10 Best Things to do in Yosemite National Park For Newcomers

Yosemite National Park is one of the most famous national parks in the world. With many things to do and the ability to do them in one day or longer, this post will show you the top options there are for your 1st visit. 

10 best things to do in Yosemite:

1. Do the scenic drive onTioga road.
2. Hike around Lembert Dome.
3. Explore Teyana lake.
4. Do the scenic drive around Yosemite Valley.
5. Hike up lower Yosemite Falls.
6. Hike up to upper Yosemite Falls (good 3-4 hour hike).
7. Take a dip in Merced river.
8. Visit the famous Tunnel View Overlook.
9. Hike to Bridal Veil Falls.
10. Do the Wawona scenic drive.

Many of these activities can be done in a one day trip to Yosemite or over a couple of days. I’ll be covering some options for that (one day trips) a little further below.

Best times to visit Yosemite:

1) Explore Tioga Pass Yosemite scenic drive (eastern road):

There are 2 main drives into Yosemite National Park (there is a third, but it mixes into the 2 main ones). The larger, most known about road is 120 which is also known as Tioga Pass and it’ll allow you to enter the national park from the eastern or western end. The first time I visited Yosemite, I entered it through the eastern end of Tioga Pass and let me tell you, it was an incredible scenic drive. The western side of it is not that interesting, but if you are planning to visit Yosemite and you’re coming in from the east, this is the road that’ll take you there and even before you enter the park, the scenery will be incredible, trust me on that! There’s scenic stops, waterfalls, mountain ranges and much more to explore around this area and it’s one of the best things to do in Yosemite National Park!

Winter time note: During winter (or whenever there is a storm), the eastern side of Tioga Pass often closes down so before you do this drive, make sure to check the Tioga Pass conditions here. In fact, this road closes for many months in my experience and if you don’t know about this beforehand and are coming in from the east, you next option to access this park will come from accessing it from the west (which would take you several hours to reach, not good).

2) Hike Lembert Dome:

Lembert Dome is the first major dome mountain we saw in Yosemite and after noticing how uniquely shaped it was, we decided to stop and hiked it a bit. The dome in some ways resembles a stunt skateboard tamp, but just a 1,000 times larger and there is a trail that goes around the dome and then on top of it you wish to hike it.

In our case, we went up the dome itself as high as we could and imagined how cool and deadly it would be if it rained and could slide down it. But either way, this particular area was a great first stop for us.

3) Check out Teyana Lake:

As soon as we did out short hike at Lembert Dome, we continued west to see what else Yosemite had to offer and I have to be honest, aside from other dome mountains and some beautiful scenic overlooks, the road didn’t really offer much else for us.

Up until our visit to this park, we’d been traveling from Utah, and visiting the Mighty 5 National Parks and doing some of the many scenic drives in Utah, and so our expectations were quite high.

But in this case, we didn’t really feel the stunning beauty of Yosemite’s scenic drive until we hit Teyana Lake which was right off the road and impossible to miss. It’s a very large and beautiful lake with Emerald green water that reminded me of the Emerald Lake my buddy and I saw in the Canadian Rockies when we did our western Canada road trip and this would turn out to be a nice spot to stop and rest at.

Unfortunately, the water was a bit too cold for us to swim in, but it is possible there, as is camping, nearby hiking, kayaking and more. And if neither of those things interest you, then just enjoy the views at Teyana Lake because they are very beautiful!

4) Do the Yosemite scenic drive (in the Valley):

Folks, let me tell you that any bit of doubt I had about Yosemite’s beauty was put to rest once we made our way down to and through Yosemite Valley. Yosemite Valley is that place that nearly everyone brags about when they visit this place and for obvious reasons like the photo you see to the right:

But continuing down into Yosemite Valley would prove to be an even bigger treat, as the scenic drive through this spot was quite possibly one of the most beautiful scenic drives I’d ever done in my life! In fact, this ranks as one of my top scenic drives in northern California, and it’s possibly at the top considering it’s beauty. Just as well I will confidently say that this is one of the best scenic drives in North America that I’ve done (and will continue to drive through).

The good news is that this particular drive is a loop and without stopping, takes you about 30 minutes to complete. But be sure to stop because almost all of the fun activities you can do in Yosemite start in the valley area.

