Among the top parks in the US, the closest one to the city of San Francisco is also one of the most famous in the West: Yosemite National Park. The distance between San Francisco and the Yosemite Valley is in fact just over 186 miles, which takes just under 4 hours by car.
Unless you’re heading down the coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles or to less common destinations (Lake Tahoe or Sacramento), classic road trips of the West include Yosemite as their first stop. So let’s figure out how to best organize the trip from San Francisco to Yosemite!
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From San Francisco to Yosemite by Car
There are as many roads available as the western entrances to Yosemite, and the routes and travel times vary.
Fastest Route from San Francisco to Yosemite
To get to Yosemite from San Francisco as quickly as possible, you must enter the park from Groveland via North Entrance. This may be the best choice for those who only have time for a day trip and cannot afford to make an intermediate stop with overnight accommodations.
Other Routes
There are at least two other ways to Yosemite from San Francisco. The first leads to the West Entrance (Mariposa), while the second one – though I recommend you only choose it under certain conditions – enters the park via the South Entrance (Oakhurst). Here are the directions.
West Entrance
South Entrance
Planning Stops
As you will have already understood, there are many things to do and during a road trip time is precious. The practical advice I always give all those who ask me for help in organizing stops on a road trip is to break up the trip with an intermediate overnight stay, and this has at least 3 advantages:
- You will avoid driving more than 190 miles in a single day, not counting the distance to the next stop (usually beyond the Tioga Pass, on the Eastern Sierra).
- You will not take up too much time visiting San Francisco and Yosemite.
- You will save some money on accommodations: Subtracting an overnight stay in San Francisco has a positive impact on your budget!
If you are not traveling in your own car, I suggest that you pick up your rental car during the late afternoon/evening of the last day of your stay in San Francisco and spend the night in one of the many towns and cities on the way to Yosemite, for example, Modesto, Merced, Stockton, Manteca and Oakdale. The accommodations in these places usually do not cost much. Of course, you can also decide to stay overnight near the entrance of Yosemite, but the prices rise gradually as you get closer to the park. Click on the link below to read my suggestions for choosing accommodations between the two destinations.
Tips on where to stay between San Francisco and Yosemite
The important thing is that the next morning you can arrive at the park at a convenient time, with 2 hours (or even less) of driving behind you. You’ll avoid incoming traffic and have more energy and more time to hike in Yosemite! In addition, if you are not particularly tired, you can also drive a little further when it’s time to leave Yosemite towards the next destination, which 99% of the time is Death Valley (to learn more about planning this important intermediate stop between the two destinations, read the article below).
Tips on where to stay between Yosemite and Death Valley
How to Choose Stops According to the Itinerary
Yosemite is vast and there are many things to see, so choosing which way to go from San Francisco could also affect how you organize your visit to Yosemite.
- You want to go straight to Yosemite Valley? In that case, the first two roads (the fastest and the one to Mariposa-West Entrance) are fine. If you decide to take my advice and break up the trip, look for accommodations that suit you best and choose which route to take. If you do everything in one day, leave San Francisco very early or plan to spend little time in the park. For example, I found lodging in Merced and then I entered Yosemite through the West Entrance.
- Are you going to see the sequoias in Mariposa Grove? As I said before, in this case, it might be worthwhile to go through the South Entrance, since Mariposa Grove is not far from there. All the more reason to break up the trip by spending the night in one of the towns on the route (e.g. Merced or Chowchilla). The sooner you get to Mariposa Grove, the more time you can spend in the other parts of the park (Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point, Tioga Road, etc.).
WARNING! If you plan to visit Sequoia National Park after Yosemite, then instead of going to Mariposa Grove as suggested in the second option, you can enter the park from the north or west and focusing your visit on the central part of Yosemite. Don’t worry, you will see the sequoias the next day in Sequoia National Park, after a strategic overnight stop between the two parks. Read my tips for finding accommodations in my in-depth post (link below).
Where to stay between Yosemite and Sequoia
Things to see between San Francisco and Yosemite
Here are two suggestions:
- Gold Rush: Do you have plenty of time? Would you like to add an interesting stop to your trip between San Francisco and Yosemite? If so, I suggest you head to the small western towns of the Gold Country, where the Gold Rush arose in California in the 19th century. In the linked article you will find tips on the places to visit and a map to see which towns are the closest to Yosemite.
- Monterey and Carmel: If before going to Yosemite you want to visit one of these coastal towns or both of them before going to Yosemite, you will surely have to spend at least one night in the area, given the distances (2 hours between San Francisco and Monterey, 4 hours between Monterey and Yosemite). In any case, I suggest you read our itinerary from Monterey to Yosemite to get an idea of the beautiful landscapes that await you if you decide to travel this route.
Tour from San Francisco to Yosemite
If you are in San Francisco, you don’t have a car in order to do a Fly and Drive trip, but you still want to take the opportunity to visit Yosemite, you could go on a tour. The classic option is a tour lasting one or more days and there are many tours available, so we have dedicated an article with all the information and tips on the subject.
Hi Bernardo,
Thank you for the information! I will be staying @ a Lodge by the South entrance. I’m wondering though, what do you think about picking up 49 in Mariposa, and from there going South-east to pick 41 back up?
I know it’s a smaller road, but from the map, it kind of looks like a short cut??
Appreciate any help, thank you in advance!
Colleen
Hi Colleen, actually you can do that! It’s a smaller road, and you will save 2-3 miles and about ten minutes of travel time 🙂
Hi Bernardo! I´m planning to go to Yosemite from SFO Airport (we will arrive to the airport at 9.30pm so the idea is to sleep at a hotel near the airport and next morning take our rented car and drive to Yosemite. What do you think?
I think that departing from the airport is better than from the center of the city , to avoid crowds traffic in SF. Do you think it´s a good idea? or what would you suggest to us?
Hi Leticia! I think it’s the absolute best option if you don’t plan to visit the city after you arrive in California. Read here to get some ideas!