We took the kids to Yosemite and had a blast!! Admittedly, I chuckled when our journey took us over the river and through the woods. But Yosemite is definitely not grandma’s house. At first, I was nervous about taking our 4 kids to hike in the Yosemite National Park. But you guys! We had a blast! And it was so much fun. We have been back a few times since our first trip, and continue to have a great time in Yosemite with our family.
Below are my top 3 tips for traveling to Yosemite with kids (along with a few bonus tips at the very end)
Tip #1 Check the website
Did you know you can visit Yosemite National Park for FREE! Yes several times a year there is free entrance to Yosemite National Park. We have gone twice on a free day, and the crowds were way les than you you would expect. My favorite day to visit Yosemite for free is on National Public Lands day. Yes… that’s a thing. And just like you probably didn’t know it was a thing.. Neither do most travelers.
List of free days to travel to National parks
- January 20 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
- April 18 (Start of National Park Week)
- August 25 (National Park Service’s birthday)
- September 26 (National Public Lands Day)
- November 11 (Veterans Day)
We have also visited on Veteran’s day, and the weather in Yosemite is a little cooler but still very enjoyable. Visiting a national park isn’t always the first thing people think of when they plan to celebrate a national holiday which is probably why the crowds are often less impacted. Entrance is around $20 per vehicle,and when traveling to Yosemite with kids every dollar counts.
Tip 2- Arrive late
Every blog post I read in preparation for my family Yosemite trip said, arrive early. And guess what, a few times back, we decided to be rebels and we left later in the day and were pleasantly surprised. It is now our custom to arrive at the park just before lunch time. We find that most people spend just over a half day at the park, and we get to arrive when most people are leaving.
There are some parts of the park that have capacity limits like the area in Yosemite with the giant Sequoias for example. When we travel with our family, we leave the most impacted areas for last because literally there is no one there. You can tell by our YouTube video how small crowds are, and we loved every second of it.
In addition to arriving a bit later, I highly recommend Yosemite family travel during non-peak seasons if you can. Non-peak travel season is basically anytime outside of the summer months. Another bonus traveling during the fall and spring are the moderate temperatures. We love the fall because of the changing leaves and landscape, we love the spring because of the wild flowers and the fuller waterfalls, and we love the winter because of the snow. Basically you can’t go wrong to travel anytime of year, but if there was one time to avoid traveling with kids if you can, my advice is to skip the summer.
Tip #3 Be patient-
Yosemite National park is a huge park. If one area of the park is overcrowded just travel to the next one and return to that part later.
The first time we traveled to Yosemite with kids, we wanted to hike Granite Ridge. My research told me that there is an hour long hike that is perfect for kids. Well…. That first time we never found a parking spot so we just parked further up the trail and snapped some pictures and let the kids play eyespy with the waterfalls in the valley. It was a great time even though we totally never made it to that trail.
Tip #4 Visit a trail any trail –
There are 110 trails in Yosemite. I think one mistake people make when visiting Yosemite is they get stuck on a specific itinerary. And it’s probably the same inteirary as the million other visitors. To underscore my advice on having patience when traveling to Yosemite with kids, I would also encourage you to just visit what every trail you stumble on. You will know pretty quickly if it’s too crazy for your kids even without doing research. For example if you see a sign that says “warning” turn around. We have not hiked Half Dome with our kid and have no plans to. The view of Half Dome from the valley floor is spectacular and we don’t have to risk our lives to visit it.
Yosemite Kid-Friendly Hiking Trails
- Mariposa Grove – Mariposa Grove is one of the homes of the Giant Sequoias. You can take a 5 minute bus ride to the hike. Then walk a paved hike around the Giant Sequoias. It’s amazing!! And my favorite thing to see in Yosemite.
- Bridal Veil Falls – Bridal Veil Falls is a super flat hike, and easy to walk for all athletic levels. It’s not a paved path, so I wouldn’t bring a stroller but easy for tiny and adult feet to navigate. Both my husband and my 1 year old enjoyed this hike, the baby loved picking up rocks and playing with the leaves.
- Granite Ridge- This hike is where all my searches say is the best place to take kids. We haven’t been on this hike yet. But I think it’s only fair to share this one as well. If you go tag me on Instagram so I can live vicariously through you.
2 things you have to do with your family in Yosemite with Kids
1. Travel through the tunnel
We did the touristy stop at the exit of the tunnel to take some photos. I mean did you even visit Yosemite if you didn’t stop here. It’s a great place to get a sense of the vastness of this gorgeous national park. I have to be honest my kids didn’t really love this spot, and getting to the photo spot is a bit nerve racking because this is one of the busiest parking lots in the entire park. But this pot is iconic nonetheless.
2. Mariposa Grove –
I know I already mentioned this one, but I LOVE IT!! If you have never seen a giant Sequoia then you can not skip this. These trees are the largest in the world and the trunk of the tree has a gorgeous red hue. There are several places in California that you can see these incredible giant trees. And I should mention that this is a small segment of the Giant Sequoia population, you will have to travel several hours south to see a larger forest but it’s so cool that you can see all that Yosemite has to offer AND these incredible trees.
My kids still look forward to the seeing the Giant Sequoias when we plan future trips to Yosemite.
Yosemite with Kids Insider Tip:
If Mariposa Grove is full when you arrive, don’t’ be afraid to circle back later. On several occasions our first trip to this section of Yosemite is completely full when we arrived (at noon). The blessing in disguise was that when we circled back around to Mariposa Grove at around 5 pm there was almost no one there! And because dusk was quickly approaching we were able to see a few deer enjoying dinner!
Overall you guys! We had THE best time! And will definitely travel there again! Next time we are staying overnight though for sure!
3 Bonus Tips for traveling to Yosemite with kids
Bring allergy meds and Kleenex
Even if you aren’t an allergy sufferer you might be surprised by how the change of scenery will affect your sinuses. To make the most of your trip, pack an over the counter allergy medicine and plenty of Kleenex.
Pack snacks! But leave the blanket!
I brought the cutest blanket and water cooler filled with grapes and drinks, and really all I ended up caring was our waters. Because the park is pretty spread out, we ended up snacking the car as we traveled between areas. It made the car ride more enjoyable and helped us to avoid the dreaded… “are we there yet”Bring the bug spray! You guys know I am mosquito obsessed so I sprayed the kids down before we even got out the car! Hehe and I am so glad we did… the kids were totally free of bites from both mosquitos and ticks which I would imagine are prevalent in the wilderness. 🙂
Go with the flow!
The whole point to getting away is to relax! So if you end up yelling at children and rushing from spot to spot you won’t leave all Zen-like as you hoped. So throughout the timelines and the checklist and just see what every you can!
I hope you enjoyed these tips and your upcoming travel to Yosemite with your family. We seriously can’t wait to go back!
Xo
Chantea
Want to learn more about our Yosemite trip? Check out my blog post on a kid friendly Yosemite Resort.