A note about the Yosemite scenic loop trail:

To my knowledge, there is an 11 mile trail which goes around Yosemite Valley, which you can either drive or walk through. Depending on your time constraints and preferences, you can do either the drive or walk.

5) Hike up lower Yosemite Falls:

One of the most famous waterfalls and photogenic spots in all of Yosemite National Park is lower Yosemite Falls which is located right in the valley area. There is a very large parking area and hike available to tourists to first walk up to the base of lower Yosemite Falls (which is the picture you see here) and it’s a very simple walk (no hiking involved), but then there is a 3 mile hike to reach the top of that waterfall if you choose.

I’ve been to this specific area twice. The first time was in the summer time when there was literally 0 water flow, so we decided against doing the hike (also because it was hot). And the second time I was here, the waterfall was good and I was ready to do the hike myself, only to be stopped when I saw a bear cub on the path I was walking, which forced me to turn around and head back to a different trail.

Either way, you have options here: If you wish to just see the lower Yosemite Falls, then you can easily walk up to it. And if you wish to do the hike, it’s not that difficult.

6) Hike up to upper Yosemite Falls:

Right behind lower Yosemite Falls is another, much more gigantic waterfall called Upper Yosemite Falls and if the water level on it is high enough, you can see it in the distance. More importantly, you can get close to it by hiking up to it.

After my encounter with the bear cub and deciding to turn back around, I decided to try another hike to see the top of Lower Falls, and also hike up to Upper Yosemite Falls and I discovered a really cool 7-8 mile trail not far from Lower Yosemite Falls that is called Upper Yosemite Falls Trail which you can find on regular maps and also on Alltrails. This hike isn’t easy as you have to go through a lot of switch backs while hiking up, but you get amazing views of Yosemite Valley as you do it.

In my case though, while getting to the second mile of this trail, 2 bad things happened:

1. First, clouds came in making it impossible to see the valley, let alone not making it worth it to go further (all I saw was a blank view).
2. Second, I literally encountered a mountain lion on the trail which thankfully ignored me.

If you love hiking, this is a great trail to check out (with others), but be aware of the difficulty and possible dangers.

7) Swim in Merced river:

As it turned out, during the time we’d visited Yosemite National Park, there was a huge drought, so much so that not only was lower and upper Yosemite completely dry, but we couldn’t even see a single waterfall in Yosemite Valley and while that was a major downer, it didn’t stop us from wanting to take a dip in the river that runs through Yosemite Valley: Merced River, where there was plenty of water available to us!

Not only is this river a really awesome rest stop to swim, camp and rest at, but the views of the giant mountains of Yosemite that surround you adds to the scenery (as you can see above). The dip we took in Merced river was a refreshing way to end our one day trip to Yosemite as we made our way further east then towards San Francisco.

8) Stop at Tunnel View Yosemite:

While there are tons of iconic photos of Yosemite National Park, in my experience the most popular is of Tunnel View, and it’s likely you have also seen this photo from one or more sources. It’s basically the most scenic view of Yosemite Valley and the first time I visited this park, I missed it.

On my second visit I came across it and had to spend some time just enjoying the scenery (which is stunning). Tunnel View is the most famous overlook in the park to my knowledge and it’s simple to access.

You just drive up to it and considering that there’s parking, you can spend as much time as you want enjoying the views (there will likely be other people there too). Next to this parking lot, there is a popular hiking trail called Artist Point trail (an optional hike to check out). In any case, there is a long tunnel right next to this area you will either enter into to see Tunnel View, or exit out of the park when you leave it and I strongly recommend that if you visit Yosemite National Park, that you make this stop one of the mandatory ones to see.

9) Hike to Bridal Veil Falls:

Another hard to miss amazing waterfall as you do the scenic drive through Yosemite Valley is Bridal Veil Falls. It’s over 1,000 feet high and there are 2 ways to explore it:

1. You will see it while you are on Yosemite Valley’s scenic drive (if the water level is good of course). There is a parking area not far from it where you can take amazing pictures of it (like the one you see in this post).
2. You can literally hike up to the base of it and I wouldn’t even call this a hike since it’s only about 1/4 miles to reach it and the path to it is on concrete. It’s basically just as simple of a walk to reach as Lower Yosemite Falls (and I like this one much more).

