3 Days Camping Yosemite National Park
We really set the bar high for our first camping trip. Nate & I had never been camping, never been backpacking, and had only taken a day trip to one other national park.
The Pandemic had hit, and we were really itching to travel somewhere great. We knew that international travel was off the table, so we started looking stateside. Nate mentioned that he’d like to visit our good friends in L.A. and so we thought, why not make a road trip out of it. I started looking at Yosemite planning just in time! One of the first things I usually do once we’ve decided on a destination is check out AirBNB. A post that really intrigued me was “Backpack in Yosemite “ and this is where our adventure really began. We booked our stay through AirBNB and our host ended up being CampCrate a company that will ship you all of your gear for a trip of a lifetime!
Below you will find:
How to spend 3 days Camping & Backpacking Yosemite
Great Hikes while in the park
Our Review of CampCrate
Backpacking/Camping Packing List
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How to spend 3 days Camping & Backpacking Yosemite + our favorite hikes while there!
Travel Note: We ended up flying into Sacramento the night before & driving about 45 minutes to a Hotel to stay for the night. We had CampCrate ship our gear to the hotel & it worked great!
Day 1:
We woke up for an early start to the day because we wanted to maximize our time in the park. After a quick trip to Walmart to grab fuel for our camping stove & food, we made the few-hours drive to the park. It was a beautiful drive and we had quite a bit of excitement and anticipation for our first real backpacking trip. We had so many questions: What would the park be like? How would we do without a shower for three nights? Would we be able to complete our big hike/first backpacking experience?
As soon as we entered the park we were in awe. Yosemite definitely lives up to its name & we were completely blown away by its beauty. Our CampCrate/AirBNB host Chad had set everything up for us from permits into the park, campground reservations & hiking suggestions.
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Side Note: Camping Etiquette
What we didn’t know was that there was a “reservation” system in place at the campground. When you sign in (honor system) at the campground, you get your ticket & place it on the numbered stake in front of your site. We had no idea (first timers!!) and accidentally set up camp on someone else’s claimed site. We apologize to those people for our naive mistake!! Later in the night when we were going to sleep, we heard people rustling around setting up a tent that we thought was awfully close to ours… turns out, we had stolen their spot! The next morning when we all were making breakfast & setting out on our hikes, the twosome-a father & daughter-didn’t even say anything to us and were so nice! We have found that those traveling to the parks and who are just there to hike and camp are so nice!
The first day in the park we ended up seeing and doing quite a bit:
Set up Camp @ Upper Pines
Hike part of the Mist Trail (6.2 miles)-we ended up turning around because it was so crowded but would definitely want to try again someday
Explore Mirror Lake (2.4 mile hike) -we saw our first & only bear on the way
Float on the Merced River
Pick up our Bear Canister for our trek the next day
Go to the Visitor’s Center for firewood & other necessities we hadn’t brought with us
Have a great campfire and get to bed early to prepare for our day ahead
Our first day was an amazing introduction to Yosemite Valley & we were so excited for what was to come! We were also absolutely exhausted!
Day 2: Our First Backpacking Adventure
Like I said before, we had never even camped together, yet alone backpacked, so we were quite amped the next morning! We made a good breakfast on our camp stove & packed up camp. This took us quite a while for our first time, but it got quicker & quicker each day!
After going over options with Chad @ CampCrate, we had decided on backpacking to Dewey Point (A 4-mile hike each way). Originally our plan was to hike the Pohono Trail & backpack multiple nights, but the shuttle system was not running due to COVID so we took a pivot & ended up with this itinerary. It was absolutely perfect for us. We communicated with Chad extensively about our experience (or lack thereof) and landed on this. He even secured our Wilderness Permits for us, which was so nice because we had no idea what we were doing at that point in time planning for a National Park Trip!
