Best things to do in Yosemite National Park including best hikes, best viewpoints and where to stay. In addition, we included things to do in Mammoth Lakes for a short stay.
Last summer (2019), we ventured to California for the ultimate road trip! It began as a family vacation in Lake Tahoe, but we wanted to extend our vacation with a trip to Yosemite National Park & a quick stop in Mammoth Lakes.
Day 1: First Glimpse of Yosemite
Our road trip started in San Francisco, we flew in and hit the road to Yosemite. If you haven't noticed, we have pretty full days when we travel. We like to cram as much as we can possibly think of and readjust as we go. Unfortunately, it doesn't allow for very much spontaneity. As we were driving to Yosemite, there were so many little fruit markets & pottery shops along the way that I would have loved to see, so if that's interesting to you, allow some time for pit stops along the way.
Iron Door Saloon
We did however, plan for a late lunch stop in the historic town of Groveland, California. This place has a wild wild west feel to it. We chose to stop at Iron Door Saloon because it's the oldest continuously operated saloon in California, since 1852. They even served through Prohibition! It reminded me of Cuzzy's in Minneapolis with dollars hanging from the ceiling along with very old antiques, taxidermy & a disco ball!
After we took down some burgers & beer, we only had another 30 minutes of driving before we hit the Big Oak Flat Entrance of Yosemite. The entrance fee is only $35 per vehicle for 7 days, it's quite the steal for the sheer amount of beauty you're about to experience!
Pro tip: When planning your road trip to Yosemite, keep in mind the dates you will actually be traveling. Some of the roads are closed November through May. Google Maps has an option to change when you depart, which will give you a more realistic idea of travel time & directions.
Half Dome View
Keep an eye for viewpoints to pull over and take in every angle of Yosemite you can find! The first stop we made was Half Dome View. I had driven through Yosemite with friends right after college and it was more breathtaking then I remembered.
Cook Meadows Loop
Since we arrived late afternoon, we didn't have a ton of time to explore so we stayed on the Valley Floor. After multiple stops oohh-ing & ahh-ing, we parked at Sentinel Bridge. We walked through what we thought was Cook Meadows Loop, but we were honestly just wandering along & admiring all the beautiful flora, Yosemite Falls & views of Half Dome in the distance.
Yosemite Falls
Yosemite Falls is a short walk from the Valley Floor. There are longer hikes to get the full experience, but to see the Falls up close and personal is pretty easy, however it will be PACKED! We discovered most people like to go to the viewpoints vs taking on the long trails so keep that in mind if you don't like crowds...:)
Tunnel View
Our last stop of the day: Tunnel View for sunset! We read that the viewpoint gets very busy so we got there an hour & a half before sunset. We noticed a lot of people stopping, taking pictures & taking off so the crowds weren't bad. There's also a short hike called Artist Point View for another option. I think it's important to mention that you aren't actually seeing the sunset as you are facing East towards Half Dome, but what makes the view so amazing during sunset is how the golden colors reflect off the granite walls of Yosemite, absolutely beautiful!
Mariposa
Now for the most adventurous part of our first day, the drive to our AirBnb in the dark! We decided to stay in Mariposa, this was probably the hardest decision of our entire road trip and we were glad we stayed where we did. Mariposa is about an hour drive from the Valley Floor, that is, if you're driving a decent speed. The road has a ton of twists and turns and blind spots, luckily Jake is pretty much a NASCAR driver so we made good time & passed a lot of other drivers along our journey. We found the drive to Mariposa much easier than Fish Camp for example. Plus, Mariposa is a very cute town with tons of unique restaurants, a brewery, craft beer bar and the most amazing bakery, however, this is a small Gold Rush town that shuts down very early! So early the only food option in town open at 9PM was Burger King, seriously even Subway was closed! But we made it just in time to grab some local brews so we can't complain that much ;)
If your budget is higher, you can stay in Yosemite National Park or just outside of it, but you don’t get that quaint small town feel and you have to book much farther in advance.
Day 2: Nevada Falls towards Half Dome via the Mist Trail
We unfortunately didn't win the lottery to climb Half Dome, one day we will, but our goal was to get as far as we could before we needed to show a permit and we had no idea how far that would actually take us. Since we were exhausted from all the traveling, we kind of got a late start, like 2 hours late, but who's keeping track ;)
Mist Trail vs John Muir Trail
You have a few options when hiking to Half Dome, the Mist Trail or John Muir Trail, both trails start and end together, but split off. We decided to hike up via the Mist Trail and back down via John Muir Trail & we'd still recommend that route, but be prepared! The Mist Trail isn't named "mist" for no reason, you will get soaking wet, no matter how hard you try to avoid it, but you will dry so fast, don't let that make you avoid the trail, just bring a waterproof jacket (an umbrella won't work).
