YOSEMITE

LET’S GO!!

MAY 16, 17, 18 2025

ITINERARY & INFO YOU SHOULD KNOW

It’s Time! Let’s Go! But first, read this. Here’s what you’ll need to know…

Lodging -  We will all be staying at the Inelle Tribute Portfolio Hotel located at 48800 Royal Oaks Drive, Oakhurst CA.  Check-in time is officially 3PM.    Click this link for travel directions.

Communication -  We will use the text group chat “Yosemite ’25” to communicate with each other.

Travel - The Inelle Hotel is located outside of Yosemite National Park (YNP).  We will travel approximately 1.5 hours into the park each day.  Traffic is always a concern in the park.  Limiting the number of vehicles in our group will be very helpful, carpooling is encouraged.  Please plan to carpool from the hotel to our destination in the park.

Food - Oakhurst has several dining options we can discuss for group dining. There are also a couple of grocery stores where food and drinks can be purchased to bring into the park.  Trail snacks, drinks and food for the drive are recommended.   Please be “Bear Aware”.  Yosemite is bear country.  Please watch the 4 minute video, linked above, to become “Bear Aware”.  Here’s some more “Bear Aware” info. YNP has a few dining options available but they can get busy.

Park Entrance Fee’s -   YNP charges a standard private vehicle entrance fee of $35 for each vehicle, which is good for 3 days.  You’ll only need to purchase the standard park entry pass once on this trip…as long as you keep your original receipt.  The America the Beautiful Annual Park Pass is also accepted at YNP.  This pass allows entry into all US National Parks, including Pinnacles NP, for one year from purchase.

You may have heard about Yosemite’s Peak Hour Reservation system where anyone entering the park is required to have a Peak Hour Reservation.  Peak Hour Reservations are applied for online through a lottery system…good luck!  Fortunately, we will not be affected by the Peak Hour Reservations.  Peak Hour Reservations begin May 24 (YAY!).

We will depart the hotel early to limit delays entering the park and to beat the crowds to some of our destinations.  It’ll take about an hour and a half to get to our destination on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

Packing for the hikes - Once we are in the park there are several hikes planned, some very short and at least two that are about 7 miles (See Daily Itinerary below).  Bring your hiking gear; shoes, backpacks, water, trail snacks, hiking poles, a “poncho” or rain jacket, headlamp,  gloves, beanie, etc., dress in layers.  Mornings are chilly and it will likely get warm in the afternoon. Don’t forget your phones/camera.  YNP is absolutely stunning this time of year!

We are visiting Yosemite in late Spring, just as the valley emerges from winter.  Yosemite has seen late snow storms that have blanketed the valley and the high country, in fact, according to the weather forecast the valley is expecting a moderate chance of rain on Wednesday.  Glacier Point Road and the Mariposa Grove are opening from winter closures on May 10.  The roads has been cleared of snow, the trails haven’t.  Be prepared for hiking in the snow., or at least muddy, wet conditions. Waterproof shoes/boots, good socks (extra socks) and a set of micro-spikes (if you have them) could be useful.

Weather-  The weather forecast looks favorable for the weekend.  Expect partly sunny to mostly sunny skies with daytime high temps ranging from the high 60’s to low 70’s.  Lows will dip down into the low to mid 40’s.  Dressing in layers will be a good idea.

The Daily Plan -

Friday May 16 - Sunset Hike - Arrive at the hotel for check-in around 3PM.  Leave hotel at 5PM to travel into Yosemite to Glacier Point area.  Arrange carpools and drive the 50 miles (1.5 to 2 hrs) to the Sentinel Dome Parking Area to arrive about an hour before sunset.  The Sentinel Dome Trail is only about a mile or so with about 500’ of elevation gain.  The hike starts at about 7600’ elevation and climbs to nearly 8200’.  The trail starts at the parking lot and generally traverses the forest until you begin to ascend Sentinal Dome, a solid granite dome.  Expect wet and snowy trail conditions and potentially a slippery climb up the granite slope.  Fingers crossed the heat expected early this weekend will melt most of the snow off the dome.  Once at the top you’ll be greeted with amazing 360° views of the Yosemite Valley, Half Dome and hopefully a beautiful sunset.

We will hike down the dome and back to the parking lot at dusk.  Bring headlamps.  We’ll drive back to the hotel and get ready for the next day.

Saturday May 17 - Yosemite Valley - Get an early start, leave the hotel about 6AM.  Drive into the Yosemite Valley to beat the crowds.  We’ll drive about 65 miles and it’ll take about 1:45 to reach the Valley.  Carpooling is encouraged.

We’ll spend the day in the Yosemite Valley taking in the sights.  As we drive into the valley we’ll make stops at the Wawona Tunnel, Valley View,  El Capitan and Ribbon Fall, The Swinging Bridge and maybe a few other sights before parking near the trailhead at Curry Village.

We’ll start our first hike from Curry Village.  We’re hiking the famous Mist Trail to the John Muir Trail (JMT) Loop.  The Mist Trail is about 7.5 miles with about 2200’ of elevation gain.  The trail starts at about 3800’ elevation and climbs a series of granite steps to about 6300’ elevation. 

There are many highlights on this hike.  The first comes as you approach Vernal Fall, a 317’ waterfall that produces the mist of the “Mist” Trail.  Here you’ll need your poncho or water proof jacket.  You will get drenched and the water isn’t warm. The hike continues along the Merced River, up more granite steps and along side the 594’ Nevada Fall until we reach the top where you’ll be treated with views of the Merced River as it spills over Nevada Falls and makes its way down stream to Vernal Falls and into the Yosemite Valley.  We’ll take a quick snack break and take in the views and then head down the JMT, stopping at the many viewpoints along the way.  Pack plenty of water and some trail snacks as this hike is tough, but totally do-able.

Once back at the cars we’ll grab some lunch and continue the tour of the Valley, stopping at Lower Yosemite Falls, the Swinging Bridge, reverse Valley View, El Capitan Meadow and possibly a 2.5 mile out and back hike to Columbia Rock before driving back to Oakhurst for dinner.

Sunday May 18th - Check out of the hotel the and travel into YNP to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.  The drive is estimated at about :30 mins.  We’ll plan to arrive at the Welcome Center by about 8AM to catch the bus early and beat the crowds.  The bus will take us to the trailhead  where we’ll complete the 7-ish mile hike among some of the largest and oldest trees in the world.  Again, this trail may be wet and muddy, possibly snowy.  Plan accordingly.  It should take us about 4ish hours to complete.  Once complete, we’ll depart the park and head home from there.

I am excited to share this RADventure with you.  Yosemite is one of my favorite places to visit, explore and adventure.  I’m sure it will become one of yours.  If you have questions about the itinerary, travel plans etc. please call or text me at (831)455-6647.

Printable Itinerary

Yosemite Packing List

Enjoy some pictures of the awesome places we will be visiting!