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what do in Yosemite national park

When we first booked our Californian road trip, we were majorly winging it. We didn’t have much of a clue about California, just that it had plenty of beaches, cool places and a very pleasant climate. We started researching National Parks and decided to plan Yosemite and Sequoia into our itinerary. So, at this point we had spent three nights in San Francisco, picked up our Campervan and were headed to Yosemite. The campervan is a whole other post in itself so I will give you the lowdown on that soon!

All I knew about Yosemite was that it looked pretty epic from the photos, it’s used as the Apple screensaver and I have a sweatshirt from Brandy Melville that says Yosemite on it. Helpful.

The Lowdown

Location: Yosemite National Park, California

Length of Stay: 3 nights

Vital Info: Bring your walking boots, plenty of snacks & stay at least 3 nights

Where to Stay

I had a little research on the official website and it stated that camping needs to be booked six months prior as they sell out SO quickly. Boy, you aint kidding. We logged on exactly six months before our date of arrival and they had all already sold out. It was a blessing in disguise though! We booked into nearby Yosemite Lakes RV Resort, as we had a campervan it meant we could sleep in this and it saved us from booking into any expensive lodging. This resort wasn’t within the National Park grounds but it saved us from an extra trek up the mountain roads, which was already pretty terrifying. You can either then drive into the National Park, or catch a Yart bus which takes you straight to the centre of it all.

The RV site was a completely new experience for me, I’ve never camped in the UK apart from at festivals and I was totally hesitant about it. Who knew I would take to it like a duck to water? I loved the simplicity of camp life, and the RV park was so friendly and had a handy shop just up the road along with a petrol garage. We’d head up to the shop to buy our groceries and make our sandwiches for the day ahead. In the evenings we’d chill out in the clubhouse or play a little badminton. The toilets were clean but I didn’t brave the showers, I went festival style and made use of the baby wipes I’d packed instead!

WOODY
Yosemite Lakes RV Resort
Yosemite Lakes RV Resort 2

What to Do

Hiking, hiking, and more hiking! Once you’ve found yourself in the central area of the park you’ll find yourself greeted with an overwhelming number of bus stops. These are all free shuttle buses that will take you around the park and to your chosen trail, the park is absolutely huge so these are much needed! There’s also a visitor centre, grill, shop and a couple other buildings. If you’re not sure which trail is best suited for you, head to the visitor centre where someone will help out. The trails are rated in terms of difficulty, we went for the ones that didn’t look *too* strenuous including the Mirror Lake Trail and Lower Yosemite Falls. Both were absolutely beautiful! Every turn you’re greeted with a postcard-like image and an abundance of natural beauty. We were lucky to visit at a time where there was tonnes of water, so the waterfalls were in full flow.

Yosemite Mirror Lake
Yosemite National Park 2
Yosemite National Park 5
Walking Boots

Charlie’s Palladium Boots / My Palladium Boots

I would 100% recommend investing in a pair of good quality walking boots if you’re visiting Yosemite. Initially I was just going to take trainers but luckily the kind folks over at Palladium provided us with two fabulous pairs of walking boots! I’m SO glad we had these as they gave much needed ankle support and comfort, I could walk in them for eight hours a day and not so much as a rub or blister. Plus they also sell canvas styles which are vegan friendly, woop!

Yosemite National Park 1
Charlie Yosemite
Yosemite National Park 6

We hit the National Park everyday of our stay as we really wanted to make the most of it, it’s such a magical place and photos just don’t do it justice! I felt so content here and loved spending the day walking, chatting and being free of technology. It was busy, yet so peaceful. I’ve never felt such an urgent need to return somewhere, and hopefully in the not too distant future I will. I always thought of myself as more of a luxury hotel kinda girl, but I absolutely loved our time in Yosemite and found it 100 times more exciting than our 5 star hotel in Vegas. It was a great adventure, and who knew I had such an outdoorsy human lurking within me…

Yosemite Blogger Guide
Yosemite National Park 3

I hope you enjoyed having a peek at our time in Yosemite, next up on the road trip we hit another National Park! Keep your eyes peeled…

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