Yosemite National Park is a breathtaking granite wonderland with jaw-dropping vistas, incredible family-friendly hikes and a ton of fantastic things to do with kids on a family vacation.
But with so many incredible things to do, where should you even start? What are the top must-see sites? Where are the best kid-friendly hikes? And how can you avoid some of the insane crowds at this popular national park? These were the questions I was asking myself before our trip to Yosemite National Park, and I would love to share with you what we learned.
Amazing Things to Do in Yosemite with Kids
Our family began our journey to Yosemite National Park on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. (From Las Vegas we had traveled through Death Valley National Park, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest and stopped at the completely unreal Mono Lake.) From Mono Lake, and the city of Lee Vining, we drove on Tioga Pass (Highway 120) to get to the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park.
TIOGA ROAD
Tioga Road is an absolutely stunning 47-mile drive full of breathtaking scenery, pristine mountain lakes, gorgeous grassy meadows and mind-blowing granite formations. There are numerous family-friendly hiking trails, fantastic picnic locations and many possible wildlife viewing opportunities all along this great mountain road. Tioga Road, and its sites/hikes, also offers a fantastic escape away from the crowds down in Yosemite Valley.
Weekday road work along Tioga Road may give delays of 15-60 minutes in spring & summer 2022
Road Opening/ Closure Dates: Tioga Pass typically opens near the end of May or in June, depending on the past year’s snowfall and then it closes again toward the end of October or sometimes November. Please plan accordingly if your vacation travels take you all the way across the mountain range. (There are other routes around these mountains, but your drive time will be significantly longer.) Plowing Update
Driving Tioga Pass
It was mid-June when our family drove across Tioga Pass, from Mono Lake, and being from Florida, I was really hoping that we would see some snow since our children rarely get to see it. At first, we only saw snow higher up in the mountains. There was none along the road for our children to play in and I was kind of bummed. But then we went around a corner, and right by Ellery Lake was SNOW!!
Snow in June Along Tioga Pass
We immediately pulled over into the pull-out area and we were off to check it out. Our kids were ecstatic! They were throwing snowballs and having a great time. Now granted, it was just us and another family from Hawaii there enjoying the snow, but I wanted to mention it in case you too are a family looking to possibly see snow in June.
Our next stop was about 20 minutes down Tioga Road at the beautiful Tuolumne Meadows, but before you get there you will pass through Yosemite’s East Entrance Gate.
Traveler Information: From May 20- September 30, 2022 a reservation will be required to drive into Yosemite during peak hours (6am-4pm). How to Get Your Entrance Reservation
TUOLUMNE MEADOWS
Tuolumne Meadows is a beautiful meadow set high in the Sierra Nevada at 8,600 feet. Here there is…
- Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center with exhibits and information
- Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center with bear canisters, guidebooks and wilderness permits
- Parsons Memorial Lodge (open late June- early Sept) where John Muir and Robert Underwood Johnson conceived the idea of establishing Yosemite National Park.
- Soda Spring trail where you can see carbonated, cold water bubbling out of the ground. This is an easy 1.5 mile round trip hike. (This is a great hike for families.)
TENAYA LAKE
Located less than 15 minutes past Tuolumne Meadows on Tioga Road is the beautiful Tenaya Lake. This is a great spot for a picnic lunch or to just rest and let kids play. (There are 2 picnic areas + restrooms at each end.)
This is where we enjoyed our picnic lunch and let me just say, the scenery here is outstanding! We also saw several people kayaking, paddle boarding and swimming here.
OLMSTED POINT
Only 5 minutes west of Tenya Lake is the absolutely jaw-dropping Olmsted Point!
In the picture above, you can see Tioga Road and the parking lot for Olmsted Point. Just park, cross the road and head up the side of this granite rock. There’s not an exact path (at least that I could see) but for us there was a lot of other people heading up the rock so we just followed them. And our children (ages 6,8 & 10) had no problem walking up to this point. It is steep in sections but the granite has good grip and we kept them close.
Olmsted Point was a definite highlight for our family in Yosemite. You truly feel like you’re on top of the world! And the scenery is beyond magnificent!
