Yosemite National Park

Why this park

Yosemite is the valley that set American conservation in motion: an eleven-kilometre glacial valley with El Capitan and Half Dome as granite sentinels, waterfalls that thunder in May and June and meadows where deer graze. The park in California's Sierra Nevada is far bigger than the valley alone — Glacier Point, Mariposa Grove with its giant sequoias and the high-country Tuolumne Meadows belong to it too — but Yosemite Valley is where almost every family begins.

By RV, Yosemite is a park of two speeds. The approach roads are long and winding and the valley is busy, but once you are on a campground in the valley the key comes out of the ignition: the free shuttle, rental bikes and paved paths take you everywhere. Two nights in or close to the valley are the minimum; with a third night you can add Glacier Point or Mariposa Grove. The park sits on the California loop between San Francisco and the coast.

With kids

The valley floor is flat and surprisingly stroller-friendly. The Lower Yosemite Fall Trail is a paved loop of a kilometre and a half to the foot of the tallest waterfall in North America, mist included in spring. The Cook's Meadow Loop gives the classic view of Half Dome without climbing, and the paved path to Mirror Lake (a good three kilometres return) ends at a shallow pool where kids can paddle in summer. Renting bikes in Yosemite Village or Curry Village is the nicest way to see the valley with children. In Mariposa Grove you walk under giant sequoias on a short, flat loop. The Junior Ranger programme has its own booklet for little ones (Little Cubs) and one for older children; pick them up at the visitor centre or the Yosemite Conservancy shops.

Waterfalls are the danger you talk about here: the rocks at the water's edge are slippery and the current is strong, so kids stay on the path and behind the fences. Black bears in Yosemite are used to people and smell food from far away — all food and toiletries stay in the RV out of sight or in your site's bear box, never on the table and never in a tent. The valley sits at 1,200 metres, so altitude is not an issue there; at Glacier Point and on Tioga Road it is. In July and August days are warm and the waterfalls are almost dry — May and June deliver the spectacle, September the calm.

Camping and reservations

Yosemite Valley has three campgrounds with RV sites: Upper Pines (open all year), Lower Pines and North Pines (seasonal), all three without hookups but with a dump station nearby and the shuttle at the door. The maximum vehicle length varies per site and is usually limited; filter on it when searching. Outside the valley, Wawona (near Mariposa Grove), Hodgdon Meadow and Crane Flat (near the western entrances) are good options for RVs. Everything is reserved via Recreation.gov.

Yosemite reservations open in blocks months ahead — traditionally on the 15th of the month at seven in the morning Pacific Time, for a period starting five months later. Check the exact dates and window on the campground page on Recreation.gov and on nps.gov, because the valley campgrounds sell out within minutes. If it does not work out, look at the private RV parks outside the park in El Portal, Mariposa, Groveland, Oakhurst and Fish Camp, and keep an eye on Recreation.gov for cancellations: they appear at random moments and are the best chance of a late site in the valley.

Driving an RV

The approach roads wind through the mountains and have tunnels and length rules to look at beforehand. Highway 41 from the south passes through the Wawona Tunnel and Highway 120 from the west (Big Oak Flat Road) has three shorter tunnels; they are arched, so the clearance at the side is lower than in the centre, and the park publishes the limits per road — check them on nps.gov against the height and width of your RV. Glacier Point Road, Mariposa Grove Road and the road to Hetch Hetchy have length restrictions, meaning larger RVs go no further than a car park and you switch to a shuttle. Tioga Road (Highway 120 east) is open in summer only and steep, but perfectly drivable.

In the valley itself you park the RV at the campground or in one of the day-use car parks at Yosemite Village and leave it there; the free shuttle runs all year in the eastern valley. Yosemite has used a timed-entry reservation for access in busy years — check while planning whether that applies this season and whether a campground reservation exempts you.

Frequently asked questions