SarahGrosch

My husband and I will be spending 3 nights at Yosemite National Park in May 2015. We plan to camp in the park either in North Pines, Lower Pines, or Upper Pines depending on what site we can get when they become available on January 15th. We have never been to Yosemite before and we are looking for any recommendations. What are all the must-dos for a 3 day trip? We will have our dog with us so we need dog friendly activities.

Thanks!

wekewoody

I've never taken a dog to Yosemite. You might find this helpful.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/pets.htm

J62

In my opinion the dog friendly & Yosemite must-do's don't mix well. The best of Yosemite is getting off the beaten path, hiking up to the top of Yosemite Falls, to Mirror Lake, or the John Muir trail, or down from Glacier point.

As you can see from the link posted above, in Yosemite, pets are allowed on fully paved bike paths and roads, on a leash 6 feet or shorter. Pets cannot be left unattended. Pets are NOT allowed on hiking trails with limited exceptions.

SarahGrosch

Thanks for the information. I would leave my dog home, but Yosemite is just one stops along a 2 week road trip trip and I don't want to leave her home for the entire 2 weeks. I will just make the best of this trip and next time I will plan to go to Yosemite without her. I only live 5 hours away so I can certainly go again.

Is anyone familar with the hiking trails that pets are allowed on? The "limited exceptions" that J62 mentioned?

wekewoody

In the link above it mentions:
"There are a few additional (very obscure and unsigned) places where pets are allowed:
Wawona: Wawona Meadow Loop, Chowchilla Mountain Road, and Four Mile and Eleven Mile fire roads
Hodgdon Meadow: Carlon Road from the trailhead to Hodgdon Meadow and on the Old Big Oak Flat Road from Hodgdon Meadow to Tuolumne Grove parking lot."

Gretchen

You will be there at a wonderful time--the falls will be in full swing.
We didn't hike but the usual suspects are all wonderful, of course--Half Dome.
We enjoyed Tuolomne Meadows for an overnight as we went through the Park eastward. Whether it could be done as a day trip up and back I can't remember.

mlgb

You can take the dog out to Mirror Lakes, just not beyond that.

There's a kennel in the Valley, if you want to take a day to do some of the other hikes. Be sure to reserve.

http://www.yosemitepark.com/pets-in-yosemite.aspx

I think we saw dogs up at Glacier Point, but it may not be open to vehicle traffic in May. Worth asking about since the website isn't clear on that.