The Mist Trail has 2 gorgeous waterfalls, the first one is Vernal Falls and that's the one that will get you soaked and please be sure to wear actual hiking shoes or boots because you will need the traction to climb up the slippery rocks. Keep an eye out for rainbows, maybe you'll even see a DOUBLE rainbow! The final waterfall is Nevada Falls, which is also at the end of the John Muir Trail. It's about 7 miles roundtrip or more depending on where you parked or if your take the John Muir Trail. The elevation gain of the Mist Trail is just under 2,000, making Nevada Falls around 6,000 feet above sea level. It's another 4.5 miles to Half Dome from Nevada Falls.
I'm not going to lie, making it up to Nevada Falls was a challenge for me! It took us 3 hours with lots of breaks, but we still were determined to see how far we could go before we had to turn around. Also, I haven't mentioned, we did this on the 4th of July and planned to visit an outside lake town to watch the fireworks so we didn't have as much time as we wished (damn late start). Anyway, we kept walking and discovered the secret of making it to Half Dome, there's a campground that you can stay the night before you summit Half Dome, but is that cheating or more work because you have to carry all that equipment? Either way, we walked for another 2 hours with no sense of where we were, until now! Based on the GPS of our last picture we took, we were probably only half a mile from the Half Dome Trail Head, but even so, it's about another 1.5 miles from there to Sub Dome. It was definitely a physical & mental challenge getting where we ended up, but the views from every which way were absolutely stunning and worth every drip of sweat & self doubt that I couldn't take another step!
The walk down was an absolute breeze and only took half the time! The John Muir Trail is longer, but less steep so even with the late start, we made up for it on all the time we saved coming down. And we had plenty of time to get to Bass Lake for the fireworks...or I mean get to Bass Lake, have a beer and decide we don't fit in there, and drive back to Mariposa to have dinner at 1850 Restaurant & Brewery!
1850 Restaurant & Brewery
1850 Restaurant & Brewery is in the heart of Mariposa. It has a great quaint small town vibe and a beautiful patio and a surprisingly elevated menu, at least for a brewery! A must stop if you stay in Mariposa.
Day 3: Glacier Point via 4-Mile Trail
Didn't do enough hiking yesterday? Well we got the trail for you because YOLO, right?! Yesterday was just the starter course to Yosemite because we're doubling the elevation gain to 4,000 feet! Moral of the story, you can NOT do Yosemite in a few days without feeling like you need to go back immediately or wrecking your legs and not being able to walk at all afterwards. We decided to go with the latter.
Glacier Point
Glacier Point can be visited via car, but why would we do that when you can hike it via 4-Mile Trail which is actual 4.7 miles, one way. And who can make an almost 10 mile hike into 12 miles, me!! Moral of the story, know where the trailhead is before you start wandering around aimlessly, but sometimes these mistakes are the best part of the journey (usually after the fact)! (Can I LOL in a blog post?)
Anyway, once we found the trailhead, we said to each other, "are we sure we want to do this," as we stared directly up into the sky. It's funny how I plan out these adventures and how I'm usually the one struggling. Luckily Jake was able to carry BOTH our backpacks full of water, snacks & layers or I don't think I would have made it. I thought the previous days hike was hard, this was on a whole other level, maybe the hardest hike we've ever done or maybe the previous day's 10 miles had something to do with it, but ohhhh dear laaawd was this hard! It had me singing songs in my head like "Cowboy, Take me Away" by the Dixie Chicks and "I'm Like a Bird, I Want to Fly Away" by Nelly Furtado. All real emotions that I was feeling, LOL.
But the views!!! Dare I say, even better than the Mist Trail?! You really can't go wrong with any view of Yosemite, but you get all sorts of angles hiking up to Glacier Point.
After 3.5 hours, we made it to the summit! On the trail, there weren't that many people we encountered, which I was pleasantly surprised being a major Holiday weekend. Once you get to the top, that's where all the people are, driving up in their cars or shuttles...Paah-lease, seeing all those people take the easy way up makes you feel even more accomplished! And because you can drive up to Glacier Point, they have a little convenience store where you can buy ice cold treats, which was definitely needed!
