filling station till we returned to those same bathrooms at the end of the day.
Take plenty of water!
Wear shoes with good soles that grip wet rocks.
It took us half an hour longer than we planned to get to Yosemite Village due to dangerous roads, no guard rails, and driving a 15-passenger van known for swerving back ends.
Copyright Annie Eklöv