YOSEMITE
The gate to Yosemite is 24 miles from Pine Mountain Lake, and Yosemite Village at the valley floor is another 25 miles. There are hikes and several vista points before the Valley Floor, but if your traveling directly from doorstep to parking lot the drive is 49 miles. Without stopping we usually complete this drive in just under and hour, unless we hit summer traffic, winter weather, or roadwork. Below are our top recommendations for Yosemite
Yosemitehikes.com---- Doesn't get much easier than using this website to plan your day trip to Yosemite. Our family uses it often.
To avoid traffic in the Summer or the possibility for chains in the Winter, a lot of our guests LOVE the Yosemite Area Regional Transit System (YARTs). The schedule changes by season and fares change as well, so my suggestion is to either call (209) 388-9589 or logon to their website below. I hear the round trip fares are around $10/per person, and Groveland pickup at Mary Laveroni Park (5 minutes from cabin) is around 9am 7 days a week. This would give you all day as the departure from Yosemite is 4:30pm.
The All Trails website and application are a must for avid hikers. Just about every trail in Yosemite is described, reviewed and has photos. And the best part is they give you directions to, distance of trail, difficulty, elevation change, and you can download your selected trails in case you're concerned about having cell reception.
OUR FAVORITES
Taft Point: 2-3 hours
Sentinel dome lookout: 2-3 hours
Upper Yosemite falls: 6-8 hours
upper Yosemite falls: 6-8 hours
sentinel dome lookout 2-3 hours
lower yosemite falls
lower yosemite falls: 2 hours
Sentinel dome lookout: 2-3 hours
Vernal Falls hike: 4-5 hours
vernal falls going up: 4-5 hours
glacier point lookout: park and walk 1/2 mile
Yosemite itinerary ideas
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Nice Walk Day Trip: Bridalveil Falls Loop (1/2 mile), Lower Yosemite Falls (1 mile), burger in Yosemite Village, Walk around in Valley Meadows
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Medium Hike Day Trip: Sentinel Dome and Taft Point Trail (5.2 miles), drive from Sentinel Dome parking to Glacier Point Lookout to end the day (1/2 mile loop)
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Medium-Strenuous: Vernal and Nevada Falls via Mist Trail (6.4) miles. Bring a lunch or drive to Yosemite Village afterward.
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Strenuous: Upper Yosemite Falls Trail (5.8 miles/3,175 foot elevation climb). Park at Village and eat a whole Yosmite pizza after hiking this one :-)
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Super Strenuous: Half Dome (check Yosemite website as permits required) (14.8 miles)