The last leg of our California roadtrip (which, by now feels like a lifetime ago) was a few days in Yosemite over July 4th weekend. We rented a Marriott property which was a cabin in the park, which was definitely the right move since the park is huge and would’ve taken an hour to drive anywhere if we weren’t staying within its confines. We stayed in Scenic Wonders, which was pricey but very worth it since we met up with some friends and were all able to have our own space.

I panicked as we were entering the park, because there were huge signs that said YOU MUST HAVE A RESERVATION TO ENTER YOSEMITE. So here’s the intel that, unlike most other national parks, you need to go onto the NPS website and reserve entry for your car during the summer months. Thankfully, our cabin inside the park counted as a reservation. I’m glad they enact this reservation system because Yosemite is probably one of the most popular national parks in the US, and the main valley floor is one-way and crowded. Last time I visited, we came in April which was much less crowded (although some of the waterfall trails were more treacherous, right after snow melts).

Glacier Point

Below are a few of the highlights from our three days in the park. One of the most excited parts was when we were in the cabin while the boys went on a day hike, a momma bear and her cub visited us on our deck! I have never been so close to bears before.

On the way into the park, we stopped at the Yosemite Scenic Railroad. It’s a little gimmicky, but still fun as it’s a proper steam train, and we enjoyed riding on the “logs”.

The Yosemite Scenic Railroad

Most of the stops around Yosemite Valley are pretty kid-friendly (and wheelchair-accessible). We enjoyed hiking at Bridal Veils falls, Lower Yosemite Falls, and Cook’s Meadow Loop, all of which are paved. The shuttle system is slow, so I recommend finding a parking spot in the Valley as early as possible if you’re going to spend time there.

M and the boys also hiked Mariposa Grove and the full Glacier Point via Mist Trail one day. Starting at Glacier Point was incredibly scenic, and I’m glad we did part of the hike before leaving the more treacherous parts (definitely not toddler-friendly) to the adults.

There was a heat wave while we were there, with temperatures rising to 113 degrees, but we mostly didn’t notice since we started the days so early (woke up around 5 pm) and spent the afternoons in bodies of water. There are sandy stretches of the Merced River which were lovely to cool down at, and had sandy beaches for the kids to entertain themselves.

Swimming at the Merced River

We had a great roadtrip and it was so manageable that I’ve been thinking about what other trips we should take them on, since I think we feel pretty confident about taking both kids on a more nature-oriented trick. But, if we have the childcare available we will be taking advantage of some non-kid travel as much as we can, because the logistics of traveling with children are so much harder than traveling without. We just booked our anniversary trip to Quebec City, and it was nice not having to give a second thought to room set-up situation in the hotels, switching hotels, or timing of flights. We can’t wait!

Our cute “Cabin”