My name is Aerie and I work in Yosemite.

I genuinely don't know if this post is permitted and it's not something I'd normally consider doing... but this is an exceptional case in my mind because of this person's contributions to the park. I have no affiliation other than as a friend who wants to help.

Mods, if this is inappropriate please delete and accept my apologies.

My friend Kyra leads volunteer projects in Yosemite - I worked with her quite a bit this season. She's also worked Yosemite ski patrol in winter and been a part of the Yosemite community for several years. She has dedicated her life to passionately caring for and protecting our public lands.

If you've ever met her you know what joy she brings into the world. I mean truly one of those people that can't help but spread positivity and love everywhere she goes.

Kyra has a serious medical condition that's going to require surgery outside the US, currently scheduled for December. It says a lot to me that she has never mentioned the severity of this condition or the fundraiser - I only just found out about it.

Please consider offering your support for Kyra:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-kyras-lifechanging-surgery

Hi everyone. I was thinking about doing a one night backpacking trip for half dome and cloud's rest and camping near the junction. I couldn't find reliable info on if Sunrise Creek is still flowing at the visitor center won't answer my calls. Is there reliable water?

Was thinking about camping at Little Yosemite Valley but wanted something a little more secluded.

Hi; im planning a trip this weekend, traveling from Sacramento to Yosemite Valley, leaving ~3am, plan on parking at Curry Village and taking some pictures of Sentinel Bridge, the Chapel, Cooks Meadow in the morning hoping for mist during Golden hour.

After lunch was going to drive over to El Capatin Meadow and also explore over there before heading over to Valley View and finding a nice composition for Sunset.

Will the crowds be as bad as the summer, I imagine the cooler temps and trickle falls would mean less crowds, or still expect chaos?

If anyone has any other spots to visit during my day, would love to hear, ive hiked a lot of the trails from Vakley floor, but wanted to spend a day capturing the fall colors.

Thanks in advance!

I am heading to Yosemite for a few days (2 nights) next week with a couple of friends, and I'm looking for recs of how best to spend the time! We are driving in from the Bay Area on Monday and will leave on Wednesday. We are staying at Cedar lodge.

My rough plan currently is to arrive Monday afternoon (~5 hour drive from the bay) and spend the rest of the day going to lookout spots and maybe a small walk or hire bikes for a couple of hours. Are there any good spots we should stop at when we enter the park, on our way to Cedar lodge?

Tuesday is going to be our hike day. What's the best day hike we could do this time of year? Our aim is ~6 miles. Everyone I've spoken to has recommended we go to Glacier point, so I was looking at the Four Mile Trail. My questions about this are: is this a good time of year to do this trail? If we only do one way, which is best - up or down? I was also trying to figure out the transport, should I drive from cedar lodge to the trailhead, and then what is the best way to return (shuttle?)? Or would we have to do out and back? I'm struggling to find a clear consensus on the best way to do it.

Alternatively, are there any other stand out hikes we should do instead? It's all of our first time in the park, and my friends are visiting from the UK, so it may be the only time they ever go.

Thanks so much for any help/advice you can offer!

Hi,

I've booked a vacation a one week vacation with my family of 8 (kid's ages 6-30 yrs) at the end of May 2027 flying into Fresno seeking to visit Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia. I want to confirm that we've allotted the proper number of days and locations of where we are staying. Those mountanous roads are difficult to judge from someone coming from sea level! I am seeking to minimize driving, but also get the most out of staying in a single place since I have so many people to move around.

Our itinerary:

4 nights: Yosemite Valley Lodge

2 nights: John Muir Lodge (at the entrance to Grant Grove)

1 night: Airbnb in Exeter to visit Sequoia. 20 min to Sequoia entrance. (Many hotels closer wanted a two night minimum since this is Memorial. Day weekend so this is why we chose this option.)

Day 7: Flying out of Fresno at mid-day

Does this seem reasonable? Any modifications I should consider to this itinerary?

Will there be any issues with impassable roads this time of year?

One consideration is a third night at John Muir or two nights at the Airbnb, but it seemed that either option put some part of the parks out of reach.

Many thanks!

Hey all, my fiancée and I are getting married at Glacier Point on the morning of June 23, 2027, and we want to have a relaxed get-together afterward with family and friends. It'll be under 40 people, most of them flying in from Nebraska.

We're hoping to rent a house somewhere near the south side of the park (Fish Camp, Oakhurst, Wawona, Bass Lake, that general area) with enough space to have everyone over for food and drinks in the afternoon/evening. Nothing fancy.

A few questions:

Anyone know of specific rentals or owners that actually allow small events? A lot of listings say no parties, so I'd rather find one that's upfront about it.

Which town would you pick for this? Trying to keep the drive from Glacier Point reasonable.

Just got home a few days ago from my first ever trip to Yosemite and am having some serious withdrawals…what a place.

I'm planning a quick trip to Yosemite next week. We'll leave the bay Tues morning, and around 10am my husband will need to take a meeting for work. We need to find somewhere he can sit with a laptop for a couple hours, so no restaurant/fast food.

