A Visit to Yosemite National Park is Just Part of a Stay At Yosemite Pines
View a Gallery of Yosemite National Park Activities!
Let Yosemite Pines be your base camp for exploring the beautiful area, exciting towns and activities around Yosemite National Park.
INFORMATION RESOURCES
Seasons – Activities by the season
Current road conditions should be checked prior to traveling and visitors are advised that chains may be required anytime from October through April.
Public transportation to the national park is also available via YARTS in Spring and Summer. Download a print-ready PDF for YARTS shuttles with fares, schedules and other important information.
Official Yosemite National Park website.
Printed publications available at the Park and on the parks website, Yosemite Guide.
The Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau located in Sonora
Adventures along HWY 120 - Stop at these towns as you make the trip to Yosemite Pines - The Highway 120 Adventure.
NEARBY TOWNS AND ACTIVITIES
Groveland
Groveland is less than 3 miles from Yosemite Pines. A great "downtown" with a park, shops, restaurants and the famous/infamous Iron Door Saloon — said to be California's oldest continuously-operating saloon. Stop at the Market here to purchase your groceries and supplies.
Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum - If you want to learn about the history of the Groveland and Yosemite Gateway area, the Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum covers the colorful people and stories of the past.
Hiking near Groveland - In the Groveland area, there are several popular hikes for beginning to advanced hikers. Find reviews and other information on Everytrail.com, including details on day hikes on the Big Creek Trail and to Wapama Falls.
Groveland Ranger District on the USDA's Stanislaus National Forest site.
Horseback Riding - Pine Mountain Lake Stables offers trail rides with days and times based on the season. Please call in advance to book trail rides - (209) 962-8667.
Golf - Pine Mountain Lake Country Club is an 18 hole semi-private golf course located in Groveland, Call 209/962-8620 for more information and to make tee time reservations. Restaurant on-site.
Swimming Holes and Fishing – One of the highest rated spots is Rainbow Falls, located 15 miles east of Groveland. Swimming is best in summer, July through September, but fishing and hiking is good all year long at this location.
Fishing - Visit the Hook and Bullet website for detailed information on all area fishing opportunities.
River Rafting - Begin or end your river rafting trip on the Tuolumne with a stay at Yosemite Pines.
Zrafting is a magical Tuolumne River Rafting trip along an 18-mile corridor, boasting long, tantalizing class IV rapids, wondrous side creeks and wide, sandy beaches for camping.
Class IV River rafting can also be found nearby.
Sunshine Rafting - Affordable family-friendly rafting trips in Knights Ferry, about a 45-minute drive from Yosemite Pines.
All-Outdoors California Whitewater Rafting has over 50 years of experience as whitewater river guides, on the Tuolumne Rivers.
Sierra Mac offers "mild to wild" whitewater adventures on nearby Merced and Tuolumne Rivers and also a leisurely Yosemite Valley Float.
Arta Raft Trips lets you choose the rafting trip that suits you interests best, offering trips for exciting rapids, or trips focused on scenery, photography or to view wildlife.
OTHER ADVENTURES
Aspen Meadow Pack Station Located near Pinecrest, historic Aspen Meadow is the gateway to one of California’s most breathtaking wilderness areas and is a great choice to view towering granite peaks, long alpine meadows, stunning lakes and abundant wildlife – from the back of a horse!
Black Oak Casino Resort in Tuolumne offers 1,300 of your favorite slots, 26 friendly table games, nine bars & restaurants, live music, bowling, and more!
Spelunking Cave Adventures - It is the longest continually operating commercial caverns in the state of California. California Cavern State Historic Landmark in Vallecito, CA has the largest vertical chamber in a public cavern that you can see in California. In fact, it's so big, it could hold the entire Statue of Liberty!
California Cavern State Historic Landmark in Mountain Ranch was the very first cave in the state to be opened to the public for guided tours in 1850, when visitors began enjoying the unique delicate beauty of the cavern's crystalline formations. Besides two fun walking tours, there is also the opportunity to participate in professionally-guided wild cavern spelunking trips like their Mammoth Cave Expedition and Middle Earth Expedition.
