If you arrive in Fresno, you will want to take the Yellow line. The two routes we suggest below are a scenic route via Highway 140 or a faster route viaHighway 120. You can, however, get by with only transferring once if you take a Greyhound bus to Merced ($20, three hours and 45 minutes), then transfer onto the YARTS bus ($5 to $10, two hours and 45 minutes), which will take you all the way to the visitor center. The Big Oak Flat Entranceone of fiveis open year-round. An inspiring one-day tour to Yosemite National Park and its Giant Sequoias from San Francisco. This way you can spread your trip from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park over 2 or 3 days. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Los Angeles She has traveled to 60 countries before the age of 30 while running several digital travel publications. Photographers angling for the perfect shots of Half Dome. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, USA Today, Michelin Guides, Hemispheres, DuJour, and Forbes. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Meanwhile, if you are planning a longer trip to Yosemite, such as 3+ days, it may make more sense to take either a private shuttle bus (if you dont want to deal with driving and parking) or public transportation such as Amtrak train + YARTS bus to get from SanFrancisco to Yosemite. Its better if you have two drivers so you can switch off driving responsibilities if one of yip get tired, but its also manageable to do it yourself if you need to. The drive is too long for any ride share or taxi service, so we would recommend nixing Uber or Lyft right off the bat. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. You can choose to depart at either 7am or 1pm. Her writing and podcast have been featured in Forbes, CBC Canada, National Geographic, the Huffington Post, and CNN Arabic, amongst others. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Every year, the 1,200-square-mile park attracts millions of visitors who come here to go camping, hiking, climbing, or just to admire the scenery. Youll have about six hours to independently explore the Yosemite Valley, which will give you time to snap photos of El Capitan, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls (seasonal), etc. This tour includes round-trip transportation to the park with pick-up/drop-off service from most hotels in Downtown San Francisco and Fisherman's Wharf. 
A graduate of the University of Maryland and University of Southern California, he has been leading tours for Free Tours by Foot since 2015. Travelers can choose from stopping at the Yosemite Valley Lodge or the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. Discover destinations, find outdoor adventures, follow the journeys of our travel writers around the world, and be inspired. The best time to travel to Yosemite is during May and September, when most things in the park are open (not all things: Tioga Pass sometimes isn't clear enough to open until July and closes in November), but summer crowds aren't at their peak. First, you can take the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train from Civic Center/UN PlazaStation to Dublin/Pleasanton Station, a 50-minute ride that costs about $7.10. Camping in Yosemite: If you're interested in spending a night under the stars, you can choose from Yosemite's array of excellent campgrounds. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. As an Airbnb Associate, I earn when you book through my links. This way youll be able to better document your once-in-a-lifetime experience of Yosemite National Park. New Orleans All of the extra windows on the Observation Car will offer incredible views as the Yosemite train chugs along past Glacier Point. We've updated our Privacy Policy, which will go in to effect on September 1, 2022. And it definitely leaves no time for seeing the giant sequoias, which are located outside of Yosemite Valley in Tuolumne Grove, Mariposa Grove, and Merced Grove. Its also a popular route for people driving to Yosemite from the San Jose area. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Once you arrive in Yosemite, youll have an endless amount of unique Yosemite tours to choose from. In spring, redbud trees sprout magenta-colored blooms along its banks and the river rises high enough to accommodate whitewater rafters, but its a pretty drive in any season. Be cautious, no matter how you arrive, for how winter road closures within and around Yosemite National Park might affect your travels. Rome 
Yosemite is about 170 miles away from San Francisco and about a 4-hour drive. However, organized tours make it possible to visit Yosemite from San Francisco in just one day. While having your own transport is handy when zipping around to the different viewpoints in Yosemite (some hours away from each other), sticking exclusively to public transportation is also an option with the park's free shuttle. Read more about this shuttle service in our post onthings to do in Yosemite National Park. Interstate 80 will lead you into Oakland, where you can merge onto 580 East for 45 miles (72 kilometers), then State Route 120. We also recommend this service instead of taking public transportation on your own, if you don't want to deal with a complicated, time-consuming journey from San Francisco to Yosemite. The cheapest way to get from San Francisco to Yosemite is by a series of buses and a train. It's also easy to travel from San Francisco to Yosemite by car, and it's feasible to get there by train or bus. The road enters the park via Arch Rock. Charleston 
The entire journey is about six hours but is stress-free because the service coordinates everything for you and even includes the Yosemite National Park entrance fee. This tour includes a visit to several notable sites such as Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls. Chicago 
Youll disembark in Fresno, where you will be shuttled to sleeping accommodations. Youll enjoy a scenic train ride through Californias Central Valley. Its open most of the time and passes through the towns of Mariposa and Fish Camp. This website uses cookies to improve your browsingexperience and analyze the use of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Jillian Dara is a freelance journalist and fact-checker. 