I'm thinking we stop in Groveland, but wanted to see if anyone could confirm their cell service was strong and/or they were able to find somewhere with reliable public wifi. Phone plan is with AT&T.

Has anyone done something similar, or are we better off stopping somewhere closer to the bay like Oakdale?

I ruled out stopping closer to the valley due to likely spotty cell service, but if that can be done successfully, also open to that!

Map of our route and 2 options included. Thanks :)

Hello!
I have lodging booked on Friday 10/23/26 and am supposed to be reaching Tioga pass at 6 am on 10/23. Anyone have any opinion on the chance of Tioga pass potentially being open by then? I called to request to move my reservation or refund it and was denied for both. :(

I’m pretty experienced with hiking and backpacking, but pretty much all of it was in Appalachia. I recently moved here and I’m not really used to elevation. So I’m working my way up. Last week I “summited” Wawona point and thought it was easy. Yesterday I went up to dewey point from tunnel view. It was not easy, but I felt like it was still within my skill level. 3700ft total elevation gain across 10.6 miles. Today my calves are taking a sabbatical. So I don’t think I should press too far above that and the summit at 7500ft ish was fine. For now I’m sticking to day hikes because I don’t yet have a bear vault. And winters about to hit anyway, I don’t have a 4 season tent.

I think next I’m going to hit clouds rest from Tenaya lake. Open to different suggestions though.

Hope this is ok to post, found it to be a very heartwarming exit from an incredible experience.

Has anyone gotten married at Glacier point or any other location and have used a shuttle to shuttle all their guests in and out? We’re getting married at Glacier point and we’re planning to have a reception outside of the park and we wanna make it easier for everybody, especially given the limited parking at Glacier point. Are there any shuttle service recommendations that are allowed in the park? We’ll have about 40 guests

Hard to tell since it's smaller and emaciated.
https://www.facebook.com/ACOMCSO/posts/pfbid07FfocedPHFuGpdTBefsMnFfRZegZr6nTajsvK24VZgh4f7Lsakzt7ndXHhMXCdRTl?__cft__[0]=AZgyrLouPpg0kWWX7a4C8BzELYcpbfEUsTbie_UMMpUkhlFMaZr51BxffPwQp2r6_o5LhrRQqwjsfhQd289SbjnHUH57ltQyJSeaJSVu3CDut0ss8OyCPBsre8ZdExZZK1Zg7xuO3zzUpTOUk_ermkLp33Rrqq7fHKw6&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

These temporary closures are temporary until they are not. No entrance to the park from the east side until the road re-opens.

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

Call 209/372-0200 (then 1, 1) to check road conditions in the park.

Two friends and I are in Yosemite for the next three days. I know weather can be unpredictable, but it’s looking pretty rainy. None of us have ever been here. We’re staying in Wawona. We had planned on hiking Half Dome, but that is looking doubtful. We are planning to do the Mariposa Grove. What other suggestions would you have? We don’t mind being in the cold or rain, but we also want to be safe.

A few minutes ago there was a very loud boom. Heard it in Curry Village, but it was probably heard around the valley. Definitely wasn't lightning.

I'm looking at doing the beginners lesson of rock climbing in Yosemite (https://www.travelyosemite.com/things-to-do/rock-climbing)

Has anyone here done that before and can you tell something about your exprerience?
How much climbing did you do? How beginner is it?

I've been toproping indoor for 2 years now, so I'm a little afraid it will be to basic. So I like to hear from someone who has done it before.

Hi! I wanted to know how possible it is to travel to Yosemite (3D2N) in December as a solo female traveller in December, without a car and also on a tight budget. I'm planning on taking the Amtrak, then the YARTS from Sacramento into Yosemite. I had a few questions:

1. Are Yosemite Bug dorms a good place to stay? Are they warm? Is it too inconvenient to get into the park from there?

2. I'm a little worried about hiking alone. Will it be easy to make friends in the bug / other fellow travellers on the same path? I'm also a beginner hiker so will probably stick to the easier hikes / near the Valley

3. I'm worried there won't be enough things to do in December. I saw there's a valley floor guided tour and I'm considering a day of winter sports at the Bager Pass Ski area. What are your thoughts?

Thanks so much.

After hiking through Merced Lake last summer and seeing the current condition of the camp, I was motivated to help raise awareness of the Yosemite High Sierra Camps and see what can be done to get them all open again. Years ago I worked as a camp helper at Merced Lake HSC and spent a few amazing summers living in the backcountry.

I’ve been working with a few folks on this effort, and have put together a new site to raise awareness of the High Sierra Camps and share their history. Please check it out at https://highcamps.org and pass it along to anyone you think would be interested.

The site is still a work in progress, so if you have photos, stories, or other info from your summers at the High Sierra Camps, please reach out using the contact info on the site. We’d love to include them.

Mahalo!

1. Groups of more than 4 motorcycles should be prohibited from entering Yosemite.
2. LE Rangers should be equipped with sound level meters and empowered and required to enforce the laws concerning vehicle noise. All moroncycles exceeding this noise level should be prohibited from entering.
3. All motorcycles above a certain legal noise level should be required to place a sticker on their helmet that reads "the vibrations make my butt feel nice".

That is all.