Your Yosemite National Park CME conference.

Yosemite after your study day

Study days finish at 2:00 PM local time. For an easy afternoon, choose one outing near where you stay: the Lower Yosemite Fall trail in the Valley, a drive to Glacier Point for the view of Half Dome, or a walk among the giant sequoias of the Mariposa Grove near Wawona. Leave time for getting there, because the park says there is no parking at the Lower Yosemite Fall trailhead and the Mariposa Grove welcome plaza lot can fill up by late morning.

Travel, lodging and any park entrance or reservation fees are arranged separately. Your conference follows your own schedule on your phone or laptop; the park is the setting you choose for it.

Waterfalls and walks in Yosemite Valley

The Lower Yosemite Fall trail is a 1-mile loop with about 50 feet of climbing, rated easy by the park. Its eastern section is wheelchair accessible when it is not covered in ice or snow. The trail is reached from Valleywide Visitor Shuttle stop 6, and the park suggests using the Yosemite Village or Yosemite Falls parking areas rather than looking for space at the trailhead. The park’s Valleywide Visitor Shuttle serves the Valley, so you can leave the car parked once you arrive.

Plan around the season. Water volume peaks in spring and early summer, when you can get wet near the footbridge, and the waterfall is often dry from late July or August through October. In those months, the walk is still a way to see the cliffs and meadows without the fall at full strength.

The Valley Loop Trail starts at the same shuttle stop. The park gives the full loop as about 11.5 miles and the half loop as about 7.2 miles, passing views of Sentinel Rock, Cathedral Rocks, Bridalveil Fall, El Capitan, Three Brothers and Yosemite Falls, mostly through meadows and beside the Merced River. A short stretch of it fits an afternoon; the whole loop does not fit between 2:00 PM and dinner.

Glacier Point and the high country

Glacier Point is an overlook with views of Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls and the high country, reached by a short paved trail from the parking area. The park puts it about 30 miles from Yosemite Valley or Wawona, roughly an hour’s drive. Washburn Point, just south, looks more directly at Vernal and Nevada Falls.

The road is typically open from late May into October or November, depending on conditions, and the park lists Glacier Point Road among those that close each winter. In winter the road is groomed beyond the Badger Pass ski area for cross-country skiers, who can ski about 10.5 miles to the overlook when the Badger Pass ski area is open, from mid to late December through March. Check its status before planning the drive.

Giant sequoias at Mariposa Grove

The Mariposa Grove is near the South Entrance and holds more than 500 mature giant sequoias. The Big Trees Loop is 0.3 miles and wheelchair accessible, while the Grizzly Giant Loop is 2 miles and moderate. Longer routes of 6.5 and 7 miles round trip are rated strenuous.

Drinking water at the grove is limited to the welcome plaza and, in summer, the arrival area. A shuttle serves the grove from the welcome plaza and does not run in winter, when access is a two-mile hike each way. The park also describes Tuolumne Grove, along Tioga Road, and Merced Grove, off Big Oak Flat Road, each with about two dozen mature sequoias reached by a one-mile or 1.5-mile walk that climbs back out.

Wawona and the south side

Wawona is a mid-elevation basin about 27 miles and 45 minutes by car from Yosemite Valley. The park lists a historic hotel, the Yosemite History Center with historic buildings moved there in the 1950s and 1960s, golf from spring to fall and access to the Chilnualna Falls hike. Choose Wawona if the Mariposa Grove is your priority. Tire chains may be required on the road from October through April.

When to visit Yosemite

The park reports that 95 percent of its precipitation falls between October and May. Yosemite Valley sits at 4,000 feet, with January highs near 48 degrees Fahrenheit and July and August highs near 89. Tuolumne Meadows, at 8,600 feet, is much colder, with January highs near 41 and July highs near 72. Yosemite Valley can get rain or snow during any winter storm, and summer precipitation there is minimal. The park recommends booking lodging early for spring through fall.

Getting to Yosemite and your study setting

Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) is the arrival point shown in this guide. The park lists about 2.5 hours by car from Fresno to Yosemite Valley and about 1.5 hours to Wawona, and it names Merced, Stockton, Oakland, Sacramento, San José and San Francisco airports as other options. The park advises against relying on GPS around its 1,200 square miles, and it notes that Tioga Road, Glacier Point Road and Mariposa Grove Road close each winter, so check alternate routes. It also notes that bus service reaches Yosemite Valley from many California cities.

The map shows straight-line distances from Shift’s designated center. These are orientation distances, not driving distances or travel-time estimates. Check your exact address against the conference’s check-in area before booking.