The service takes care of all the travel arrangements for each step of the journey: an organized bus ride from San Francisco to the Amtrak train station in Oakland, a train ride to Merced and then a transfer by motor coach to Yosemite with a drop-off near several popular hotels. Maybe you want to visit other Northern California destinations like Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, or maybe you want to see other Sierra Nevada national parks (Sequoia NP, Kings Canyon NP) along the way perhaps you even want to make your way down to Southern California and Los Angeles and see some of the SoCal national parks as well! Philadelphia Book your semi-independent small group tour of the Yosemite Valley from San Francisco here! Thrill-seekers will be happy to know there are also Yosemite zipline tours, just south of the park! Private guided hikes of Yosemitewill help you get better acquainted with the area so you can go back and explore your favorite parts on your own. Altogether, the trip requires three transfers, takes about seven hours (not including waiting times for buses), and costs between $13 and $23. Depending on how long you are planning to stay in Yosemite National Park, you may want to get a really early start if you drive your own car into Yosemite. Once at Yosemite, you have 5- 6 hours of free time to explore the park. Climbers scaling the impossibly vertical El Capitan. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); California Crossroads is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. You will have a live guide providing commentary in English. As far as waterfalls, the park is home to dozens, including one of the world's tallest: Yosemite Falls. This is usually the route that most GPS services will suggest. Book your Yosemite day trip from San Francisco here! It returns daily from Yosemite Valley to San Francisco at 3 PM. Winter in Yosemite National Park, while beautiful, is a different experience entirely. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Paris You will be given a free map and an audio tour of the park offered in several languages. Camping equipment and fees for tents are included,except for sleeping bags. 12 Best Yosemite Valley Hikes for All Levels, Where to Find Giant Sequoias in Yosemite: 3 Serene Sequoia Groves, 30 Useful Things to Know Before Visiting Yosemite in Winter & Best Things to Do. Take the BART train from San Francisco to Richmond station, the last stop on the "Richmond line." The nearest gas pumps to Yosemite Valley are open year-round inside the park at Wawona (45 minutes south of the valley on Wawona Road) and Crane Flat (30 minutes northwest on Big Oak Flat Road). Once inside Yosemite, you can use this free shuttle service to get around the park. Use this link to Google Maps for specific directions and routes that you can take from your point of departure anywhere in San Francisco. Several tour companies offer day trips from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park. Note that some roads may be closed during certain times of the year, so before you depart for Yosemite, check the National Park Services Current Conditions page. At the end of the second day, youll be dropped off to meet your train back to San Francisco. Nashville Sometimes, you can snag a cheap return flight to Merced from Oakland International Airport, but the drive from Merced to Yosemite Valley is two hours long (on top of the 45-minute flight). This is one of the most well-known bus tour companies in the world and they offer an excellent day trip to Yosemite National Park. 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What Is There to Do in Yosemite National Park? Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System offers public transport to and from locations such as Groveland, Mariposa, and Merced. Hikers craning their necks to see the canopy of giant sequoias. Driving Directions from San Francisco to Yosemite: Take I-80 E over the Bay Bridge towards Oakland. NOTE: City Sightseeing also offers day trips to the Muir Woods, Sausalito, Sonoma Valley, and other locations. From Merced, you transfer to the YARTS system to get to Yosemite. Sign up to receive our monthly newsletter filled with San Francisco travel tips and occasional discounts on tours and rentals. It eventually becomes I-205 E around Tracy, until you reach Manteca. If you only have time for a day trip to Yosemite from SF, then it makes sense to pick one of the less time-consuming options. Oakdale is the largest town east of Highway 99, so stop here for groceries to avoid paying a fortune at the Village Store. Otherwise, you can catch the Merced County Bus, a Greyhound, or the Amtrak, but none of those go into the park. There, youll connect to a YARTS bus. Britt is a San Francisco Bay Area native, and has spent 25 years in this magical city. small group sequoia hike-focused tour of Yosemite, small group tour focuses on Yosemite Valley, One Day in Yosemite National Park: Itinerary for a Quick Day Trip (2022). Budget provides rental cars from a location in downtown San Francisco. The UNESCO-listed Yosemite National Park is a place of awe-inspiring natural wonders: a majestic glacier-sculpted valley blanketed in flowering meadows and festooned with rushing waterfalls that plunge from granite cliffs. We always suggest spending at least two days in Yosemite, if you can swing it. SMALL GROUP TOUR |Thissmall group guidedday tourof Yosemite includes pickup and drop-off (from either San Francisco or the Dublin BART station if youre located elsewhere in the Bay Area). Youll get to see Tuolumne Grove, Tunnel View, Half Dome, the Yosemite Valleyfloor (where you can take a break to hop in the Merced River if the weather allows! The Yosemite Valley Shuttle (operating year-round) takes tourists to the park's main attractions and stopping points near all Yosemite National Park hotels, as well as some campsites including Upper Pines Campground and Housekeeping Camp. Duration: 15 hours (including travel time), Tickets: $189/Adults | $175/Children *Discounts in