The best things to do in Yosemite National Park can be done in 2 days! We visited in July with our 3 month old baby. She was along for everything on this list, and we had some pretty epic adventures!
Know before you go
It can be insanely HOT in July, and we visited during a massive heat wave. Because of this we got into the park before 8 am every morning. This helped with the heat but also helped us beat the traffic!
You are required to have a reservation to visit the park in the summer if you are driving in. Click here to make your reservation in advance! You can still drive into the park before 6 am and after 4 pm without a reservation FYI.
Make sure to check for road closures in advance. Construction was being done when we visited which meant we couldn’t visit some sites we wanted to see.
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Where we stayed – Rush Creek Lodge
Rush Creek Lodge is located just a few minutes from the Yosemite National Park entrance. It has a higher price point, but is an amazing escape with on-site restaurants, a store to grab goodies for your hike, a coffee-shop, and they even have pre-made lunches!
We would spend our mornings in the park while it was less busy and had cooler temps, and then hang out by the pool in the afternoon! Highly recommend this spot, one of our favorite hotels of all time!
Things to do in Yosemite National Park
Mist Trail
Mist Trial is one of the coolest things to do in Yosemite National Park. It features two amazing waterfalls, Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. It’s 3 miles round trip to get to Vernal Falls and 7 miles round trip to get to Nevada Falls.
This trail is difficult. TONS of stairs and elevation gain, so be prepared! Being it was so hot and we had a baby in tow, we just chose to hike to the top of Vernal Falls and it was so beautiful! Highly recommend this trail if you only have one day in Yosemite!
Lower Yosemite Falls Trail
This is an easy 1 mile trail that leads you to the lower part of Yosemite Falls – the tallest waterfall in North America! It is flat and tends to be a popular hike within the park being it’s so accessible. However, it’s a must to see this waterfall up close!
Cook’s Meadow Loop
We loved walking around Cook’s Meadow. It’s smack dab in the center of Yosemite Valley and you feel like an ant looking up at Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, and so much more. An easy walk!
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Taft Point
Taft Point is accessed via Glacier Point Road which is outside of the main drag of Yosemite Valley, but it gives you an insane bird’s eye views into Yosemite Valley. From the start of the trailhead, it’s an easy one mile hike to get here. Some of our favorite views in the park!
Sentinel Dome
You can continue from Taft Point to Sentinel Dome on the same trail for an additional 2.5 miles to get to Sentinel Dome. This requires some scrambling up the rock but gives you amazing 360 degree views in all directions! If you make the full loop from Taft Point to Sentinel Dome you’ll be hiking about 5.5 miles total. You can also just hike to Sentinel Dome if you wish, and skip Taft point. I would recommend to start with Sentinel Dome first, then Taft Point. Seemed easier going this way!
Glacier Point
If you want to get the similar views as Sentinel Dome but don’t want to do the hike, head to Glacier Point! It’s on the same south side of the park and accessed via Glacier Point Road, but there’s plenty of parking and it’s just a short, easy walk to see the views! As a plus, you can see both Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls from this spot, but they look TINY!
Artist Point Trail
This is a 2.3 mile trail that give you the same views as Tunnel View (the most popular photo spot in Yosemite), but from a much different vantage point with way less people! This hike is medium difficulty, but I would recommend having a map or to track yourself on the All Trails app, being we got lost a few times! Also note that we never actually found Artist Point, but just stopped once we had the view of the valley that we wanted while following the signs to Inspiration Point!
This list should help you get started on all the great things to do in Yosemite National Park in 2 days! Happy travels!
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