If you close your eyes and picture Yosemite, the image will likely be of an iconic waterfall in springtime or a famous vista from one of Yosemite’s granite cathedrals. Although Yosemite’s awe inspiring panoramas are amazing year round, the best time to experience Yosemite’s waterfalls is, well, in the spring! So we have three incredible backpacking adventures available this spring to help you make the most of your visit! Our all inclusive backpacking adventures include everything you need:
Transportation to and from trailhead.
All meals from lunch on day 1 though dinner on your last evening.
Snacks, drinks, and water available throughout your excursion.
Private naturalist guide with Wilderness First Responder Certification
Entrance, license and permit fees, and taxes
All camping equipment such as tents, sleeping bags, and bag liners.
Complete camp kitchen and bear canisters.
Water and water filtration.
Basic toiletries and sanitation supplies.
First aid and emergency equipment.
Additional Adventure Nights are available for an additional charge.
Transportation from Fresno, Sacramento or the Bay Area also available for an additional charge.
Camping or lodging the night before and/or the night after your adventure also available for an additional charge.
Hetch Hetchy Waterfalls Beginner Backpacking Adventure | Moderately Easy
Our 13 mile, 2 day and 1 night backpacking adventure is the perfect trip for those new to hiking or backpacking. We travel through the glacier-carved Hetch Hetchy Valley; home of the notorious O'Shaughnessy Dam and considered by many to be the hidden sister valley of the Yosemite Valley. The granite walls and thundering waterfalls in Hetch Hetchy make it the best way to experience classic Yosemite landscapes without the crowds!
Day 1 | 6.5 Miles | Moderately Easy Meet your guide after breakfast around 8 AM at a convenient prearranged meet up location to pack gear and talk safety. We'll immediately head into the Hetch Hetchy region of Yosemite National Park and begin our 6.5 mile hike at the O’Shaughnessy Dam and spend the entire day in view of the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. Once considered the sister valley to the Yosemite Valley before it was dammed in 1920, Hetchy
Valley is packed with incredible scenery, towering granite peaks, and multiple waterfalls including the thundering 1200 foot Wapama Falls. We’ll end this incredible day with campfire stories and a huge camp dinner at the Rancheria Falls campground.
Day 2 | 6.5 Miles | Moderately Easy We'll wake with the sun and enjoy coffee and a hearty mountain breakfast before slowly making our way back along the Hetch Hetchy Resevoir. In addition to keeping a keen eye out for bears, your guide will entertain you with stories of Hetchy’s contentious past that is said to have brought an end to our beloved John Muir. We’ll end the evening with burgers and s’mores at the historic Evergreen Lodge before heading back!
El Capitan & The Northern Rim Backpacking Adventure | Strenuous
Choose between a 1 night and 2 days or 2 night and 3 days adventure along the northern rim of Yosemite Valley looking down from the iconic summits of El Capitan, Eagle Peak and Yosemite Falls before hiking into Yosemite Valley for pizza and beer! This is one of the best 17.5 miles of spring hiking in Yosemite for big views and no crowds!
DAY 1 | 9 Miles | Strenuous Elevation Gain Meet your guide after breakfast around 7 AM to pack gear, drink coffee and talk safety. We'll immediately head to the trailhead and begin our backcountry adventure. Before lunch we'll hike through several burn scars along the historic Big Flat Road, before enjoying lunch in the shade near Cascade Creek and exposed trails to the top of El Capitan. Once refueled, we'll work on the steep rocky trail leading to the summit of El Capitan, that largest granite monolith on the planet! The elevation gain is well worth it as we enjoy expansive views, stroll through the wildflowers of Ribbon Meadow and set camp for a delicious dinner and the starriest sky imaginable!
Day 2 | 8.5 Miles |Strenuous Elevation Loss We'll wake with the sun and enjoy coffee and a hearty mountain breakfast before another incredible day along the Northern Rim! That morning we'll get a well-deserved treat of moderate hiking, no crowds, and unprecedented views with breakfast on top of El Capitan and a mid morning snack on Three Brother’s Eagles Peak and an early lunch at the top of Yosemite Falls, the 5th tallest waterfall in the world! We'll have a steep and steady decline that afternoon as we descend into Yosemite Valley along the Yosemite Falls Trail. Once inside Yosemite Valley, we'll enjoy a short scenic drive through Yosemite Valley to the Half Dome Pizza Desk for a well-earned dinner of pizza and beer before we head back to your accommodations for the evening!
Glacier Point & Yosemite Valley's Southern Rim Backpacking Adventure | Strenuous
Enjoy a 2 night and 3 day adventure along the southern rim of Yosemite Valley with iconic views from the famed Mist Trail, Glacier Point, Sentinel Dome, Taft Point, and Dewey Point. The first day is a strenuous hike up the famed Mist Trail followed by more relaxed hiking the following two days. This hike is great for someone looking for big iconic views throughout their adventure, and the cherry on this sundae is that the Glacier Point is closed to vehicles through 2023, so you will have these big views all to yourself!
Day 1 | 7 Miles | Strenuous Elevation Gain Meet your guide after breakfast around 8 AM at a convenient prearranged meet up location to pack gear and talk safety. We’ll immediately drive into Yosemite National Park to begin our backcountry adventure along the famed Mist Trail where we’ll pass Vernal, Nevada and Illilouette Falls before camping near Illilouette creek. There we’ll enjoy a well deserved camp cookout before falling asleep under the starry Sierra sky.
Day 2 | 9.5 Miles | Moderate Elevation Gain and Loss After camp coffee and a hearty mountain breakfast, our second day is spent heading up and down in elevation, a handful of stream crossings and taking long breaks at Glacier Point, Sentinel Dome and Taft Point. We’ll revel in experiencing these famous sites without the crowds before coming to camp near Bridalveil Creek.
Day 3 | 7.5 Miles | Moderate Elevation Loss
We'll wake with the sun and enjoy coffee and a hearty mountain breakfast before another
incredible day filled with long breaks at Dewey, Crocker, and Stanford Points for bird’s eye views of everything Yosemite Valley is famous for, like Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, El Capitan and more… way, way more! We'll enter Yosemite Valley that afternoon where we'll enjoy a short scenic drive through Yosemite Valley to the Half Dome Pizza Deck for a well-earned dinner of Pizza and Beer before heading back to your accommodations for the evening!
Backpacking not your style? Check out our VACATION PACKAGES that include a host of guided day hikes and sightseeing adventures along with lodging at our Yosemite Basecamp.