winter months, Keep driving on I-580 and merge onto I-205, Continue on I-205 and merge onto I-5 for a short while, Drive past Manteca on Hwy 120 and merge onto Hwy 99, After driving past Merced, merge onto Hwy 140, Take Hwy 140 all the way to Yosemite National Park, Take Hwy 120 all the way to Yosemite National Park. Betsy has been writing about California for nearly more than two decades as TripSavvy's expert on the state. If youre trying to save some money on hotels, consider staying in one of those towns and using YARTS to travel to Yosemite National Park. The historic Awhanhee hotel in Yosemite Valley is a fantastic option! Start planning your trip to Yosemite with our list of transportation options. Many tourists plan to see Yosemite while visiting San Francisco, about 200 miles away. A guided tour from San Francisco to Yosemite isnt the cheapest, but it is definitely the most efficient and the least stressful. If you take Hwy 120, consider stopping at Oakdale, which is a bit more than halfway between the city and the park. Note: Some businesses may be temporarily closed due to recent global health and safety issues. For once, it gives you very little time for hiking. The Yosemite National Park and Giant Sequoias Day Trip allows you to get the most out of your limited time in the Sierra Nevada mountains. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Their minibuses are comfortable and the small groups create an intimate experience that bigger bus tours just cant recreate. She has spent time living in New York, Prague, and Sofia, but has returned to live in the East Bay. Another good place to break up the journey is just over a two-hour drive east of San Francisco in Knights Ferry. When Is the Best Time to Travel to Yosemite National Park? Then, youll go from Emeryville through the scenic San Joaquin Valley for several hours. The trip starts out on Highway I-580 east to I-205 east and then continues on Highway 120 east until reaching Yosemite National Park. On this tour, youll get the chance to see El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridalveil Falls, and Sentinel Dome, Inspiration Point, and so many more wonderful sites. Miami Purchase an Amtrak train ticket to Merced, unless you have already purchased a ticket online. After exiting Merced station, take the Yosemite Area Regional Transit System (YARTS) Bus to Yosemite National Park. Weather-permitting, you will be able to take a one-mile Giant Sequoia Walk. After your Yosemite bus tour, youll break for lunch and have free time to hike on your own. However, this is the slowest option. 2. You may want to consider a stop in Mariposa, an old mining town with a classic old-fashioned main street and several interesting shops to see. This shuttle bus only brings you to the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center, but from there, you can take YARTS to Tuolumne Meadows and Mariposa and other places along the outskirts of the park. Learn More. P.S. The BART train ride from San Francisco to Richmond takes about 35 minutes. In that case, taking a rental car or driving in your own car if youre local can be more economical than taking guided tour. Theres nothing like a nice cup of camp coffee while taking in all the fresh air , A post shared by Incredible Adventures (@incadventures) on May 11, 2018 at 4:37am PDT. The next morning youll join a small shuttle bus to explore parts of Yosemite normally closed off to bigger tour buses. Whats the Most Scenic Route to Yosemite National Park? You'll get impressive views ofLake Don Pedro,the Stanislaus National Forest, and the Tuolumne River Canyon, too. Extranomical offers an array of services, including San Francisco bus tours, wine tasting tours, and more. Briefly, youll merge onto I-5 North; shortly thereafter, youll merge onto CA-120, which will take you all the way to the Yosemite area. Youll spend two nights at your campsite and will have Yosemite guided hikes and free time during your stay. The four-hour drive makes for a great road tripespecially when you consider the convenience of a car in getting around the park itself. Perhaps you want to visitYosemite National Park from San Francisco as part of a larger California road trip. This multi-day Yosemite tour begins from the Amtrak Transbay Terminal in the SOMA neighborhood. 
This guided tour stops at Gold Rush towns on the way to Yosemite and then covers the highlights of Yosemite National Park, including a hike through Tuolumne Grove and a photo-op at Tunnel View with Half Dome in the background. However, if you are staying in Yosemite for a few days, a shuttle bus becomes a better and better option, since you have less of a time crunch. For the real adventurer, there are plenty of opportunities for a thrill, including rock climbing, zip lining, and rafting tours. The train is very peaceful, with beautiful scenery and WiFi along the way to enjoy. Read my privacy policy and disclaimer here. This tour operates every day between April and October, and Thursday - Sunday in the winter months. Then once youre ready to head back to the city, you can catch the Grayline bus from Yosemite to San Francisco. ), El Capitan, and stop in Oakdale for both breakfast and dinner. But you can takeeither anAmtraktrain or a Greyhoundbus to the town of Merced. Blue connects Merced to Mariposa, Midpines, and El Portal before reaching the Valley Visitor Center. These cookies do not store any personal information. Driving from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park is a bit tiring, since it involves some tedious parts where you need to pay close attention (such as the switchbacks up a high mountain pass). It may be the cheapest way to get from San Francisco to Yosemite, but it's certainly one of the most exhausting. The Knights Ferry Recreation Area is only a slight detour from the Highway 120 route to Yosemite, on a scenic portion of the drive in the Sierra Nevada foothills. See our post on things to do at Yosemite National Park to plan your free time.
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