Yosemite Valley Parking in August

[Mr__Incredible]

We'll be driving to Yosemite from Monterey on the 14th August for a 2 night stay and can check into our lodge in El Portal from 3pm.

We are booked onto a Valley floor tour at 5.30 but as we will be arriving at the park in the afternoon I am concerned we are not going to be able to find a place to park and make our tour in time.

I don't know whether to skip lodge check-in and go straight to park at the Valley floor or get the Yarts bus from El Portal.

Any advice from experience - how bad is the parking if you arrive on an August afternoon?

[mickchick]

No-one can possibly know what the parking situation at Yosemite is likely to be, but as a guest staying at El Portal you will have no trouble getting a space.

[Olympiad]

Difficult to predict. We arrived last August around 4pm on a Sunday and it was not too bad. Friends the year previously spent 2 hours just getting around the valley, let alone trying to park.

Current advice on the NPS website is as below:

"Yosemite is very busy this year. Expect extensive delays while driving into and around the park. You may experience delays of an hour or more at entrance stations, and additional two- to three-hour delays in Yosemite Valley. Avoid delays and difficulty finding a place to park by arriving early. Arriving to Yosemite National Park by about 9 am will help you avoid traffic delays and trouble finding parking. Avoid driving during the afternoon, as congestion typically increases from noon to 6 pm. During periods of extremely heavy traffic, it is possible that a park ranger may divert you away from Yosemite Valley east of Bridalveil Fall. This avoids being in a queue of cars that may require up to three hours to clear. If you are turned around, you may wish to visit other areas of the park before attempting to re-enter Yosemite Valley. Other areas of the park may also be congested and/or have limited or no parking available.'

[tinkerbelll]

Car park this week was full by 9am and spaces started opening up about 5ish. I would skip check in and go straight to your tour. Have a fab time.

[Mr__Incredible]

Originally Posted by tinkerbelll

Car park this week was full by 9am and spaces started opening up about 5ish. I would skip check in and go straight to your tour. Have a fab time.

See more...

Wow. Thanks for the update. I think we better head straight to the valley and try to park ahead of our tour.

Thanks!

[tocpe321]

We have booked Half Dome Village. Hopefully we will be able to park OK.

[Mr__Incredible]

Based on the comments on parking I rang reservations today and have moved our Valley Floor tour to the following day when I know we'll be able to get in and parked before 8am.

Now I have to decide what to do on the day we arrive and either drive the Tisha pass (lots more driving on the one day) or drive up to Glacier point for dusk/sunset.

[Disney Wishing]

Glacier Point at Sunset would be my choice. The car park would get busy there too but they usually offer a park and ride shuttle along the road to help.

There's always the option of the Yarts shuttle if the valley parking gets too bad. It calls into the El Portal Lodge.

[Olympiad]

Glacier point a good option. The last free shuttle is around 5.30pm back down (to Badger pass) but if you drive up around that time you should find parking ok as starts to tail off.

[Mr__Incredible]

Much happier with our plans now; it would have been too stressful on a holiday trying to get into the park, find parking and get to our tour for 5.30.

We can now check in at El Portal and head up to Glacier point. Even if there is lots of traffic and limited parking at least I won't have spent $145 on a tour that I could have missed.

I now need to decide what hikes to do the following day. I really wanted to do the mist trail but after reading about a death near Vernal falls I am no longer sure I want to take our energetic 7yo up to Vernal Falls. Might go for mirror lake and and try and find another scenic family hike.