8 Mistakes to Avoid When Visiting Yosemite National Park
Last Updated: October 29, 2023
We recently visited Yosemite National Park and spent four days there camping and exploring the best sites in Yosemite. Yosemite is a genuinely magical place, and there are so many amazing things to see in Yosemite. But you do have to plan carefully for your tip to Yosemite. On our trip, we learned a few mistakes that we wish we would have avoided, So we’re here to give you our insights on the top mistakes to avoid in Yosemite, so that you maximize your time in this amazing national park! If you want to learn how to best maximize your time at Yosemite National Park, check out are best 3-day Yosemite Valley Itinerary.
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Top 8 Mistakes to Avoid in Yosemite to Have the Best Trip
1. Sleeping in
We know this advice is brutal to hear, but it is our biggest piece of advice when visiting Yosemite. Do not sleep in. If you want to have the best experience at the top sites in Yosemite, the best way to do that is to wake up before everyone else. We are not morning people in the slightest, so we don’t say this lightly, but waking up early really gave us the best experience in Yosemite.
We started almost every day in Yosemite around 6:00 am. Since we were camping in Upper Pines, most days we arrived at the Curry Village Coffee Corner when it opened at 6:00 am. And then we went right out to the destinations we were visiting for the day. One day, we skipped the coffee shop altogether and started hiking at 6:00 am. (This day we did the Vernal/Nevada Falls hike, and part of the trail closed at 7:00 am for trail repair work, so we needed to beat the closure!)
By starting our days just a couple hours earlier than everyone else, we were able to enjoy the top sites in Yosemite (like Glacier Point, Vernal Falls, Yosemite Falls, Cook’s Meadow Loop, and more) with few to no crowds. There was literally only one other couple at Glacier Point when we got there around 7:45 am, so we didn’t have to fight with anyone for a good photo spot or try to crop out random strangers in our photos. So when visiting Yosemite, brave the early mornings to get the best experience!
We should note that we were camping in Yosemite Valley, so we didn’t have to drive as far for certain sites as someone coming from hotels outside the park. Getting into Yosemite Valley from hotels in nearby towns requires at least an hour drive. Thus, if you’re staying in a hotel outside the park and visiting sites in Yosemite Valley, you’ll need to get an even earlier start to beat the crowds. But some top sites are far from the campgrounds in the Valley too—like Glacier Point, so there’s really no way to completely avoid the long drives in Yosemite.
2. Forgetting to check park and trail conditions right before you go
Before you leave for Yosemite, be sure to check the National Park Service (NPS) website for current park conditions. The NPS website will tell you important information about road closures, trail closures, and weather concerns. Certain roads frequently close in the winter and spring months due to snow, ice, and snow melt. You’ll want to make sure that everywhere you plan to visit on your trip to Yosemite is still accessible. The park has also closed due to forest fires before, so just make sure that everything is open before you go.
Additionally, you want to check for any trail closures on trails you plan to hike in Yosemite. The NPS periodically does trail work to keep the trails in safe condition, and they will close down portions of a trail for this work.
For example, when we visited, the Mist Trail—the popular route to Vernal Falls, Nevada Falls, and Half Dome—was completely closed on weekdays from 7:00 am – 3:00 pm. Because we had checked the NPS website beforehand, we knew we needed to get to Mist Trail before 7:00am. As long as you get on the trail before the closure time, they will let you continue on the trail even after they close it.
Checking conditions in advance also allows you to pack and dress appropriately. During our visit, most days were set to be sunny with a high of 75. However, as the altitude changed so did the weather. For example, one morning at our base camp it was a brisk 60 degrees, but as we ascended to the peak of Glacier Point, the weather dropped to a nearly freezing 34 degrees! So make sure you pack warm clothing just in case!
3. Not bringing a bike
We WISH we had brought our bikes to Yosemite Valley. There are great bike paths that go all around the top sites in Yosemite Valley, and we saw lots of people biking around. Not only did biking in Yosemite look fun, but it also seemed incredibly practical. Why is biking a good idea in Yosemite Valley? Two reasons: 1) finding a parking spot for your car can be very difficult and you won’t want to move your car once you’ve parked; and 2) bikes can take you some places faster than a car.