Be sure to relax and take it all in, there are multiple viewpoints some require a little more walking, but it's definitely worth it. There are other points of interest you can venture off to like Sentinel Dome & Taft Point, but we didn't have enough energy to do so.
The hike back down seemed long, but only took us 2 hours. Once you hit the bottom, be sure to look up again and admire what you just accomplished!
If that wasn't enough walking for the day, we decided to walk (more like wobble) to the main drag of Mariposa when we returned to our AirBnB for Mexican food and found the cutest spot for beers!
The Grove House
The Grove House is a craft beer bar in beautiful Mariposa with an impressive rotating tap list. They also host live music, have wine & beer to go! We wish we could have stayed longer, but we were beat and called it a night after 1.
Day 4: Yosemite to Mammoth Lakes via Tioga Road
On our last day at Yosemite National Park, we decided to check out a few spots outside the Valley Floor along Tioga Road, on our way to Mammoth Lakes, where we'd spend the night before heading to Lake Tahoe.
Tuolumne Grove
First stop, Tuolumne Grove, to admire the Giant Sequoias! And yes, it requires walking, not too bad at 2.5 miles round-trip, but I'm sure you can imagine how sore we were. It's a definite must stop, especially if you've never been to Sequoia National Park, which we both haven't so seeing these mammoth trees was quite the sight! Be sure to take the trail as directed because you'll get a fun surprise at the end, a Sequoia you can walk through!
Olmstead Lookout
Only 30 minutes east on Tioga Road is Olmstead Lookout, a must stop for a different perspective of Half Dome.
Tuolumne Meadows
Next up, Tuolumne Meadows, where you can run through the meadow and be a goof! I was hoping to see more wildflowers, but there weren't a ton during our visit.
Tioga Lake
Last stop before exiting Yosemite National Park, Tioga Lake. We actually didn't plan on stopping here, but as we drove by we knew this was a perfect spot to share a beer and a snack. Fun Fact, the Eastern gate to Yosemite is through Tioga Pass, which is the highest highway pass in California.
Mammoth Lakes
It's around 40 minutes from Tioga Pass to Mammoth Lakes. We don't know a whole lot about Mammoth Lakes, other than it's a popular ski town and it's pretty built up with shopping, restaurants and resorts. It's basically a California beach town, but for skiers & snowboarders. And we knew there were a few breweries & we couldn't move so it sounded like the perfect spot to be.
Black Doubt Brewing (now Distant Brewing)
Say Black Doubt Brewing 3x fast. Do you think they were trying to be funny? Turns out they actually changed their name to Distant Brewing since we'd been there & got a brand new space! While we were there, we chatted with the owner and learned that they were upgrading from a 4 barrel system to 10. Their original space was very quaint especially when the live band started playing. We tried everything via flights because everything sounded so good & they were all killer! They were definitely one of our favorite breweries of our entire trip!
Mammoth Lakes Brewing
Mammoth Lakes Brewing was quite opposite of Black Doubt. They had more of a tourist/younger vibe, with a huge taproom, outdoor space & food. I tried the Gooseberry Sour aged in oak barrels & Jake got the Saturdaze Haze, both solid beers! We didn't stay long since we had our eye on a Pizza Shop by our hotel.
John's Pizza Works
We love Pizza! And we love Pineapple on our Pizza! John's Pizza Works makes delicious Pepperoni & Pineapple Pizza!
Mammoth Liquors Beer Shop
We were summoned by their sign stating they had over 300 Beers so we knew this would be a great place to shop for beers to take home (and yes we did bring an extra suitcase, bubble wrap and gallon plastic bags, who doesn't?!) Their selection of singles was on point! Warning: the reviews on this shop are a little mixed based on interactions with the owner, we knew it going in so we made sure not to ruffle his feathers, he wasn't that bad ;)
Stellar Brew
Before we made our drive to Lake Tahoe, we needed some morning fuel so we stopped at Stellar Brew, a local & natural ingredient Cafe slinging the most amazing breakfast burritos, acai bowls & smoothies. This isn't a secret, there was a line & we can see why!
Thanks for reading about our trip to Yosemite & Mammoth Lakes!
To finish reading our complete Northern California Road Trip Guide, jump to Things to do in Lake Tahoe.
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