Yosemite National Park

El Capitan is not the tallest rock face in Yosemite, but it is the largest granite monolith in the United States, and what makes it remarkable geologically is that it barely fractured. When glaciers carved the Yosemite Valley roughly 10,000 years ago by quarrying along joints and weaknesses in the surrounding granite, El Capitan resisted because its particular granite cooled with far fewer fractures than the formations beside it. The result is a 914-metre vertical face of almost uninterrupted stone, which is why climbers have been trying to ascend it for over a century and why it is still the defining objective in the sport.

The Park in Brief

Yosemite covers 1,169 square miles of the central Sierra Nevada in California and spans elevations from around 600 metres at the lowest valley floors to 3,997 metres at Mount Lyell, the park’s highest peak. It was protected by federal grant in 1864, making it the first land explicitly set aside by the US government for public use and enjoyment, which predates the creation of the National Park Service by 52 years. UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site in 1984.

About 95 percent of Yosemite is designated wilderness. Most of the park’s four million annual visitors see less than one percent of that area: the seven-mile loop of Yosemite Valley.

Entry and Fees in 2026

No timed-entry reservation system is in place for 2026; Yosemite eliminated vehicle reservations after the 2025 season. You can drive in with a valid pass at any time, though Valley parking fills by 08:00 on summer weekends and entrance wait times at the gates can reach 90 minutes on peak days.

The standard seven-day vehicle pass costs $35 for US residents. A significant change took effect in January 2026: non-US-resident visitors aged 16 and older pay an additional $100 per person surcharge on top of the vehicle fee at 11 of the most-visited national parks, Yosemite included. A non-resident annual pass covering this surcharge at all included parks costs $250. Confirm current fees at the NPS website before travel, as policy is actively evolving.

The free Valley shuttle bus runs a loop connecting all major Valley stops and is the practical alternative to driving and hunting for parking during summer.

Half Dome Permits

The Half Dome cables route requires a permit every day from late May through mid-October. Two lottery systems operate: the preseason lottery (apply March 1 through 31, results in mid-April, roughly 225 permits issued per day) and the daily lottery (apply via recreation.gov two days before your intended hike, 50 additional permits). The $10 per-hiker permit fee applies on top of a $10 non-refundable lottery application fee. Odds run between 19 and 22 percent overall but improve substantially on weekdays and in September, when summer crowds have thinned and the cables are still up.

The cables came down October 13 in recent seasons; check the NPS site for the current schedule. In 2026, record-low snowpack opened them May 15, earlier than the usual Memorial Day weekend.

The hike to Half Dome from the Valley floor and back covers roughly 24 km with 1,500 metres of elevation gain. The final 120 metres ascend a near-vertical granite dome using fixed steel cables. Arriving at the base of the cables after noon in summer means descending in fading light; plan to start from the Valley before 05:00 or stay at Little Yosemite Valley campsite overnight.

El Capitan and Yosemite Falls

El Capitan’s southeast face went unmapped in detail until relatively recently despite being one of the most famous rock formations on earth. The Dawn Wall route, completed in free-climbing style by Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson in 2015, traverses the most technically difficult section of the face and took them 19 days on the wall. The base of El Capitan at El Capitan Meadow is the best ground-level vantage point; binoculars help locate climbers on the wall.

Yosemite Falls drops 739 metres in three tiers and is the tallest waterfall in North America. Peak flow runs from April through May during snowmelt; by late August in dry years it can slow to a trickle or dry completely. The best photographic light on the lower falls is in the morning.

Beyond the Valley

Glacier Point, accessible by road from late May to November, sits at 2,199 metres above sea level and provides a direct overhead view of Half Dome and the Valley floor 975 metres below. It is a 45-minute drive from the Valley; the Four-Mile Trail is a strenuous hike alternative. The full moon rises over Half Dome from this viewpoint on predictable dates each month; the Yosemite Conservancy runs guided full-moon programs.

Tuolumne Meadows, 55 km from the Valley via Tioga Road, is the largest subalpine meadow in the Sierra Nevada at 2,600 metres and receives a fraction of Valley visitor numbers despite having its own network of day hikes, a campground, and a backcountry permit system for multi-day routes into the High Sierra. Tioga Road is closed by snow from around November through May.

Mariposa Grove, in the park’s southwest corner, holds over 500 mature giant sequoias. The Grizzly Giant is estimated at 2,700 years old and has a base circumference of 29 metres; it is the largest tree in the park. The grove shuttle from Mariposa Grove Welcome Area is required when the parking lot is full, which is most summer days.

Accommodation and Camping

Reservations for in-park accommodation open five months in advance and sell out within hours. The Ahwahnee (formerly the Yosemite Valley Lodge) is the park’s historic luxury hotel, a 1927 National Historic Landmark; nightly rates run $600 to $1,200. Curry Village offers canvas tent-cabins and basic lodge rooms at 120 to 250 dollars per night. Housekeeping Camp is the most affordable in-Valley option at around 100 dollars per night for a concrete-floored canvas unit.

Valley campgrounds including Upper Pines, Lower Pines, and North Pines are reservable up to five months in advance on recreation.gov; they book immediately. Camp 4, the famous climbers’ campground near El Capitan Meadow, now requires reservations for most of the season. Walk-in or first-come sites exist in the backcountry and at some high-country campgrounds accessed via Tioga Road.

Seasonal Timing

Spring (April to May) brings peak waterfall flow and wildflower bloom. Summer (June to August) has the warmest weather and all facilities open but also four million visitors concentrated into a short window; the Valley is genuinely congested. September is the best overall month: summer crowds have thinned, temperatures are comfortable for hiking, Half Dome cables are still up, and Tioga Road is still open. Fall foliage runs through October. Winter brings snow, drastically reduced crowds, and the annual firefall phenomenon at Horsetail Fall in mid-to-late February, when low-angled evening light turns the waterfall orange for roughly ten minutes on clear days.

Practical Advice

Bear canisters are required for overnight backcountry travel and strongly recommended for Valley campgrounds. Black bears in Yosemite are habituated to humans and actively break into cars with food inside; the bear boxes at campgrounds are mandatory, not optional. Every year bears damage vehicles left with food or scented items visible.

Cellular coverage in the Valley is unreliable; download the NPS Yosemite app and offline maps before arrival. The free Valley shuttle stops running at 22:00; after that, your car or walking are your options. Check road conditions on the NPS site before driving in winter or early spring, when Tioga Road and Glacier Point Road close without notice after snowfall.

The Ansel Adams Gallery inside the Valley has original prints and photography workshops that are worth booking weeks in advance. The Yosemite Museum adjacent to it has Ahwahnechee Native American basketry and cultural material that provides context most visitors skip entirely in their rush to the trails.