About Yosemite
Yosemite Valley is nature's grandest architecture: a mile-wide granite trench where El Capitan's 3,000-foot face and the sculpted crown of Half Dome tower over meadows, oaks, and the Merced River. In spring and early summer the walls run with water — Yosemite Falls dropping 2,425 feet in a triple leap, Bridalveil blowing sideways in the breeze — and the whole valley thunders. It was this landscape that inspired John Muir, moved Lincoln to sign the first parkland protection in history, and filled Ansel Adams' lens for a lifetime.
Beyond the valley, the park climbs through giant-sequoia groves at Mariposa — trees older than most civilizations — to the high country of Glacier Point and Tioga Road, where domes and alpine meadows roll toward the Sierra crest. But it's the valley floor at golden hour, walls glowing and deer in the meadows, that visitors carry home.
Pavlus Recommendations
How our planners would spend a day in Yosemite.
Stand at Tunnel View
The valley's curtain-raiser: El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall, and Half Dome composed in one frame. Come at sunset when the granite goes gold — Adams made it immortal, but your own version still thrills.
Feel Yosemite Falls' spray
The short walk to the base of Lower Yosemite Fall puts you in the mist of North America's tallest waterfall — deafening in spring, when snowmelt sends it thundering.
Walk among the Mariposa sequoias
The Grizzly Giant has stood for some 3,000 years. Standing beneath it recalibrates your sense of time — and of what a tree can be.
Tours That Visit Yosemite
| Tour | Tour Partner | Days | Next Departure | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yosemite Easygoing Walking Tour | Backroads | 6 | Sep 1, 2026 | $4,899View & Get Price |
| Yosemite Valley Hiking & Walking Tour | Backroads | 5 | Apr 11, 2027 | $4,499View & Get Price |
| Yosemite Valley Women's Hiking & Walking Tour | Backroads | 5 | Apr 25, 2027 | $4,499View & Get Price |
| Yosemite Hiking & Walking Tour | Backroads | 6 | Aug 16, 2026 | $4,799View & Get Price |
| Yosemite Women's Hiking & Walking Tour | Backroads | 6 | Aug 23, 2026 | $4,899View & Get Price |
| Croatia Hiking & Walking Tour | Backroads | 6 | Aug 23, 2026 | $5,499View & Get Price |
| Croatia Easygoing Walking Tour | Backroads | 6 | Sep 15, 2026 | $5,499View & Get Price |
| Croatia Women's Hiking & Walking Tour | Backroads | 6 | Sep 8, 2026 | $5,499View & Get Price |
| Yosemite Multi-Adventure Tour | Backroads | 6 | Jun 13, 2027 | $4,599View & Get Price |
Book any of these through Pavlus and pay less — never a service fee. Browse the full catalog → or call 800-528-9300 for your unadvertised Pavlus price.