Yosemite is one of the most popular national parks in the States and for good reason - it’s simply incredible. However, it’s not the easiest of places to simply rock up at without a plan and get the best out of it.

Without knowing, you can easily find yourself completely stuck and not even able to park your car anywhere with your whole dream trip quickly turning into a disaster.

We recently visited for a whole week, exploring the best of this beautiful place and have put together the top 16 big mistakes you want to avoid in Yosemite National Park.

16 Big mistakes to avoid in Yosemite National Park

1 - Arriving without a plan!

We lost count of the number of people we met who turned up without an idea of what to do. So many people drive to Yosemite first and then try to work out what they came for later! So what do they end up doing? The “Valley loop” - which is really a connector trail to all the main hiking trail heads and will not show you the greatest of what’s on offer!

It pays to do a bit of research before you go, and work out what you’d like to do most in advance. There are so many beautiful viewpoints, incredible waterfalls and epic hiking trails, but they aren’t obvious. If you rock up and do the first thing you see, you may end up being underwhelmed.

This leads to the second point.

*Half Dome from the meadows at Yosemite Valley*

2 - Giving yourself just a day

Yosemite’s a big place and there is a lot to see. Unless you are happy to see a couple of viewpoints and do a short hike, then we recommend spending at least two days here. This is partly because the best hikes take a long time, but also because the beautiful spots around Glacier Point or the Tioga Pass are at least an hour from the valley floor.

3 - Thinking the waterfalls are flowing all year round

We didn’t know this until we visited, but by the fall Yosemite Falls is bone dry. Bridal Veil Falls has also become a shadow of its former self! The Mist Trail has no mist on it.

If you are here for the waterfalls, we recommend avoiding the fall. You will be disappointed. Here’s a detailed guide to the pros and cons of visiting Yosemite in fall.

*Mistakes to avoid at Yosemite: Where Yosemite Falls should have been!*

4 - Heading to Glacier Point for Sunset

There are two go-to spots which are regularly written about in Yosemite for sunset: Tunnel View and Glacier Point. Instead of Glacier Point, we highly recommend going to Sentinel Dome instead.

This incredible spot offers panoramic views of the valley and is one of the few spots where you can see both El Capitan and Half Dome in the same spot.

Even better is that virtually no one goes there! We saw five other people when we visited. It requires a one mile (each way) hike, but it is one of the best views in the whole park.

Despite what you may read online Glacier Point is a sunrise spot, not sunset. It will still be pretty at sunset but trust us go to Sentinel Dome instead.

*Mistakes to avoid in Yosemite: one of the views from Sentinel Dome*

5 - Visiting Tunnel View in the middle of the day

Tunnel View is one of the best viewpoints in Yosemite and the valley looks like everything has been perfectly placed specifically for that iconic photo.

However if you go in the middle of the day you’ll be looking directly into the sun! This ruins any hope of that perfect photo, so we suggest waiting until about 2-3 hours before sunset. At this time you’ll get great light and maybe even seen a rainbow in Bridal Veil Falls.

*Mistakes to avoid in Yosemite: How Tunnel View looks mid-late afternoon*

6 - Avoiding the epic hikes

We get it, a lot of the hikes in Yosemite are brutal. They are some of the hardest day hikes we’ve done anywhere in the world.

But, they are also some of the most epic and you are rewarded for your toil. Do a bit of training and give yourself plenty of time, and you’ll be able to take them on!

We’ll always remember experiences like standing on the summit of Cloud’s Rest, El Capitan and the Sub Dome as some of the most exhausting, but intensely satisfying times we’ve ever experienced. Plus there will be hardly anyone else there!

*Mistakes to avoid in Yosemite: The summit of Cloud Rest, an epic hike!*

7 - Arriving at midday

Arriving at midday creates numerous problems for your trip to Yosemite. Firstly you’ll have very little time to experience this beautiful place! But also, it is the busiest time and parking can be extremely difficult.

There’s nothing worse than driving for at least an hour to find you can’t park anywhere! If you start in the morning, everything becomes a lot easier.

8 - Assuming that Yosemite is only the valley

There are three areas in Yosemite and they are a long way away from each other. If you stick to just the valley, you’ll miss some of the best views in the whole park.

You don’t want to miss the views at the Glacier Point area or the hikes at the Tioga Pass. Both areas are on the top of the cliffs and give unparalleled panoramic views of Yosemite. The valley is beautiful, but it is just one of many epic perspectives.

