Best Itinerary for a Weekend in Yosemite National Park
Today I want to share my California itinerary for a weekend in Yosemite with you. One of the most famous national parks in the US, this is the perfect place to travel if you love getting outdoors and into nature. With breathtaking scenery, hiking trails through the Sierra Nevada mountains, and panoramic views, it's worth spending 2 days in Yosemite National Park. I'm here now and I can't wait to share my itinerary with you. I've included a map, too.
Weekend in Yosemite
If you're wondering if you can do Yosemite in a weekend, you can. 2 days is enough for a visit, and it will allow you to see the highlights in Yosemite Valley, take your pick of places along the Tioga Road or Wawona, admire waterfalls, dine, and more.
If you feel like being active, you can do everything from day hikes to guided tours, biking, and sightseeing. It's a great amount of time to get an overview of Yosemite National Park.
This is particularly true if you stay inside the park itself. It will save you from potentially long drives each morning and evening, and from waiting to enter the park each day if there's traffic (which there can be lots of on weekends and in the peak summer season).
Where to Stay in Yosemite for a Weekend
I'm staying in Curry Village. Established in 1899, this historic camp features a range of accommodation. From wooden cabins with private baths to heated canvas tent cabins and traditional motel rooms, there are lots of options.
Better yet, Curry Village is in a great location right at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley. Nestled under Half Dome and Glacier Point, it's near the trailhead for the famous Mist Trail. Guest accommodation here is also in easy walking distance of restaurants, shops, and bike rental places.
To top it all off, Curry Village offers lower room rates than other hotels and lodges in Yosemite National Park. It's a great choice if you want to stay right in Yosemite Valley without paying a fortune. If that all sounds good, you can book your stay here.
Accommodation in the park books up well in advance, so make sure to reserve as far ahead of time as possible. Reservations open a year and a day before the date of booking.
Friday: Arrival in Yosemite
My weekend trip to Yosemite originates in San Francisco. My boyfriend and I leave the city around noon, and it takes us 4.5 hours to get to Yosemite Valley via the Big Oak Flat Entrance. There's some traffic on the way, which is standard for a Friday afternoon in the Bay Area.
Ansel Adams Gallery
The first stop on our itinerary is the Ansel Adams Gallery. It's a place my inner photographer has wanted to see since I missed it when I spent 3 days in Yosemite on my last trip.
The small gallery is right in Yosemite Village between the visitor center and the post office. Dating back to 1902, it's part photography exhibition and part gift shop. It's amazing to see the famous landscape photographer's pictures of Yosemite at the source, and we stay until it closes.
Curry Village
From the Ansel Adams Gallery, our weekend in Yosemite continues with a short drive to Curry Village. We check in at reception, then drop off our bags at our tented cabin as the setting sun paints Half Dome in brilliant shades of yellow.
After getting settled in, we walk over to the restaurant and shopping complex to eat dinner. This place is known for Curry Village Pizza Deck, which serves amazing pies. I order a hearty veggie one with loads of toppings to fuel up for the next day's itinerary in Yosemite National Park.
After dinner we walk around and explore the area. We take a spin through the lodge to see the historic photographs of the village, browse the food and shopping offerings in Curry Village Gift and Grocery, pass the gear-laden Mountain Shop at Curry Village, and scope out the coffee options for the following morning.
Saturday: Yosemite Hike
The next day our weekend in Yosemite itinerary continues as we wake up at 6:30am, grab coffee and pastries in Curry Village, and board the free Yosemite Valley shuttle to get to the start of the famous Four Mile Trail.
Yosemite Hike
We're off on an epic 15-mile hike that will take us from the valley floor to Glacier Point, around to Nevada and Vernal Falls, and back to Curry Village.
We save time by getting off the shuttle by Yosemite Valley Lodge instead of riding it all the way around to the start of the Four Mile Trail near the base of Sentinel Rock on Southside Drive. As we make the 10-minute walk from the shuttle stop to the trailhead, we're rewarded with beautiful morning light on the granite faces around the valley.
Once on the Four Mile Trail, we start heading uphill. For the next 4.8 miles, we enjoy increasingly impressive views of Yosemite Falls (North America’s tallest waterfall), El Capitan, and Half Dome as we gain 3,200 feet in elevation. It's not as steep or challenging a trail as I feared before we started, and we reach Glacier Point in under 3 hours.
