Yosemite Valley from the floor at dawn to Glacier Point at sunset

Yosemite Valley

1. 5:15 am1

   Tunnel View at first lightYosemite Valley

   There is no peak-hours entry reservation in 2026 — the system that ran through 2025 was dropped, so the only thing rationing the valley now is parking, and that is settled before 08:00. In late June sunrise is about 05:40 and the light lands on El Capitan's face first while Bridalveil is still blue. Cost here is the $35 seven-day vehicle pass. Non-US visitors 16+ pay a $100 per-person surcharge at Yosemite from 2026.

   3 min walk · 0 m
2. 6:10 am2

   Valley View and a loop through Cook's MeadowYosemite Valley

   Valley View is a pullout, not a parking lot, and it is the reflection everyone else drives past. Cook's Meadow at 06:40 gives you Half Dome with mist on the grass and nobody in it — the same view is a scrum by 10:00.

3. 7:15 am3

   Breakfast at Base Camp EateryYosemite Valley

   Touchscreen ordering, open 07:00, and the fastest calories in the valley. Park at the Lodge or Yosemite Village and leave the car there all morning — the free valley shuttle takes you the rest of the way.

4. 8:15 am4

   Mist Trail from Happy Isles: Vernal Fall, then Nevada FallYosemite Valley

   Check the day of the week before you plan this. Through October 2026 the Mist Trail between the Vernal Fall footbridge and the top of Vernal Fall is closed Monday to Thursday, 07:00 to 15:30, for rockfall work — it is open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays, and reopens after 15:30 on weekdays. On a closed weekday go up the John Muir Trail instead and take the whole loop clockwise. Vernal Fall top is 1.5 miles from Happy Isles, Nevada Fall 2.7. In June you get genuinely soaked on the granite stairs; the rain shell is worth carrying and the stone is slick going down.

5. 2 pm5

   Late lunch at Degnan's KitchenYosemite Valley

   Sandwiches to go. Buy a second one for Glacier Point — there is nothing but a small gift shop up there.

   8 min by train or taxi · 3.2 km
6. 3:15 pm6

   Drive up Glacier Point RoadYosemite Valley

   An hour each way from the valley floor — 16 miles of road after a 30-minute climb to Chinquapin, and people routinely under-budget it. The road opened 9 May in 2026 and closes with the first real snow; before that it is a ski route, not a drive. Hazard-tree crews held traffic about 15 minutes at a time from 21 July into August, so pad it.

   21 min walk · 1.6 km
7. 4:30 pm7

   Glacier Point until the light leaves Half DomeYosemite Valley

   Sunset is around 20:20 in late June and the last twenty minutes are the entire reason to be here — Half Dome goes orange, then pink, then flat grey in about four minutes. Walk the extra ten minutes out to Washburn Point on the way in for the Nevada Fall angle. Bring a headlamp for the walk back to the car and drive the descent slowly; deer own that road after dark.

   8 min by train or taxi · 3.5 km
8. 9:30 pm8

   Very late dinner at the Mountain RoomYosemite Valley

   Last seating is usually 21:00, so book it at 20:45 before you leave for Glacier Point and tell them you are coming down the hill. If you miss it the Mountain Room Lounge serves later and the bar food is fine after a day like this.