We started at McGurk Meadow & made our way to Dewey Point, stopping along the way to fill up our waters with the provided filter and have a quick lunch. We barely saw anyone on our trek which was exactly what we wanted: to be off-grid, away from people, and really see the true Yosemite! The last mile was almost fully uphill but we pushed forward and made it to the point!
Dewey Point
Wow. We were completely blown away by this place. We found a great spot to set up camp and the rest of the day just explored the area and took in the sight of El Capitan. The sunset we watched from Dewey’s Point was up there with anything we had ever seen (Santorini, move over)!
To say that our first experience backpacking was perfect wouldn’t even begin to explain it– we were hooked.
Dewey Point at Sunset
Day 3:
Our adventure in Yosemite wasn’t over yet. We woke up to an amazing sunset & packed up camp. The hike down was quick and easy (downhill!!). We stopped at our same watering hole to fill up on water and have breakfast & instant coffee. There is just something SO good about instant coffee on a camping trip!
Glacier Point
On our way back down to the valley, we stopped a few places to admire the view of Half Dome:
Tunnel View & Glacier Point Road. You just can’t get pictures to do these justice. The views are just incredible!
Tunnel View
Our Last Day in the Valley
When we got back, we set up camp, again in Upper Pines spent our day again exploring Yosemite Valley & these were our highlights:
Lower Yosemite Falls
The best burgers ever (aren’t they all after backpacking) at the Meadow Grill in Curry Village
Lounging in the Merced River
Grabbing our poster & gear at the Visitor’s Center
Enjoying some Yosemite-themed beers by Sequoia Brewing Co.
Soaking in all the views from the valley of El Capitan & the Dawn wall
Our Review of CampCrate
If we could give CampCrate 11/10 stars we would! They were amazing before, during, and after our trip! You can check out the CampCrate website to see exactly what they offer, but in short, they send you a box full of the necissities for camping/backpacking. We found the company originally on AirBNB. We contacted them about our dates & needs and Chad, the host, set up everything we needed from permits to suggested hikes and of course picking out the perfect gear we needed for our trip! The communication with Chad & his crew was outstanding-they were able to answer our many questions, take our requests and figure out the best plan for us. Typically they ship to a UPS destination, but we wanted to get to the park as early as possible on the first day, so they were nice enough to ship the crate straight to the hotel. For all the gear that is packed, the box is relatively small so our hotel had no problem storing it for us until we arrived. When we opened the box, we were pleasantly surprised with how clean and new the gear was. It included everything from the tent, to packs, sleeping bags, water filter, camp stove & even camping meals. As first-timers on this type of trip, this was absolutely perfect. Included in our crate were also maps & a rough itinerary. The great part about this was it was all self-guided & all flexible based on what we wanted to do. The gear worked out great for us and as soon as we finished our trip, we had the pre-paid label to ship everything back! We did so at our next destination: Monterey, California. We were so thrilled with CampCrate & everything they did for us and truly felt that our trip was so epic because of them.
Our Favorite Camping/Hiking Gear
Subscribe for our Free Camping/Hiking Packing List!
Our Top Yosemite Tips
Rent Bikes to get around Yosemite Valley-We were on foot & probably could have seen a lot more!
Get Your Campground Reservations Early-we loved Upper Pines & its location
Check the NPS website to see if reservations to the park are needed!
Take a dip in the Merced River after a long day of exploring-your feet will thank you
Get Gas before you enter the park! We were awfully close to running out & depending on where you’re going, you may need to drive a lot!
Have a rough plan of what you want to do each day!
Use bear canisters for food & toiletries (these are always at trailheads, parking lots & on the campgrounds; if you backpack, be sure to rent a bear canister) & remember no bear spray in Yosemite!
Watch “Free Solo” movie about climber Tommy Caldwell to prepare for your trip!
We had an amazing three days in Yosemite National Park, and it really made us want to do more backpacking & more National Parks! Since having our son, we have said over and over that we’d love for this to be his first backpacking trip too!
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