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Yosemite National Park

7-day guided tours to Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, the sequoia trees, Alcatraz, Pacific Coast Highway, and more.

With its majestic granite cliffs and towering waterfalls, Yosemite National Park can be considered California’s crown jewel. The centerpiece of the national park is Yosemite Valley, which is a long and narrow valley that was carved out of sheer granite by glacial ice and shaped Yosemite’s iconic landmarks such as Half Dome and El Capitan.

On any of our tours that include Yosemite, you’ll have the chance to see much of the park’s highlights. This includes seeing its well-known waterfalls such as Bridalveil Falls, Vernal Falls, and one of the highest waterfalls in the world, Yosemite Falls. You’ll also be able to explore and hike around Yosemite Valley and then see it from far above atop Glacier Point.

Yosemite National Park in photographs

Yosemite Group Photo
Admiring Half Dome
Yosemite
Yosemite Half Dome
Yosemite Valley
El Capitan
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Trips that go here

Departing from

San Francisco

Planning a trip to Yosemite National Park

Yosemite runs on two calendars. The waterfalls — Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil, Vernal and Nevada — are fed by snowmelt, so they are at their loudest in May and June and some are down to a trickle or dry by late August. The high country is the other way round: Tioga Road, the only route across the Sierra through the park, is closed by snow for around half the year and usually opens somewhere between late May and early July.

Almost everyone goes to the same seven square miles. Yosemite Valley holds the famous views and most of the lodging, and in July it holds most of the visitors; Tuolumne Meadows, Glacier Point and the Hetch Hetchy side are quieter for the same effort.

Half Dome is the exception to the "just turn up" rule. The cable route up the shoulder is only in place from around late May to October and needs a permit issued by lottery, and the day is around fourteen miles with 4,800 feet of climbing.

Peak-season entry reservations have applied in several recent summers and the rules change from year to year — check the park’s own site for the season you are travelling in.