Olmsted Point – looking back towards the parking lot. (see picture above)
Olmstead Point – looking away from the parking lot and toward Tenaya Lake. (see picture below)
From Olmsted Point it’s about a 1 hour 15 minute drive to get to Yosemite Valley.
Yosemite Valley Map
As soon as we reached Yosemite Valley, we were immediately surrounded by crowds of visitors. The scenery here was gorgeous, but honestly all the people made it feel like we were at Disney World and not out in nature. Now we understood why people would travel Tioga Road to get away from the crowds of the valley.
BRIDALVEIL FALLS
One great stop in Yosemite Valley, that is perfect for families as well, is Bridalveil Falls. This waterfall is located on the southwest side of Yosemite Valley and is probably one of the first sites you’ll come to when you enter the valley.
Bridalveil Falls is a 0.5 mile round trip easy hike to a 620 foot waterfall.
The Ahwahneechee Native Americans believed that inhaling the mist of Bridalveil Waterfall improved chances of getting married, hence the name.
Unfortunately this trail has been closed due to a Rehabilitation Project since 2/2021. As of Spring 2022 it still remains closed.
If Bridalveil Falls trail is open, then this is a great short trail to hike with kids.
EL CAPITAN
A little northeast of Bridalveil Falls (yet before you get to the heart of Yosemite Valley) is the impressive granite monolith called El Capitan, which rises approximately 3,000 feet in the air. El Capitan is very popular with rock climbers, but for us, it was just amazing to look at. It’s Huge!
COOK’S MEADOW
Now, finally in the heart of Yosemite Valley, we parked near Cook’s Meadow so that we could walk part of the Cook’s Meadow Loop Boardwalk on our way to Yosemite Falls.
Cook’s Meadow was absolutely breathtaking and I highly recommend visiting this gorgeous meadow.
YOSEMITE FALLS
Yosemite Falls is one of the tallest waterfalls in North America, at 2,425 feet.
Lower Yosemite Falls Trail is an easy (yet often crowded) 1.2 mile loop that takes you to the base of Lower Yosemite Falls. This was a very pretty, paved walk and Yosemite Falls is gorgeous, but when we visited in the afternoon in June it was really crowded. I think we would have enjoyed visiting this waterfall much more had we gone first thing in the morning or after dinner when the crowds tend to calm down.
CURRY VILLAGE
For us, our next stop was to check into our lodging for the night at Curry Village (formerly called Half Dome Village.) We would be glamping tonight in their canvas tents and we weren’t quite sure what to expect. So let me show you what we found.
First, when staying at Curry Village, you can glamp in one of their canvas tents (like we did), stay in a wood-sided cozy cabin or in a standard motel-type room.
- For Larger Families: We stayed in The Unheated Tent that Sleeps 5. In this tent there is 1 Full Bed and 3 Singles. It was perfect! (see below)
Curry Village has several restaurants onsite, an ice cream stand, coffee shop, an outdoor swimming pool, ice skating rink, bicycle & raft rentals and access to tours and activities. This village is also in a fantastic location, right in the heart of Yosemite. It is only a short walk to view Half Dome and just 1.1 miles from Vernal Falls.
Curry Village reservations tend to sell out quickly. They recommend to book 10-12 months ahead of your trip and reservations open one year and one day in advance, so don’t delay.
SUNSET AT HALF DOME
So, remember how I mentioned that Curry Village was just a short walk to see Half Dome. Well, after dinner our family made that 2 minute walk up Curry Village Drive to Happy Isle Loop Road where there is a big field with paths to the perfect view.
This is where we watched a jaw-dropping sunset at Half Dome. (see below)
It was a perfect moment in time.
We also saw 7 deer grazing out in this field as we watched the sun set. (see above)
This experience was so amazing for our family. So if you are staying in Curry Village, you should definitely check this sunset location out.
Traveling Tip: Make sure to bring a good flashlight and/or headlamp if you go to watch the sunset at Half Dome. You definitely don’t want to get caught out in the dark while walking back to your lodging. This is also extremely useful if you are staying in one of the tents in Curry Village, for when making your way to the bathrooms when it’s dark.