The seasonal Glacier Point Gift Shop and Snack Stand is open when we arrive, so we pick up sandwiches, salads, and ice cream for lunch.
Outside, we settle in on the big rock steps of the amphitheater to enjoy a picnic with one of the most spectacular views of Yosemite in front of us. We can see everything from Half Dome to Nevada Fall as we refuel.
After a 1-hour lunch break our weekend in Yosemite continues as our hike takes us along the scenic Panorama Trail. This one is a 5.8-mile stretch of gradual downhill walking followed by a gentle uphill path that leads to the top of the Mist Trail.
Along the way it offers stunning views of Nevada and Vernal Falls, Half Dome, and Yosemite Valley as it crosses Ilillouette Creek and Illilouette Falls.
When we reach the top of Nevada Fall, we take in the views before heading down the steep Mist Trail. The 2.7-mile descent guides us past both Nevada Fall and Vernal Fall, with huge granite steps leading us so close to the water we can feel the spray.
We admire the views of the waterfalls on the way down to Happy Isles, then enjoy a flat stretch as we walk back to Curry Village to finish our hike. Our legs feel like noodles by the time we reach our tented cabin, but we're overwhelmed by how much beauty we've taken in over the last 9 hours.
Drinks and Dinner
After freshening up, we reward ourselves with pre-dinner drinks at The Ahwahnee. It's the most famous hotel in Yosemite National Park, and it was designed to highlight natural surroundings like Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and Glacier Point.
We settle into a table by the window at the hotel bar and savor cocktails as we recount the day and take in the buzzing scene. The hotel features heritage interiors and stunning Arts and Crafts Movement architecture, and it's a treat to be here.
From the The Ahwahnee we drive over to Yosemite Valley Lodge for dinner. We've booked a table at The Mountain Room Restaurant, which has a spacious dining room, high ceilings, and huge windows with views of Yosemite Falls. The menu offers everything from steak to sustainably-caught seafood and pasta.
We tuck into starters of octopus and mushrooms, then enjoy mains of Prime New York Strip and rainbow trout. The food is welcome sustenance after a long day of hiking in Yosemite.
Sunday: Tioga Road
The next morning our weekend in Yosemite itinerary continues as we check out of Curry Village after breakfast and drive into Yosemite Village to get picnic supplies at the Village Store and Degnan's Deli.
Back in the car, we drive to Tioga Road, a seasonally-opened high-elevation pass on Highway 120 in the national park. Typically open to vehicles from late May or June until sometime in November, it leads to high country, a less-visited part of Yosemite. The road goes all the way east to Tuolumne Meadows and the Tioga Entrance near Mammoth Lakes.
It's worth venturing this way in the warmer months, as there are awe-inspiring views, pristine mountain lakes, miles of hiking trails, and fewer crowds than in the valley.
Our first stop is Olmsted Point, which offers panoramic views of Half Dome, Clouds Rest, and other famous peaks and sites. A short trail from the parking lot leads us to a wide-open stretch of granite that makes for the perfect picnic lunch spot.
After eating, we make the quick drive to Tenaya Lake. This is one of my favorite lakes in Yosemite National Park, not least because of its clear blue water and the stunning granite domes that surround it. We walk to it along a path from the parking lot, then stop at a tiny sand beach to wade into the cold water and take in the views.
Afterwards we wander along a few more trails by the lake before heading back to our car and driving west to the Big Oak Flat Entrance of the park. Along the way we pass the trailhead for the Tuolumne Grove of giant sequoia trees and other highlights that get us talking about past trips and planning future ones.
Weekend in Yosemite
I hope my itinerary for a weekend in Yosemite has inspired you to visit this part of California and see the highlights of the national park. From hiking to photography and natural beauty, this corner of the Golden State has a lot going for it.
If you want more inspiration, you can take a look at my other Yosemite itineraries, including my guide to spending 48 hours in Yosemite and my Yosemite itinerary for 4 days. They'll show you other places you can visit in and around the park.
2-Day Yosemite Itinerary Map
As promised, I created an interactive Google map of all the places I visited on my Yosemite weekend itinerary. You can see it here. I hope it helps you plan your own fun trip to the park!
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