*Mistakes to avoid in Yosemite: Dog Lake on the Tioga Pass Road*

9 - Leaving without a full tank of gas

The gas stations around Yosemite are the most expensive we’ve seen in the States! You don’t want to make the mistake of needing to fill up as it’s at least 20% more expensive than anywhere else in California, at an eye watering $4.80 per gallon!

10 - Thinking that any accommodation with “Yosemite” in the title is close to the park

This one’s a bit of a con! Finding accommodation for Yosemite is hard and the truth is that unless you’re camping (or managed to get a room at one of the Yosemite Lodges inside the park), you’ll be at least 45 minutes out of the park.

We found that even some motels that were two hours away had Yosemite in their name!! Check on google maps that the hotel you saw with Yosemite in the name is actually close.

If you have specific hikes in mind check the distance from your proposed accommodation to the trail head not to the park gates. Some of the trail heads are over an hour from the park gates.

11 - Booking the Yosemite Housekeeping Camp

There is one thing and one thing only which is good about the Housekeeping Camp and that’s its location -right in the heart of the valley. Sorry National Parks Service, we love you, but Housekeeping Camp is an overpriced dump (we paid $122 per night!!!!). We’ll let the photos do the talking. If you’re thinking of camping in Yosemite read this guide first.

*Housekeeping camp in Yosemite - worse than a night in jail?*

12 - Hiking the 10 miles to Half Dome without a permit and ID

Taking on the Half Dome hike is an amazing experience, but you can’t just rock up. The hike requires a permit which is only checked after 10 miles of uphill hiking.

There is a ranger who will check, so you can’t blag your way in. Even if you have a permit, you won’t be allowed in without a photo ID of the permit holder.

So unless you are happy to do the hike without seeing Half Dome, don’t waste the 20 mile return journey!

*Mistakes to avoid in Yosemite: Hiking to Half Dome without a permit*

13 - Leaving food in your car

The bears in Yosemite are a persistent bunch and having food in your car is irresistible to them. There have been instances where bears have damaged cars after seeing or smelling food inside.

Some of the hikes have bear boxes, but many do not. Try to avoid having food in your car as you may find yourself with a hefty repair bill.

14 - Bringing bear spray

We’d just come from Canada where taking bear spray on to the trails was recommend for virtually every hike we did. We were shocked to then discover that in Yosemite bear spray is considered a weapon and unequivocally banned!

15 - Trying to buy dinner after 9pm

We learnt the hard way after a sunset mission that trying to find food in Yosemite after 9pm is a struggle. In fact some places had even sold out of all food by 8pm! Your only option for eating after 9pm is the pizza place in Curry Village, that’s ok unless you are planning multiple sunset sessions like we were and therefore eating over priced pizza every night!

16 - Believing you have a right to a photography spot

This one is a personal thing and more about how everyone treats each other. On the whole, people in Yosemite are tolerant of each other and aware that you should share a photography spot.

However, some act like spoilt brats. We had a sunset trip to Taft Point ruined by a wedding party - yes, some people had dressed up in their wedding gear on the top of a mountain to have a wedding photo!

So when the sun started to set, the bride became bridezilla, shrieking at everyone that we all had to move out of the way as “we have a permit”. For one - having a permit for commercial photography gives you no right to evict people from a national park. They then blocked everyone until it was too dark to see anything.

Everyone is here for their once in a lifetime trip, so NO ONE has more of a right to a viewpoint or great photo spot than anyone else. Be considerate and share.

*Taft Point before being shouted at by Bridezilla*

Packing suggestions for Yosemite

Having the right gear can make a huge difference. Here’s what we pack and have relied upon for years:

Sunscreen: A lot of the trails in Yosemite have very little shade and the sun is brutal most of the year! Check for sunscreen on Amazon or REI
Day Pack: Osprey Talon 22 (we’ve owned this for years). Check on Amazon, REI or direct with Osprey
Hiking Boots: Merrell Moab (for men and women). We’ve both used these for over three years and they just keep going. Check them out on REI or Amazon
Trekking poles: We’ve used Black Diamond for years as they are light, solid and durable. Check out REI or Amazon.
Life straw: Something that is useful on the longer hikes as you can fill up and drink from the creeks. You can check them out REI or Amazon.
Reusable water bottle: To avoid single-use plastic. Check then out on REI or Amazon
Icebreaker Base Layer: What we always wear in the winter and makes a huge difference for keeping warm. Check out on REI or Amazon

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