We will be staying in Yosemite village. We arrive on Wednesday, hopefully early, and leaves on Friday. We plan to stay until late on Friday to make it a full day. What is must see or do given the short leangth of time?
Hiking the Mist Trail and walking up to Yosemite Falls would be top of my list.
Both items in #1 along with a drive up to Glacier Point.
Agree with #1 and would add that we enjoyed all of the trails we walked. We also took the valley floor guided tram tour which pretty short and provided a nice overview.
Glacier Point was beautiful but if I remember right it took a good bit of time to drive there and back so see if it fits into your limited timeframe.
I’ve been to Yosemite well over a dozen times. My recommendations:
- The valley floor open air tram tour is a nice, easy way to see a lot of the valley and learn a little.
- Yosemite Village has a theater that shows a documentary, "The Spirit of Yosemite" every hour. Decent documentary.
- Glacier Point is worth a visit for the views. Take the bus rather than drive to avoid the driving and parking hassles. If you like long hikes you can take the bus to Glacier Point and hike down to Yosemite Valley.
- Mist Trail to Vernal Falls can be really crowded during the summer. If you're an experienced hiker and like challenging hikes you can continue beyond Vernal Falls to Nevada Falls - nice scenery, no crowds.
Also,
- Rent a bike. It’s fairly flat and bike trails are relatively safe.
Do shuttles and trams come frequently? Do you have to make a reservation for the tram or shuttle? Day 1, we could take the tram if we can get a seat and get acquainted with the valley and maybe hike to Mirror lake if we have time. On Day 2, Panorama trail from Glacier point seems to cover a lot. Are the trails well marked?
Our family has been to yosemite a couple of times. We enjoyed the Mist Trail, and hiking as far as Nevada falls is beautiful–once you make it to the top of Vernal falls, you’re past the hardest part. We also enjoyed Sentinel Dome at sunset which is off Glacier Point Road. I love toulumne meadows but they’ve had a lot of snow this year and it may not be open.
Also been to Yosemite a dozen times. The hike to Vernal Falls is strenuous if you are not in shape.
The great news is Yosemite Valley is compact compared to other parks so you can hit the highlights in a couple days. Traffic will be your enemy so I concur with trams for most items, however getting out early is amazing. While I avoid Yosemite in the summer for a variety of reasons, I went once in July and the park is still quiet until 0800 or 0900. You can see a lot before most people eat breakfast.
- Drive to Yosemite Falls early and you will have a great hike. This gets really congested as the day goes on. You can hike to the foot of the falls. You don't have to go up higher if you don't want. This is one of the hardest places to park in Yosemite Valley so don't drive unless it is early.
- Day two go to Glacier Point first thing. This is about an hour drive from Curry Village if I remember right but it is well worth a half day. The tram works well for this too if you are not out early. The view is breathtaking. Google it.
- Hike to Bridal Veil Falls. This is a short easy hike.
- Picnic in the meadow across from Yosemite Falls. This is also near a bridge with a great view of Half Dome over the Merced River.
- Another picnic spot is the meadow near El Capitan. You can watch the crazy people climb it. :)
- Be at Tunnel View for a sunset photo. If the tram runs, you are better off because the parking lot isn't that big. I never had a problem parking but as a semi-local at the time, I wasn't there in the summer except once.
I highly recommend either the book or app, “The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite” by Michael Frye. I think it’s $10 either way and you can get the book at the visitor’s center. The app will use your GPS to help locate the best spot for iconic photos.
Cell coverage is spotty in the valley so be prepared although it’s been a few years since I’ve been there and may be better now.
@igloo, yes the trams run frequently (every 20 minutes max wait) around the valley. Out to the edges and up to glacier you have to look up the schedule. They are free in the valley, hop on hop off. I think the one to Glaicier is less than $20, maybe $7 ?? Been a long time so I really don’t know and shouldn’t say.
Trails are well marked.
Panorama trail is beautiful and not as busy as many. The valley sidewalks get VERY BUSY, yet the trail from Curry Village (or whatever the heck they call it today) to the Awanhee (or whatever the heck they call it now) along the back is often empty and quiet. You can get an ice cream bar (or a drink) and sit out on the lawn at the lodge and feel important and not spend $$$.
Walk from the Awahnee to Lower Yosemite Falls is also quiet, also you can bike to Mirror Lake, which is actually a lake this year and not mostly meadow.
Depends on how active you are, sometimes just sitting in the meadow below El Cap is great, sometime you want to get up at 6 and see if you can get in the lottery to go up Half Dome (it is doable in a day if you are pretty fit and don’t have issues with altitude).
If you are driving in or out, and have time, continue up to Tuolomne Meadows, There are a couple of hikes (??porcupine flats??, I am not sure of the names, I only know them by landmarks) Anyway, not too long of hikes out and you look down at the valley from the upper rim. Again, depending on how fit.
It IS the most beautiful place. And if you are not trampled by tour buses (which in summer take some enjoyment off for me) then you are going to wish you had longer.
And they Just Last Week opened Tioga Pass so there is still snow to be had.
Well, too late to edit to add, but BRING BINOCULARS, it is fun to spot the climbers on El Cap or Half Dome and also to see other wildlife. Bears are exceptionally active this year after having been quiet-ish for a couple of years.
You’ve received good advice as to trails. But I have another recommendation. If you love old cemeteries with a lot of history, there is an amazing one by the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. The cool part is, if you go into the visitor center and ask for a guide to the cemetery, you can borrow one. The guide will give very interesting history about the people buried in each plot. From the child who died after getting cut by stepping on glass in a lake, to a husband and wife who got married because he asked her to marry him so many times she finally gave up and said yes.
Do be aware there is poison oak in Yosemite, be careful to avoid it
All of the above and I’d add a drink or hot coco at the Awanhee. Sorry I know they’ve renamed it but that’s what it was when hubby and I spent our honeymoon there ages ago. 
@esobay, @Sportsman88, @MrLinearDad Thank you for wonderfully detailed suggestions. We will follow as much as we can. We are reasonably fit by our standard. Californians may differ on what’s fit.
Can’t wait for a trip report!
Do you know how long it takes to hike down to the valley from Glacier point by way of Panorama trail? We were going to take the shuttle from the valley to Glacier point and hike down. The earlier shuttle is sold out. Only 1:30 departure is available. Would we make it down before dark?
I checked the time stamps on some photos I took last time I did the Glacier Point->Yosemite Valley hike. We took the Four Mile Trail rather than the Panorama Trail. At an easy pace you should be able to do the Four Mile Trail in 3-1/2 hours. Once you get to the Valley it’s maybe another 30 min to walk to Yosemite Village. The Panorama Trail is longer and might be cutting it close for the 1:30 shuttle. You can easily spend an hour at Glacier Point just enjoying the view.
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