Trips & seasons

Borrow our favorite days.

Five sample trips from Base Camp, from a first time in Yosemite to a weekend of doing nothing at all, plus what each season brings.

First time in Yosemite

2 days First-timers

Day 1: The Valley

  1. Leave Base Camp with coffee and Mar-Val sandwiches
  2. Big Oak Flat gate, then down to the Valley
  3. El Capitan Meadow: look for climbers on the wall
  4. Lower Yosemite Fall loop (easy, 1 mi)
  5. Picnic by the Merced River
  6. Valley shuttle to Mirror Lake or Happy Isles
  7. Tunnel View at golden hour
  8. Back at the house for the hot tub

Day 2: The giants

  1. Tuolumne Grove walk among the giant sequoias
  2. Lunch back in Groveland at the Iron Door
  3. Lake afternoon at Marina Beach
  4. Grill night on the deck

Big family weekend

3 days Kids of every age

Friday

  1. Check in and pick rooms (planner already done, right?)
  2. Pizza from Two Guys, movie night downstairs

Saturday

  1. Water taxi from Dunn Court to Marina Beach
  2. Pedal cruiser for the whole crew
  3. Lunch at the Lakeside Café
  4. Pool or pickleball
  5. Hot tub and stargazing (check tonight’s sky on the home page)

Sunday

  1. Railtown 1897 steam train (weekends Apr–Oct)
  2. Checkout by noon, with a stop at Grove Mercantile for ice cream

The do-nothing weekend

2 days Couples & burnt-out friends

Saturday

  1. Sleep in. Nobody’s keeping score.
  2. Slow breakfast by the wood fire
  3. Read on the deck until you fall asleep in the deck chair
  4. Late lunch at The Grill
  5. Sunset from the hot tub, then a board game by the fire

Sunday

  1. Coffee at Mountain Sage
  2. Short walk on the Big Creek Trail (old railroad grade, ~2 mi)
  3. One last look at the view before noon checkout

Hetch Hetchy & the quiet side

1 day Hikers who hate crowds

The day

  1. Leave early. The Hetch Hetchy road is only open in daylight
  2. Cross O’Shaughnessy Dam
  3. Hike to Wapama Falls (~5 mi round trip)
  4. Picnic by the reservoir
  5. Rainbow Pool swim on the way home (summer)
  6. Beer at Around the Horn, then back to the deck

Rainy (or smoky) day

1 day Plan B

The day

  1. Pancakes and a fire in the kitchen fireplace
  2. Movie marathon on the OLED downstairs
  3. Board game tournament
  4. Drive to Columbia State Historic Park: covered boardwalks, candy shop, gold panning
  5. Dinner at Hotel Charlotte’s tavern
Four seasons at Base Camp

There isn’t really a wrong time to come.

Jun – Aug

Summer

Lake season

  • Beaches, water taxi and boat rentals are all running
  • Warm days in the 80s and 90s, cool nights
  • Get into Yosemite early, and hit the lake in the afternoon
  • Fire season: propane only outdoors, and sign up for Genasys alerts
Sep – Nov

Fall

Quiet and golden

  • The crowds are gone and the dogwoods and oaks turn color
  • Tioga Road is usually open until the first big storm
  • Warm afternoons with a crisp evening for the fire
  • Perfect hot-tub weather
Dec – Feb

Winter

Snow days, maybe

  • A few snow days a year at ~2,900 ft, and they usually melt fast
  • Carry chains, and check Caltrans before driving up
  • Dodge Ridge for skiing, or snowy Yosemite Valley
  • Two wood fireplaces and a movie room: made for this
Mar – May

Spring

Waterfall season

  • Yosemite’s waterfalls peak with the snowmelt
  • Wildflowers on the drive in along Highway 120
  • Hetch Hetchy’s falls are at their best
  • Tioga Road usually opens in late May or June
Check availability