Yosemite · With kids
WITH KIDS
Paved trails to enormous things, a wadeable river, and sequoias reached by free shuttle.
Lower Yosemite Fall
A paved one-mile loop from the shuttle stop to the base of the fall, drenched in spray from April to June and bone dry by August. Strollers manage it.
Mariposa Grove
Giant sequoias reached by a free shuttle from the south entrance, with a third-mile accessible boardwalk past the Fallen Monarch and the Grizzly Giant beyond.
Mirror Lake and river beaches
A flat two miles to a seasonal lake that reflects Half Dome in spring. In midsummer the sandy Merced beaches at Cathedral and Sentinel are the better bet.
Junior Ranger and Little Cubs
The standard booklet runs from about age seven; a shorter Little Cubs version covers younger children. Both are finished at the valley visitor centre desk.
Roads, bears and waterfall timing
Tioga and Glacier Point roads open only from roughly late May to autumn. Food goes in the metal lockers, always, and the falls fade by late summer.