Yosemite National Park

A paved drive-up pullout at the east end of the Wawona Tunnel on Highway 41, where one frame holds El Capitan on the left, Bridalveil Fall on the right, and Half Dome at the back of the Valley. The view looks straight up Ahwahnee, the homeland of the Ahwahneechee. It is empty and gold at sunrise and packed at sunset, so come early with kids.

About 3,000 ft of vertical granite on the Valley's northwest wall, one of the largest exposed granite monoliths on Earth. Lynn Hill made the first free climb of The Nose in 1993, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson freed the Dawn Wall in 2015, and Alex Honnold free-soloed Freerider in 2017. The El Capitan Meadow pullout is where families borrow a spotting scope and find the climbers as slow dots on the wall.

A granite dome rising to 8,839 ft, sheared flat on its northwest face by glacial and fracture action. The cables route to the summit runs 14 to 16 miles round trip with about 4,800 ft of gain and takes most hikers 10 to 12 hours; a permit is required by lottery on Recreation.gov when the cables are up. It is not a kid hike. Families see the dome from Tunnel View, Glacier Point, Cook's Meadow, and Mirror Lake.

A 2,425 ft total drop across the Upper Fall, the middle cascades, and the Lower Fall, one of the taller waterfalls on Earth. It is fed by snowmelt, so the flow peaks in May and can run dry by late summer. The Lower Yosemite Fall loop is a 1-mile paved, flat walk, the easiest waterfall payoff in the park with kids, and the spray reaches the footbridge at peak flow.

Over 500 mature giant sequoias, the largest sequoia grove in the park and one of the two tracts Lincoln set aside in the 1864 Yosemite Grant. The Grizzly Giant is roughly 3,000 years old per NPS. The Big Trees Loop is 0.3 mile, paved, and wheelchair accessible, 30 to 45 minutes. Private cars stop at the Welcome Plaza and a free shuttle runs into the grove; arrive by mid-morning before the lot fills.

A granite-and-timber hotel that opened in 1927, a National Historic Landmark in the east end of Yosemite Valley below the Royal Arches. The Great Lounge and dining room are open to day visitors who are not guests, and the grounds are free to walk. The hotel takes the Ahwahneechee place-name Ahwahnee; the people it names were evicted from the Valley, the last village in 1969. A 2016 trademark dispute briefly forced the name to Majestic Yosemite Hotel; the Ahwahnee name returned in 2019.

The best single stop in the Valley to ground kids in whose home this is, free with park entry near the Valley Visitor Center in Yosemite Village. Behind the museum, the reconstructed Indian Village of Ahwahnee interprets Miwuk and Paiute life with bark houses and an acorn granary, and the Wahhoga ceremonial roundhouse village near Camp 4 was dedicated in 2018. Read it as living culture, not a diorama: the seven traditionally associated tribes remain part of the park today. The self-guiding village loop is flat and short.

Heated canvas tent cabins and wood cabins on the Valley floor below Glacier Point, the most affordable Valley lodging, founded in 1899 as Camp Curry. It has walk-up access to the free Valley shuttle, a food court, and the Mist Trail trailhead at Happy Isles. It books months ahead through the concessioner at travelyosemite.com. Bear lockers stand at every unit; store all food.

The largest of the three Pines campgrounds on the Valley floor and the only Valley campground open year-round. Reservations release on Recreation.gov five months ahead at 7 a.m. Pacific on the 15th of the month and fill within minutes for summer dates. Flush toilets, drinking water, and a required food locker at every site. It is walking distance to the Happy Isles shuttle stop and the Mist Trail.

A short paved, wheelchair-accessible trail reaches a railing 3,214 ft above Curry Village, looking down on the Valley, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, and the high country, about as much view as the park gives for as little walking. Glacier Point Road is open to cars roughly late May through October or November, depending on conditions, after the 2022 rehabilitation closure. Confirm the road status with NPS before you plan the drive.

A pullout at about 8,400 ft on Tioga Road, looking down the length of Tenaya Canyon to the back of Half Dome. Glacier-polished granite and balanced erratic boulders at the railing make the glaciation lesson literal for kids: the ice that carved the Valley left its tools here. It is open only when Tioga Road is open, roughly late May or June through October or November.

A seasonal pool below Half Dome at the mouth of Tenaya Canyon that reflects the dome in spring and dries to a meadow by late summer. Kids can wade and skip rocks when the water is up. It is 2 miles round trip and paved to the lake, so the short version is stroller-feasible; the full loop runs about 5 miles.

A 620 ft single-drop fall at the south side of Yosemite Valley, visible from Tunnel View and reached by a 0.5-mile paved round trip with about 80 ft of gain. The rebuilt trail and viewing area reopened after a multi-year restoration. It is drive-up, short, and busy. The fall blows sideways in wind, which is how it got its name.

From Happy Isles, a 1.6-mile round trip with about 400 ft of gain to a footbridge with a clear view of Vernal Fall, a realistic turnaround with younger kids. The paved trail is steep. The granite steps above the bridge get slick with spray and people fall there, so going to the top of the fall lengthens the day to about 3 miles round trip with roughly 1,000 ft of gain on wet rock. Set a turnaround point before you start.