Day 1

You meet your guides and fellow walkers in Fresno, where you board your vans and drive directly into Yosemite National Park to the Wawona area, approximately a two-hour drive. Your first walk takes you through Wawona Meadow, starting out near the Wawona Hotel under a canopy of incense cedar and ponderosa pine. The historic Wawona Hotel, built in 1879, was the site of an overnight stage stop on the way to Yosemite Valley. You follow a wide, smooth trail running between the meadow and forest—constituting the border zone, which is called the ecotone, generally, the richest in living organisms, such as the mule deer that you may spot. Crossing a series of fern-lined streams, you will enjoy this walk bordering one of Yosemite’s largest meadows. In the late afternoon you arrive and settle in to your welcoming classic mountain lodge, just two miles from Yosemite’s southern gate. After unwinding, you step out to a favorite local inn featuring fine American cuisine with fresh sourdough French bread.
Tenaya Lodge, Fish Camp

Day 2

After a hearty buffet breakfast at your lodge, the destination this morning is the Mariposa Grove, only a ten-mile drive from the inn. Of the three sequoia groves in the park, Mariposa is the largest, containing approximately 500 mature giant sequoias, some of which are over 2,000 years old. Also called Sierra redwoods (not to be confused with California’s coast redwood), these awe-inspiring trees can be over 50 feet in diameter and can reach heights of over 300 feet. An extensive almost maze-like trail network makes its way through the upper and lower groves, weaving its way through trees with whimsical names reflecting their shapes, such as the Grizzly Giant, the Clothespin Tree, and the Telescope Tree. Crucial to the role of sequoia reproduction are the chatty and endlessly entertaining chickaree or Douglas squirrels, playing and darting about. The chickarees chew open the young green scales of sequoia cones, thereby allowing the seeds to fall to the forest floor.

After a full day’s walk, you return to your full-service resort lodge where you may want to enjoy one of its swimming pools or spa tubs, or simply relax in your comfortable room before gathering for dinner.
Tenaya Lodge, Fish Camp

Day 3

Today’s walk in some of Yosemite’s 747,956 acres offers views from the top down. A one-hour van ride brings you to the Glacier Point Road where you begin the walk to Sentinel Dome. The route starts down a sandy path through Jeffrey pine and manzanita and quickly turns to a rocky path undulating upwards towards Sentinel Dome, its smooth rock coming into sight. Once you arrive at the back of the dome you begin the climb to the summit. Views from the top are just about the best in the park—360 degrees of beautiful features of domes and waterfalls, including El Capitan, Half Dome, and Yosemite Falls. Descending slowly you proceed to Taft Point and the Fissures—cracks in the cliff only inches wide with three thousand-foot drops! For those not suffering from vertigo, you may continue out to Taft Point (railing protected) and look across the Yosemite Valley and Yosemite Falls. Along the way, you will enjoy a gourmet picnic while taking in the scenery.

Concluding the walk, an hour’s drive takes you to the Yosemite Valley, the glacially carved valley at the heart of the park, where you are welcomed at a grand historic mountain hotel, your home for the next three nights. It is architecturally magnificent, stately, and a showcase of American Indian art. After unpacking you have time to explore the Yosemite Village including the Visitor Center and Ansel Adams Museum. Ansel Adams first visited the park in 1916 with his parents and a Kodak Brownie camera; later he captured the natural beauty in his striking photographs. You may also choose to enjoy a dip in the hotel’s outdoor heated pool, and later relax with a cocktail in front of one of the hotel’s famous fireplaces.

Tonight dinner is on your own, choosing from one of the eateries in the Yosemite Valley accessible by the park shuttle system.
Ahwahnee Lodge, Yosemite National Park

Day 4

Vernal Falls is considered one of the must-do hikes if you only have time for one walk in Yosemite. The trailhead is reached by a short Yosemite Valley shuttle-bus ride directly from the hotel, which takes you into classic Yosemite scenery of cliffs of granite, glacial features, and views of some of the best waterfalls on the Merced River. You will undoubtedly share the trail with many hikers, as it is one of the few routes out of the valley and up to the high country. The first part of the hike, about 0.8 mile, is on a steep asphalt trail that skirts the boulder-strewn Merced River up to the Vernal Falls Bridge. With lovely views up the river to Vernal Falls, you may choose to stop here. For those who want to experience the Mist Trail, up and over to the top of Vernal Falls, you continue up 700 rock stairs—strenuous but rewarding. For those whom wish may press onward and upward to Nevada Falls on the John Muir Trail, named for the man who was one of the founders of the Sierra Club and moved to preserve the region as a national park from seeing the destructive results of overgrazing livestock.

