Leave your car outside the park and take our eco-friendly guided transportation instead.

With pickups from select hotels on Highway 140, we will drive approximately 45 minutes to Yosemite Valley. On the way, you’ll hear about the history and geology of Yosemite National Park before stopping for photos at El Capitan. Before being set free for a day of hiking and exploration, our expert guides will provide a park orientation & hiking briefing so you’ll be prepared to hit the best trails and find the best viewpoints.

Need lunch while you’re in the park? Spend more time on the trail and add our Trail Lunch Snack Pack for $15 per person to your booking. Including salami & cheese (hummus substitution upon request), crackers, trail mix, nuts, cookies, gummy bears and a sparkling water, you’ll be set for a full day of hiking or exploration.

Both morning departures follow the same itinerary.

Morning Tour #1:

• 7:00am. Depart Cedar Lodge
• 7:15am. Depart Yosemite View Lodge
• 7:15-8:30am. Narrated park history and geology while traveling the scenic mountain road into Yosemite National Park. Stop for photos of iconic El Capitan. Park orientation & hiking briefing by your guide.
• 8:30am. Arrive at Curry Village in Yosemite Valley (drop-off #1)
• 8:45am. Arrive at Yosemite Valley Lodge (drop-off #2)
• 8:45am-1:45pm. Free time to walk, hike or bike your way around Yosemite Valley! Your guide will recommend the best nearby trails and point you in the direction of bike rentals. Bring a bathing suit too. There’s nothing better than a dip in the nearby Merced River after a long day of exploration.
• 1:45pm. Depart Curry Village (pick-up #1)
• 2:00pm. Yosemite Valley Lodge (pick-up #2)
• 2:45pm. Arrive at Yosemite View Lodge
• 3:00pm. Arrive Cedar Lodge

Morning Itinerary #2:

• 9:30am. Depart Cedar Lodge
• 9:45am. Depart Yosemite View Lodge
• 9:45am-11:00am. Narrated park history and geology while traveling the scenic mountain road into Yosemite National Park. Stop for photos of iconic El Capitan. Park orientation & hiking briefing by your guide.
• 11:00am. Arrive at Curry Village in Yosemite Valley (drop-off #1)
• 11:15am. Arrive at Yosemite Valley Lodge (drop-off #2)
• 11:15am-3:45pm. Free time to walk, hike or bike your way around Yosemite Valley! Your guide will recommend the best nearby trails and point you in the direction of bike rentals. Bring a bathing suit too. There’s nothing better than a dip in the nearby Merced River after a long day of exploration
• 3:45pm. Depart Curry Village (pick-up #1)
• 4:00pm. Yosemite Valley Lodge (pick-up #2)
• 4:45pm. Arrive at Yosemite View Lodge
• 5:00pm. Arrive Cedar Lodge

Important Details:

National Park Entry: National Park Entry is included with your tour so there is no need to secure your own day-use permit from the park itself.

Due to our commercial permit with Yosemite National Park, we can only grant you access to the park for the duration of the tour. We cannot provide separate or additional park entry permits or allow you to follow behind and drive your own vehicle.

Pickup Locations: Our pickup locations are conveniently located right outside Yosemite National Park on Highway 140 in El Portal, CA. You can park at either pickup location for the duration of your tour free of charge.

It is imperative to double check our pickup locations and their addresses before arriving to Yosemite. This area does not have reliable cell service. Please do not confuse the Yosemite View Lodge (our pickup) with the Yosemite Valley Lodge (inside the park). Additionally, if you are staying at a hotel on a different highway or location within the Yosemite area, please note that you cannot drive through the park to reach us if you do not have a day-use entry pass. Rangers will not make exceptions for you to enter the park to meet our departure point.

Book our Yosemite Valley Orientation as a Private Tour

We understand how important quality time with your friends and family is. We also understand the hesitation some customers may have in sharing a vehicle with people they don’t know. While we love the ease of travel & new friendships that shared tours provide, we have adapted to bring our customers more options when it comes to booking a tour.

This tour is now available to book as a private excursion for up to 18 guests.  You’ll receive the same itinerary and inclusions that our typical tour would provide, plus personal one-on-one attention from your guide and the ability to choose exactly who you’ll bring with you.

Feeling like making some changes or additions to the itinerary? Contact us and we can create a quote for any custom experience you’d like to partake in anywhere in the 50 states.

Reserve your Yosemite Valley Orientation Tour as a private excursion now!

Our rates are based on group size. After clicking below and choosing an available date, elect how many travelers will be in your group.

Private tour for 1-10 guests: $615 total
Private tour for 11-18 guests: $918 total

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