Another reason we chose to stay at Curry Village was that the next morning we were getting up bright and early, to beat the crowds, and hike the amazing Mist Trail to Vernal Falls (and potentially Nevada Falls.)
MIST TRAIL TO VERNAL FALLS/ NEVADA FALLS
Hiking the incredible Mist Trail to Vernal Falls is a 4 mile hard, out-and-back trail. But with the amazing things I had heard about this trail, and with our kids (ages 6, 8 & 10) up for the challenge, we decided to take it on.
Little did we know that our family would love this hike so much that once we reached Vernal Falls, our kids would want to add the even harder loop up to Nevada Falls, which comes back on the John Muir Trail. This makes a 6 mile round trip loop. (We ended up hiking 8 miles total since we walked from our tent in the Curry Village.)
The Mist Trail to Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls was an absolute highlight to our stay in Yosemite. I won’t kid you, it was a tiring uphill hike, but the views were out of this world and our whole family (even our 6 year old) had a blast on this incredible trail.
The Massive Sugar Pine Cones
Fun for Kids: Be on the look out for the massive Sugar Pine Cones along this trail. They’re Huge!!
Later I found out that these are the longest cones of any conifer! We could hardly believe our eyes at how big these pine cones were.
Simply finding these cool pine cones was such a huge highlight for our kids!
Then we reached the top of Nevada Falls, and we were completely blown away by what we saw.
The scenery at the top of Nevada Falls was simply unreal. Every bit of effort to reach this spot was completely worth it! (Even our 6 year old agreed!)
Tips for Hiking with Kids At Mist Trail to Nevada Falls:
- Keep kids close on the slippery steps of Mist Trail. (I held our 6 year old’s hand.) You’ll probably get heavily misted upon here as you pass the falls.
- Take lots of breaks and go slow.
- Take plenty of water, and use snacks for “power boosters.” We had a loaf of sweet breakfast bread that we got from the Curry Village that morning, Bloks Energy Chews for that extra energy boost (these were a great mental energy boost for our 6 year old too), and several other snacks to keep everyone going.
- When our kids started to get tired, we had them to tell us stories. Whether it’s from their imagination, a book their reading or a computer game they like. This always seems to help take their mind off being tired. (I think they also like having our undivided attention while out on the trail.)
- Bathrooms: There are lots of bathrooms along this trail – one at Vernal footbridge, one at the top of Vernal Falls and one at the top of Nevada Falls.
- Start your hike early in the day to beat most of the crowds. Less crowds makes for a more enjoyable hike, and this trail definitely gets crowded later in the day.
After hiking the incredible Mist Trail to Nevada Falls (which took us 6 hours to hike the 8 miles with our 6 year old), we ate a late lunch at Curry Village and then drove up to the breathtaking Glacier Point.
GLACIER POINT
Glacier Point is absolutely breathtaking and it’s the famous overlook that most people talk about. But honestly, we really enjoyed Washburn Point too, if not more. Washburn Point is located just south of Glacier Point. It is less crowded and I think it has better views of Vernal and Nevada Falls. (see below)
This view of Vernal Falls (lower) and Nevada Falls (upper) not only is absolutely stunning, but it also completely blew us away as we realized that earlier that day our family had walked from the valley all the way to the top of both of these waterfalls and then back down to the valley again! Talk about an incredible feeling of accomplishment. We were all completely ecstatic when we realized what we had just hiked.
So, if you plan on hiking Vernal Falls and/ or Nevada Falls, I highly recommend that you stop at Washburn Point to get an incredible bird’s eye view of your amazing accomplishment.
Glacier Point Travel Info
Unfortunately Glacier Point Road is currently closed until 2023 for rehabilitation.
Glacier Road Opening Information
- To get here, it’s a little over an hour drive from Curry Village.
- Know that Glacier Point Road is closed due to snow from November to May.
- When open, there is a bus that offers one-way transport if you are interested in hiking from here to Yosemite Valley or vise versa.
Yosemite National Park is a fantastic granite wonderland. It’s a photographer’s dream, a hiker’s paradise and it was a completely amazing place for our family to form incredible, everlasting memories.
Have a Great Trip to Yosemite with Your Traveling Feet!
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