In my personal case, I was only able to take pictures in the parking lot of this waterfall because the main “hike” to it is actually closed off currently (construction). Either way, you can (and should) take a few minutes to stop and enjoy this amazing waterfall when you visit Yosemite.

10) Do the Wawona Yosemite scenic drive:

Wawona is the second major scenic drive that takes you into Yosemite Valley (like Tioga Pass) and it might be just as scenic if not more so than Tioga in my opinion. This road enters Yosemite from the south (Tioga enters the national park from the east and west ends) but they both merge together at Yosemite Valley drive.

In this case though, the drive itself before you reach Yosemite Valley is stunning and there are many views and stops to make as you get closer to Yosemite National Park. Furthermore, the Wawona scenic drive is the same road which passes by Tunnel View and there’s several ways to explore it:

You can either enter through that road, then exit out of it if you are staying in the same area. Or perhaps if you are coming in from the west or east side of the park (Tioga Pass), and leaving through the south, you will exit out this drive and it’s a great way to finish you day trip to Yosemite. I was fortunate enough to make this drive when autumn was in Yosemite National Park and that made it even better.

One Day Trip Ideas for Yosemite:

Yosemite National Park offers incredible sights and experiences, even if you have just one day. Here are a few itineraries based on different interests:

1. Classic Yosemite Highlights

Perfect for first-time visitors who want to see the park’s iconic landmarks.

• Morning:
  • Start at Yosemite Valley. Visit the Tunnel View overlook for a breathtaking view of El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall.
  • Stop at Bridalveil Fall for a short hike to the base (0.5 miles round trip).
• Midday:
  • Visit Yosemite Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in North America. Take the easy Lower Yosemite Fall Trail (1 mile round trip).
  • Have lunch at the Yosemite Valley Lodge or bring a picnic to enjoy near the falls.
• Afternoon:
  • Drive or take the shuttle to Glacier Point for panoramic views of the valley, Half Dome, and the surrounding peaks.

2. Waterfalls and Scenic Walks

Ideal for those visiting in spring when the waterfalls are at their peak.

• Morning:
  • Begin with Yosemite Falls. Hike the Lower Yosemite Fall Trail or take the longer Columbia Rock Trail (2 miles round trip) for a closer view.
  • Head to Sentinel Meadow for views of Yosemite Falls framed by lush greenery.
• Midday:
  • Visit Bridalveil Fall and feel the mist on your face.
  • Have lunch near El Capitan Meadow, where you might spot climbers scaling the massive granite face.
• Afternoon:
  • Hike to Vernal Fall via the Mist Trail (2.4 miles round trip). If you have time and energy, continue to Nevada Fall (5.4 miles round trip).

3. Adventure and Hiking Focus

Great for active travelers seeking iconic hikes.

• Morning:
  • Start with the Mist Trail to Vernal Fall and, if time allows, extend to Nevada Fall.
• Midday:
  • Have a picnic lunch at Happy Isles or the Merced River near Curry Village.
• Afternoon:
  • Explore Glacier Point or take a short hike to Taft Point (2.2 miles round trip) for stunning views of Yosemite Valley and El Capitan.

4. Photography and Scenic Drives

Designed for photographers and those seeking the best viewpoints.

• Morning:
  • Start with sunrise at Tunnel View for golden light over Yosemite Valley.
  • Drive to El Capitan Meadow for dramatic views of the towering granite wall.
• Midday:
  • Head to Cook’s Meadow Loop for reflections of Yosemite Falls in the calm waters.
  • Have lunch at Degnan’s Kitchen in Yosemite Village.
• Afternoon:
  • End your day at Glacier Point or Sentinel Dome for sunset views.

Tips for a One-Day Yosemite Visit

1. Arrive Early: Beat the crowds and secure parking by entering the park before 8:00 AM.
2. Pack Essentials: Bring water, snacks, sunscreen, and sturdy shoes for hiking.
3. Use the Shuttle: The free Yosemite shuttle makes it easy to move between key locations in the valley.
4. Plan Ahead: Decide on your must-see spots to maximize your time.

Also a quick note about airports that are close to this park:

There’s several and I cover the closest airport to Yosemite National Park here.