Good morning everyone, happy Friday! I am off to Yosemite National Park this weekend with my brother and I wanted to share my trip planning with you. First of all, Fresno is the closest major airport to Yosemite and flights to Fresno can be pricey since it is a relatively small airport. I booked my United flight for SFO-FAT back in February and the cheapest price I could find was ~$370. Luckily, I cashed in 20,000 US Bank FlexPoints for the trip. I plan on purchasing some inflight food and drinks to take advantage of the $25 inflight travel credit that comes with all award bookings made with the US Bank FlexPerks Credit Card.
Once I land in Fresno, I will spend Friday night at the DoubleTree Hilton Fresno Convention Center. They offer a free airport shuttle and the prices tonight are ~$150, 30,000 Hilton HHonors Points, or 12,000 Hilton HHonors Points + ~$58. I went with the third option. My brother is driving up from Orange County and will meet me at the hotel.
On Saturday morning, we will drive to the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. The drive is about 2 hours and should be pretty scenic once we get to Yosemite National Park. We will go on a few hikes on Saturday and hike to the top of Halfdome on Sunday (my brother won a permit in the lottery).
For Saturday night, we are staying at the Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal. There are no chain hotels in Yosemite National Park and all the independent hotels are very expensive. The hotel for Saturday night is ~$280 which is insane, but that was the cheapest hotel we could find in Yosemite National Park.
Luckily, the drive from the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center to the Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal is only 25 mins long. We plan on spending Saturday night at the Yosemite View Lodge then heading back to Yosemite Valley Visitor Center Sunday morning to conquer Halfdome.
After we finish hiking to the top of Halfdome and taking our selfies and panoramic pictures, we will drive back to the DoubleTree Hilton Fresno Convention Center on Sunday night. I will fly back to San Francisco Monday morning and my brother will drive back down to Orange County. It will be an exhausting weekend, but I am used to that when I travel with my brother. Here are some of our other adventures if you are interested:
- What’s on my Mind? Grand Canyon National Park, Flagstaff Extreme Obstacle Course, Bearizona Wildlife Park, and Bedrock City
- Salt Lake City to Arches National Park (Pre Trip Report)
- Las Vegas to Zion National Park Roadtrip and Chain Hotel Options
- TransferCar Part 4: Epic RV Journey through California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado
If you’ve ever been to Yosemite National Park, let me know if you have any tips/suggestions. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
Halfdome needs a permit to hike. There are many great trails, depending on what kind of hikers you are. If you want a 2-3 hour strenuous hike, try the upper Yosemite fall. The view at the top is breathtaking (start around 10, and you’ll be at the top around 12. Pack a lunch and enjoy the view! It takes about 1 hour hike down). If you don’t like hiking that much, try driving up to glacier point, it’s a 1.5 hour drive starting from the fee entrance. Yes, it’s a bit of a long drive. The road is so windy that you can’t drive very fast. Lower Yosemite fall trail is not that great, and you’ll see lots of kids and elderly there as it’s a paved walk way to the fall.
Great tips, thanks Erik. Luckily my brother got a Halfdome permit. Have a great weekend :)
I was going to say, I remember it being 6-7 miles (half uphill) when we did it a few years ago… There are some cool scenic parts in the Lower Yosemite Falls section… Which is really close to the campsites, hence why We started there. Saw a Bobcat in the upper parts, and the view is truly spectacular.
I definitely will go back to hike some of the other trails.
Done Half Dome 3 times now. I suggest bringing your own gloves for the final ascent and descent. There is also a box of loaner gloves near the peak if you don’t bring them. You don’t want to be gripping the metal and chain link rails with your bare hands or shoddy gloves. Some people like to harness on the cables section. On my last go around I thought this was a good idea, even if it is something very rudimentary, like a single carabiner. Up to you.
Your plans on Saturday are ambitious, but it can be done. Start early. The drive from your hotel to the valley will likely take 35-45 minutes not 25 unless you know this road well. There will be signs for you to slow down everywhere because bears are often killed by speeding cars. The roads winds and your gonna be distracted by the park too, so this adds time.
Once you make it past the park entrance, it’ll probably take you another 20 minutes to get to the trailhead, which involves taking a shuttle.
When you are done with your hike, I’d hate to do this drive back to the hotel, but hey, I once drove to Tracy after doing the hike. Like you say, it’s gonna be a long day.
Good luck! I have seen grandmas with slippers do this crazy hike! You’ll be fine.
“Grandmas with slippers” – that will be a sight for sore eyes. My brother brought gloves for me, but that is a good reminder. I’m sure we will go slow and enjoy the view. Safe travels!
Have a great time! Next time you guys should just drive there and stay in the cabins/tents right by the trails… (not a hotel but makes the whole experience that much better.).
Hope you guys have an amazing time. Can’t even imagine driving to Fresno that night …!
The pizza we got when we arrived back down from half dome was the best bite of pizza I remember ever having at that time …..)
Let us know how it went!
The weather on Sunday was misty and heavy rain on Sunday, so we had to cancel our Half Dome hike. When we go back, we will try to stay at the camp ground.
I think it would be a lot of fun to have a trip to Zion’s national park. I have heard that you can find some hotels and accommodations nearby so you really wouldn’t have to worry about a place to stay. I don’t know if a lot of national parks have hotels nearby but it would be helpful.
The city that is right next to Zion National Park is called Springdale, Utah and there are a few hotels (chain and independent, maybe Airbnb too). The bigger city outside Zion National Park is St. George, Utah with several more hotels, but that is about a 40 minute drive away from the entrance of Zion National Park.