Yosemite National Park is breathtaking all year round, but it’s especially nice in spring when the waterfalls are at peak flow and the flowers are blooming.
Yosemite National Park is a stunning landscape of granite marvels peppered with ancient sequoias, breathtaking waterfalls, and valleys with beauty photos simply cannot capture. You can explore this famed park year-round, but the best times to travel to Yosemite are April and May when most of the waterfalls are at peak flow.
Yosemite ranks among Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Niagara Falls as one of America’s most beautiful spaces, and it’s one of
comparison shopping and broker app Jerry is here to offer up this helpful guide walking you through when to visit Yosemite, with a few helpful pointers on what to see as well.
There are many reasons why over a million tourists flock to Yosemite National Park each year, and your rationale for the visit will help determine when you should go. But as a general rule, it’s best to visit Yosemite from mid to late spring (April or May) through late summer.
Peak season: May to September (Memorial Day through Labor Day)
The good: Beautiful weather, full accessibility with open roads, great camping
The bad: Big crowds, limited camping spaces
The weather: low 60s to upper 90s
Yosemite sees the vast majority of its tourists between Memorial Day and Labor Day (May to September), but there’s a good reason for that: the whole park is open during the summer, without road closures due to snow. And it’s a great time to do some nighttime stargazing while lying among the blooming wildflowers.
The downside, of course, is that this is when the park is busiest. Traffic can be a nightmare, and crowds tend to clog and congest near the more famous sites. Many of Yosemite’s waterfalls dry up over the summer, especially during August, the driest month of the year.
to learn more about closures and restrictions before you plan your trip and again before you leave for your trip.
Off-season: November through March
The good: No crowds, beautiful winter scenery, and snow-capped mountains
The bad: Cold weather, limited accessibility
The weather: Low 20s through mid 50s
The winter months are without a doubt the quietest, with far fewer crowds. Of course, this is largely due to limited accessibility, with many roads closing due to the snow.
Yosemite doesn’t really see a lot of fall foliage compared with other national parks, but winter in Yosemite is absolutely delightful. The snow-capped granite peaks and flurried valleys set some of the prettiest scenery you’ll see in the park all year.
Downhill and cross-country skiing and snowboarding are popular in Yosemite’s
through the winter, with the Badger Pass road getting plowed regularly.
The park requires all visitors in the winter to have snow chains and know how to use them. We highly recommend bringing an all-wheel-drive vehicle fitted with snow tires, but the park’s rules require snow chains regardless of what type of vehicle you have.
If possible, try and see the Horsetail Fall on the eastside of El Capitan between December and April, and especially in February. When lighting conditions and the sunset are just right, the water reflects strangely and looks like fire pouring out of the mountain. It’s a very special sight you’d be lucky to witness!
The good: Most of Yosemite’s waterfalls are at peak flow, limited crowds, improving weather
The bad: Some roads will still be closed
The weather: Low 30s to mid 70s
In our view, Yosemite’s shoulder season—the period between the peak season and the off-season—is also the best time to visit Yosemite. May, in particular, is arguably the best month out of the whole year to visit Yosemite National Park.
Yosemite Falls, Sentinel Falls, the Ribbon Fall, Bridalveil Fall, and countless others experience peak water flow in May, largely due to the melting snows. Many of these falls are beautiful year-round, but they’re extra special at peak flow.
Most of Yosemite’s roads reopen in April and May, too. Some might not open until June, but most of the park is accessible during the shoulder season, offering yet another great reason to visit around this time.
The cheapest time to travel to Yosemite
Since Yosemite National Park is open every day of the year with standard, straightforward pricing, there really isn’t a specific period where it’s more or less expensive to enter the park. However, passes last longer outside of the peak season.
Between May 20th and September 20th, you can get a three-day pass per automobile for $35. While the price doesn’t change, the pass is good for seven days outside of this period.
Expect to pay more at area hotels and lodges during the peak seasons, too, and far less during the winter when fewer visitors are around.
Ready to experience the great outdoors? Look at the table below to find the best time for your trip based on what you’d like to do.
Activity
Best month to visit
Why?
Hiking and backpacking
September or October
The heat is less oppressive in late summer/ early fall. Crowds are dying down as the peak season winds to a close. And most of the park is still open, too.
Camping
June through September
One of the big reasons this is the peak season is because camping is so nice during this window, with warm days and cool, but not frigid, evenings.
Sightseeing and waterfalls
April and May
Spring is lovely in Yosemite, with waterfalls at their peak flow and wildflowers blooming everywhere you go. There’s no better time to take in the sights!
The Firefall
Late February and very early March
The Firefall phenomenon on the Horsetail Fall is a rare but stunning event that draws lots of tourists every winter.
Skiing and snowboarding
Winter
Yosemite’s downhill and cross-country skiing and snowboarding areas are lots of fun when the weather is on point.
Pro Tip There really isn’t a “bad” time to visit Yosemite during the year. This park is overloaded with beauty and overwhelms you regardless of when you visit.
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Yosemite occupies around 1,200 square miles of the Sierra Nevada region of California. It’s 170 miles directly east of San Francisco. It’s about a 3.5-hour drive from San Francisco, a 5-hour drive from Los Angeles, and usually 6 to 8 hours from Las Vegas (depending on when you’re leaving and what roads are open).
Who owns Yosemite National Park?
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You do! Yosemite National Park, and all National Parks for that matter, are owned by the American people and managed by our National Parks Service. That, of course, doesn’t mean you can go in there and start bossing around the rangers. But, it does mean Yosemite is protected from abuse and destruction and is openly accessible to everyone and anyone who’d like to visit.
Are dogs allowed in Yosemite National Park?
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Absolutely! There are some rules, though. Dogs must be kept on a leash no more than 6 feet long, you cannot leave dogs unattended, and you need to clean up after your dogs, too, so don’t forget the poop bags.
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