How are bikes faster than a car? In Yosemite Valley, the road is a one-way loop that goes around the entire Valley. This means that even if you need to go only a short distance as the crow flies, you’ll have to drive all the way around if it’s in the opposite direction of the road. And if you miss your turn, you’ll also be stuck going all the way around.
All that to say – bring your bike to Yosemite! You’ll have a lot of fun and save some time and hassle.
4. Going on weekends
Try not to go to Yosemite on a weekend if at all possible. In terms of mistakes to avoid in Yosemite, we understand that going on a weekend may be inevitable for you depending on your work, school, or family schedules. But if you have the flexibility to take the time to visit Yosemite on weekdays instead of a weekend, it will be worth it.
There are markedly less crowds in Yosemite on the weekdays than the weekend. In fact, in Curry Village, they have a foot traffic tracker that tracks how many people walk through Curry Village on each day of the week, and there are thousands more people on the weekends.
But if you can’t make it to Yosemite on a weekday, then we really emphasize our advice above to get an early start, especially on the weekends. You can still beat the crowds if you get to the top sites early!
5. Forgetting to download offline maps
Another mistake to avoid in Yosemite is forgetting to download offline maps! Yosemite is in the wilderness, which means very limited cell service. There was a little bit of cell service right outside the Village Store and Grill at Yosemite Village. And surprisingly we got good cell service at the very top of Sentinel Dome. But otherwise, throughout most of the park, we had no service at all.
Since there’s so little cell service in the park, do yourself a favor and offline Google maps for the entire area of the park where you plan to be, including the route leading to the park entrance. Service can be spotty even on the drive to Yosemite, but you won’t have any trouble getting there if you download Google maps on your phone.
Don’t know how to download offline maps? Check out Google’s tutorial on downloading offline maps.
6. Not wearing sunblock
This mistake may seem obvious, but it’s worth emphasizing because the sun in Yosemite is strong, and it can ruin your trip if you get a bad sunburn at the beginning. Wear sunblock, even if the temperatures feel cold outside. The sun may be burning you even if it is cool outside.
We were surprised at how chilly it was in September at certain top sites in Yosemite, like Glacier Point, Taft Point, and Sentinel Dome. (Those sites are chillier due to their higher altitudes.) But even with the chill, we still got plenty of sun! So don’t make the mistake of forgetting sunscreen, getting burned, and being miserable on the rest of your trip to Yosemite.
7. Entering the park without a full gas tank
Another mistake to avoid in Yosemite is forgetting to fill up your gas tank before entering the park. Yosemite National Park is HUGE and you have to drive for at least an hour within the park just to get from the entrance to the top sites in Yosemite Valley.
There are several gas stations inside the park not far from different park entrances, so depending on which entrance you take, you should be able to stop for gas right after you arrive at the park.
For example, if you’re coming to Yosemite from Southern California, you will likely enter via the South Entrance, on Highway 41, and there is a Chevron gas station right after the South Entrance.
Alternatively, if you’re coming to Yosemite from the Bay Area, you will likely enter via either the Big Oak Flat Entrance on Highway 120, or the Arch Rock Entrance on Highway 140. For the Big Oak Flat Entrance, you can stop for gas at the Crane Flat Gas Station, about 15 minutes into the park near Tuolumne Grove. For the Arch Rock Entrance, you’ll need to stop for gas before entering Yosemite National Park, and the last gas station is a different Chevron, on Highway 140.
And as you’re planning your itinerary in Yosemite, make sure you keep in mind if you have enough gas for each stop. You don’t want to be stranded in this national park with no gas and no cell service.
8. Leaving food in your car
Why can’t you leave food in your car in Yosemite? Bears. You’ll see signs all over the park warning you about black bears and their powerful sense of smell. Did you know that black bears’ sense of smell is 7 times stronger than a bloodhound? Bears can smell food from several miles away, including food in your car.
So even if you are not camping or backpacking in Yosemite, you still risk bears breaking into your car to steal food while you are out day hiking. You’ll even see photos posted in Yosemite of cars that have been broken into by bears. The instructions posted in Yosemite say that if you must leave food in your car, make sure it is out of sight completely with all windows closed.
To be safe, you should always keep all your food with you when you’re out of your car. Or for some hiking excursions, you can store your food in a bear box at the trailhead. (For example, the trailhead for Sentinel Dome and Taft Point has bear boxes in the parking lot where you can store food while you hike).