This evening the group proceeds to the Yosemite Lodge, the hotel closest to Yosemite Falls, for dinner. A Western flat iron steak or ruby trout accompanied by a Sonoma Syrah are a satisfying finish to a full day.
Ahwahnee Lodge, Yosemite National Park

Day 5

After a filling breakfast at the Ahwahnee you head to Tuolumne Meadows. The gateway to Yosemite’s high country, Tuolumne Meadows is the largest subalpine, high country meadow in the Sierra Nevada and known for its stunning beauty. Encircled by some of the highest peaks and passes in the park, such as the Cathedral Range with its 10,000-foot peaks, it is also the trailhead to Yosemite’s highest peak, Mount Lyell. Tuolumne Meadow is also a less crowded part of the park; in summer the meadows are blooming with wildflowers such as the rare Purple Webber of the lupine family. Lodge pole pines stand out as the dominant pine between 7,000 and 10,000 feet. From the Dog Lake parking lot you set out for a long yet easy walk on the Lyell Fork Trail enjoying a gourmet picnic lunch on the river’s bank.

Concluding the walk, an hour-and-a-half drive descends back to the Yosemite Valley and the Ahwahnee Lodge, where you have time to unwind before our farewell dinner in the grand dining room with its floor-to-ceiling windows, a fitting setting concluding a memorable week.
Ahwahnee Lodge, Yosemite National Park

Day 6

Your final morning in Yosemite takes you on an easy walk around Mirror Lake. First created when a rockslide dammed up a section of Tenaya Creek, each year Mirror Lake is filled with additional silt from snow runoff. Blossoming with sedges and willows, the lake is on its way to becoming Mirror Meadow as the lake basin fills in, dries out, and trees take root. Skirting the western bank of Tenaya Creek and Mirror Lake, this walk leads to one of the most isolated corners of the valley. You follow a creek through forest of ponderosa pine, white and Douglas fir, incense cedar, and dogwood. The trail soon opens up to Mirror Lake, with Half Dome and Mt. Watkins reflecting in the lake’s surface. The sandy beaches invite wading and picnicking. Continuing along the trail, you conclude your Yosemite adventure in a serene corner of the park where the forest floor is deeply carpeted with pine needles and ferns, with flitting butterflies and small songbirds in the underbrush. You climb into the vans and make the return drive south to Fresno, where you make onward travel connections.

Itinerary Changes

Please bear in mind that this is a typical itinerary, and the actual activities, sites, and accommodations may vary due to season, special events, weather, or transportation schedules. We reserve the right to alter the itinerary since tour arrangements are made up to a year in advance, and unforeseen circumstances that mandate change may arise. Itinerary changes are made to improve the tour and your experience.

Nights 1 & 2

Tenaya Lodge
Fish Camp, California

A classic mountain resort located two miles from the southern gate of Yosemite National Park with indoor and outdoor swimming pools, hot tubs, and a fully equipped spa.

Nights 3, 4 & 5

Ahwahnee Hotel
Yosemite National Park, California

A National Historic Landmark, one of the country’s most distinct resort hotels was specifically designed in the 1920s to highlight its natural surroundings while offering luxurious and elegant accommodations. Guestrooms are warm and inviting with Native American accents; common spaces include great rooms with enormous fireplaces and unique artwork, a stunning beamed dining room, and outdoor heated pool.

Please note that this is a sample hotel itinerary for this tour. While these exact hotels are featured on most departures, we occasionally reserve other hotels of similar style and quality. If you are currently booked on a Country Walkers adventure, a hotel itinerary has been sent to you for your exact departure date. Please call Country Walkers at 800.464.9255 if you have any questions about the exact hotels selected for any of our tours.

Hannah Sullivan

Hannah moved to Berkeley, California, for graduate school in the late 1980s, fell in love with the Western US, and has never looked back. She currently lives in Tahoe City and guides hiking, mountain biking, and kayaking tours in the Tahoe, Yosemite, and Death Valley regions of California. As an experienced hiker, Hannah enjoys sharing her passion for the area with guests on the trail. During the winter months Hannah teaches adaptive skiing to disabled skiers and women’s telemark clinics. She and her dog try to get out and Nordic ski or hike every day!

Glenn Polochko

Glenn grew up in the Bronx and acquired his passion for the outdoors in the Catskill Mountains of New York. He lived in a teepee in Vermont for three years before moving to Truckee, California, in the 1970s and has never left. He has over 20 years of experience guiding hiking, biking, backcountry skiing, and snowshoeing tours throughout California and Nevada.

CJ Ware

CJ’s passion for the outdoors has led him to guide active tours all over the western U.S., including helicopter skiing in Alaska, as well as in Antarctica. He has worked as a professional ski patroller, mountaineering instructor, and mountain bike ranger. In addition to guiding, CJ also has a private practice as a certified hypnotherapist in Tahoe City.

Rob Birney

Rob Birney shares his unbridled passion for California’s outdoors in Yosemite National Park, Lake Tahoe, Lassen National Park, and Crater Lake, where he has been guiding for over seven years. In safe hands, Rob is a wilderness first responder and leads team-building and ropes courses. When he’s not guiding, you can find him skiing in the winter or boating on Lake Tahoe in the summer, and with the time remaining, he is also an ordained minister.