If you have more than 4 days, we recommend seeing some of the other cool sites in the area including Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

If you have less time, we recommend spending one day in Yosemite Valley, one day doing sites on the Tioga Road, and one day seeing the sequoia trees in Wawona. 

No. We give a few recommendations of areas within the park as well as outside the park to stay that will reduce your driving time each day.

Our favorite time to visit is the end of May and the month of June. The waterfalls are powerful and floating the Merced River is an option. Plus, it’s a little cooler than the rest of the summer.

However, this itinerary will work May through October.

Through many of our own experiences as well as talking to other travelers and area experts.

We travel with our 4 kids (who are now teens) and our retired parents so we get a lot of perspectives.

We try to add lots of variety including hikes, drives, good places to eat, and activities.  We usually give backup options for longer hikes and activities that cost.

We are of the mindset that you have a plan so you can be flexible.  

We lay out what we believe are the best activities for your time and money but we all have different preferences. 

Because each activity listed has a star rating, approximate time frame, and cost, you’ll easily be able to adjust to best suit your group’s interests. 

We surveyed our customers and they reported that our guides saved them 10-20 hours of trip planning research, on average. 

Although much of the information included in this guide can be found with significant research, this guide combines what you need to know into one place and it is from a source committed to giving you the best information.

This guide cost us over $11,000 to create when you combine travel expenses, map creation, and formatting.  In addition, we have spent hundreds of hours visiting this park and doing additional research at home.

Many of our travelers enjoy the confirmation that they have already created a good plan and may even find a thing or two to add to it.

Other travelers may find that our plan is similar to what they had already pieced together on their own.  

If you’ve already spent hours planning, you may not find maximum value in this guide.

Yes! We travel with our 4 children and both sets of our retired parents.  Although not every activity is for everyone, there are always backup suggestions.

We write these guides so all the work you should need to do is obtain your lodging, transportation, food and reservations.  We include maps, the time needed to complete drives and activities, and lodging recommendations. We also include some recommended restaurants for you to try out. We put checkboxes throughout the guide indicating it’s an item that you will need to take care of before you leave. We also give links to websites we think you should check before your leave (Ex: Yosemite National Park’s website)

Yosemite has a great shuttle system and bike rentals in the main area of the park, Yosemite Valley.

If you wish to visit other areas of the park, we recommend bringing your own vehicle.

Yes. We give approximate time frames that are needed to complete an activity.  The schedule is generally not so packed that you have to be a quick traveler.  But, if you know you generally need more time, you can make adjustments. If you are quick, there are suggestions for additional activities

This is a digital download so it will be EMAILED to you. That way you can have access immediately and have the option to download it to any device you want. 

Many travelers, including us, prefer to print the itinerary and take it with us as we travel.

The itinerary is available immediately upon purchase, right on this webpage. You will also receive an email within 30 minutes with download links in case you need to revisit the links and download the items later. If you don’t receive your email, check your junk mail folder. If it’s not there, contact mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com and we’ll be in touch with you within 1 business day. Also, the guides will be available in your account, if you choose to establish one (we highly encourage it). 

Many travelers have dreams of visiting more parks in the West!

If you have promised yourself that you’ll see incredible places like Yellowstone, Glacier, Zion, Banff, the Grand Canyon and more, we have a special bundle that includes all our guides, audio guides, and road trips and an extremely discounted price. 

Remember, all guides come with lifetime updates so you can use these for years to come.

Ultimate Western Bundle

We have a Parks Updates page that we update weekly during the travel season with anything that could affect your trip

Guides are automatically updated to the latest version when you create an account. 

In addition to that, we also send an email notification out when a guide is updated. Just make sure to stay subscribed to our email list so we can reach you. 

Because the download is a PDF file, you can do it on any device: computer, iPhone, Android, tablet, etc.

Stuff like this happens. We get it. 

If you created an account, just log in again and download your guides.

If you didn’t create an account or forgot your password, just email us and we can resend your links. 

For step-by-step instructions (including pictures) check out our Help With Downloads page.

If you still need help, reach out to us at mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com We’ll get back to you as soon as possible to help. We’re even happy to jump on a phone call with you if needed. 

Yosemite is open year-round but this guide is meant to be followed May through October because some of the roads are closed seasonally.

Yes!! We update our guides as needed, but write the concepts to intentionally be as timeless as possible. We encourage you to purchase the guide as soon as you know you will be traveling. It will help you determine which areas to stay and how many days to obtain lodging. Upon purchase, you’ll be guided to create an account on our website. If we update the guide, it will automatically. Your purchase includes free lifetime updates.

It is not required but is HIGHLY recommended. We encourage you to create an account when purchasing the guides because you’ll have access to the links at any time.

You will have access to the updated guide through your account (another reason to create an account) for life. We generally send an email announcement when we do an update as well.

We put approximate price ranges on all our activities so you know what to expect.

Gas and lodging can be expensive in this area.

Although we do suggest some hikes, we offer plenty of alternatives if hiking is not desirable including viewpoints and drives.

Yes.  It would be very easy to download this itinerary and head out the door. Yosemite National Park does not require a timed-entry reservation. Most of the activities are also things don’t require reservations.

We believe that once you buy a guide from us, you should be able to use it to visit a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time. 

If you created an account, just log in and download your guide again.

If you didn’t create an account, just email mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com and let us know you want us to resend your guide links.