John Kline

Hi
Assistance needed- me and my other half are going to SFO early next May. We are thinking of finally going to Yosemite while based in SFO but we have both time and budgetary restrictions. Our question is- is a day trip adequate to get a flavour of Yosemite or is the minimum two days upwards?

Regards

JerseyJ

At ca 175 miles (4 hr drive with bay traffic) each way and a few more to tour round, a day seems a bit of a stretch, best idea is to drive there, overnight (see the sunset and sunrise- awesome) and then drive back next day.

magyaar

I have done Yosemite as a day trip, not to and from SFO but as a day out en route from SFO to Vegas. You can certainly get a good feel for it in that time.

highpeaklad

Don't miss the drive up to glacier point. Fantastic views 3000' sheer drop to valley floor and looking across to half dome.

Slackevans

Plenty of tours going from SFO, easily done in a day. Spectacular place to visit

diamond club freeloader

The accommodation in the national park is both truly primitive and quite expensive. The only good venue on site is the ahwahnee - though it is a nice place it is extremely costly.

If you are visiting yosemite en route to elsewhere, avoid accom in the park!

oldgoldflyer

If you are there and you are in good shape, do the hike to the top of Half Dome. That will take you a good 8-12 hours.

Land-of-Miles

MMH airport is a short and interesting flight from SFO on AS. I haven't been beyond Mammoth Lakes (The Westin there is good) and we go for the snowboarding but he Mammoth area may be a good base.

Cubiscus

The cabins in Curry Village are alright!

It's doable in a day trip, providing you start out earlier and accept it will be a very long day.

Starting in SFO should mean you miss most of the city traffic and it'll probably take you 3.5 - 4 hours to get to the valley.

tattikat2

Imagine taking a day trip to Scotland from London....by car.

You need to re-think your sense of scale when looking at the US verses the UK

chucko

You can probably make it a day trip, but once you get there you'll want to stay a bit.

Gaz

Eh? London to Scotland at well over 300 miles is more or less double the distance discussed here, which is less than Manchester to London, a return car trip I've done numerous times in one day with a good 4-5 hours there.

Not exactly fun travelling but if you only have a day and can handle long road trips, it's not that bad

COOLIO

You can stay just outside on your way in. Like a 20 min drive from the gates. A perfectly good base to drive in and see a lot. I'm fairly sure it's called Oakhurst. We stayed at fish camp which is just on the edge of the park but ended up going to oakhurst for supplies incl gas anyway and the price we paid for tenaya we wish we had stayed at oakhurst anyway.

Non-NonRev

Having been born and raised just 60 miles from the South Entrance to Yosemite (Fish Camp), I'm in complete agreement with COOLIO's plan. You could enjoy a morning and early afternoon in the San Francisco area, then depart in the afternoon (before the afternoon commute traffic builds).I would either head to Fresno (lots of moderately-priced lodging and eating options) or go on to Oakhurst (California State Highway 41 directly connects Fresno to Oakhurst to the South Entrance).

Having had a good night's rest, get an early start and spend the full day in the Park. When ready to leave, exit via the West Portal (State Highway 140), which will lead to Merced and eventually back to the Bay Area.

I think that this approach gives you maximum enjoyment within your limited time frame, and it also lets you see the southern section of the park, which many people miss because they both enter and exit the park via Highway 140.

Greenpen

If you want a long trip, a burger and a quick view followed by another long drive you can do it. But it is worth staying to enjoy at least a full day. Buy a travel guide for lots of hotels nearby.