Guided hiking tours and photography workshops in Yosemite National Park - Yexplore.com.
HIGHWAY 49 TOWNS
Columbia - The Gold Rush Town of Columbia is located off HWY 49 and has many events throughout the year. Located in the heart of the California Mother Lode, Columbia State Historic Park is a living gold rush town featuring the largest single collection of existing gold rush-era structures in the state. Pan for gold, explore exhibits, ride the stagecoach, discover unique shops, and learn about the rich history of the California gold rush on a guided town tour.
Jamestown - Wine Tasting in Jamestown
Gianelli Vineyards and Tasting Room
Train Museum Tour - Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown devotes 26 acres to the preservation of the roundhouse and shops for the Sierra Railway, a shortline that was built in 1897 to bring goods into the foothills, and lumber, gold and marble out of the foothills. Beginning in 1919, the railroad furnished the equipment and locations for hundreds of motion pictures, television productions and commercials, among them "High Noon", "Back to the Future III" and Petticoat Junction". The "Movie Star Locomotive" the Sierra No. 3 now pulls the train most Saturdays.
Murphys - Information on Murphy's
Mercer Caverns in Murphys has been "The Showplace of the Sierra" since 1885. Mercer Caverns and is world famous for the rare Aragonite flos ferri.
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK ENTRANCES
There are five main entrances to the Park:
1. The South Entrance - Highway 41 North from Fresno.
2. Arch Rock Entrance - Highway 140 West from Merced.
3. Big Oak Flat Entrance - Highway 120 West from Modesto and Manteca. (Closest to Yosemite Pines Resort)
4. Tioga Pass Entrance - Highway 120 East from Lee Vining and Highway 395.
5. Hetch Hetchy Entrance - Hetch Hetchy Road from Evergreen Road west of the Big Oak Flat Entrance.
SEASONS
The spring season (April and May) is the best time to view the park's spectacular waterfalls. As warmer weather begins to melt the snow, creeks and streams are rushing with water, and many unnamed waterfalls and cascades can be seen all along the rim of Yosemite Valley. Roads closed during the winter season remain inaccessible.
The summer season (June through September) is the peak Yosemite vacation period. Some of the more popular places to visit include the large, open sub-alpine Tuolumne Meadows along the winding Tuolumne River, the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, the breath-taking outlook at Glacier Point and the Half-Dome, and the silvery mists of Bridalveil Fall. The Yosemite Valley offers endless opportunities to explore its world-renowned spectacular waterfalls, granite cliffs, and unusual rock formations. Hetch Hetchy, the lesser-known twin to Yosemite Valley, is home to equally magnificent scenery, as well as the starting point for many of the less-used wilderness trails.
The fall season (October and November) has fewer visitors, but still permits access to large areas of the park during the month of October, and sometimes into November. Since most of the trees in Yosemite are evergreens, the park is not known for its spectacular fall colors. However, if the weather remains seasonable, a Yosemite vacation still presents ample opportunity to explore the Park's exquisite scenery at greater leisure. Short-term closures may occur because of weather conditions although Yosemite Valley and Wawona remain open all year.
The winter season (December through March) is a Yosemite vacation opportunity for those who enjoy skiing and solitude. While Yosemite Valley and Wawona remain accessible year-round, the Tioga Road and roads between Crane Flat and Tioga Pass, including the Tuolumne Meadows are closed. From mid-December through early April, the Glacier Point/Badger Pass Road is plowed to permit access to the popular downhill and cross-country skiing areas.
About 95 percent of Yosemite National Park was designated as wilderness in 1984. Wilderness camping is a viable alternative Yosemite vacation. Camping permits are required year-round for all overnight trips into the park's wilderness country. However, unlike other Yosemite campgrounds and lodging facilities, these wilderness camping permits are free.
For those who prefer to spend a Yosemite vacation day-hiking along some of the park's 800 miles of trails (without an overnight stay), no permits are needed. A trailhead quota system limits the number of hikers beginning from each trailhead per day.
