Giant Sequoias, Waterfalls and Welcoming Trails
Credit: Lynn Y.
Credit: Matej Hudovernik
Trip Type: Small Group Adventure
Territory: North America
Region: Pacific Northwest
Trip Price: From $3,250
Single Supplement: $985
On-Trip Airfare:
Duration: 6 days/5 nights
Trip Begins/Ends: Fresno, California / Fresno, California
Minimum Travelers: 2 travelers
Maximum Travelers: 16 travelers
Pricing detailed for this Small Group Adventure is based upon double occupancy. Additional charges for single travelers and any on-trip airfare required for the trip apply. A booking deposit is required to reserve your space. Small Group Adventure pricing includes all lodging, meals (unless otherwise noted), activities, baggage handling, transportation, and guide service. Not included are travel costs to/from gateway cities, guide gratuities, and personal incidentals including, but not limited to, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, alcoholic beverages, and laundry service. Travel with Off the Beaten Path requires agreement to our standard Terms & Conditions.
No Sweat - 1-2 miles of walking or hiking per day, plus easy activities
Nice & Active – 3-6 miles of hiking or walking per day, plus physically active exploration
High Five! – 5-12 miles of hiking per day, plus possible peak bagging or other action-oriented fun
Outdoors for 6 to 8 hours daily at elevations between 4,000 and 7,500 feet. Activities include hiking between two and five miles, on well-maintained trails.
Most all of our Small Group Adventures can be made private to just your traveling troupe. Just give us a call at (800) 445-2995 and tell us that you would like to “make it private”!
Generally, there are two ways to make a small group adventure private. First, you could capture one of our published departure dates for just your group. In order to achieve this, we have to have sufficient space available to create a separate private trip. Second, we could take the details of this itinerary and fashion it for just your group on dates of your choosing. For this, too, we just need to review your interest, group size, and preferred timing in order to create the trip.
In all cases, the process begins with a phone call so give us a ring at (800) 445-2995 and after just a few minutes gathering information, we can set to the task of making your trip a reality!
Meet your guide at a designated hotel near the airport, ready to begin this great journey! On the 80-mile drive to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, you’ll get to know your guide and fellow travelers and learn about the region’s history. Our lodge tonight is mere minutes from the historic Grant Grove of sequoias, including the General Grant Tree, a soaring 267 feet tall!
We’ll find a good morning hike before we bid farewell to Kings Canyon and head for Yosemite. Upon arrival in the park, we’ll enjoy a short hike to ground ourselves in one of our nation’s most cherished landscapes. Towering cliffs, expansive vistas, abundant waterfalls and important wildlife habitat are all part of John Muir’s legacy.
This morning we make our way into the heart of Yosemite Valley for a look at El Capitan, Half Dome, Sentinel Peak, and other iconic and breathtaking natural attractions. Our guide will lead us on some amazing hikes, that might include Glacier Point, Bridalveil Fall, and Lower Yosemite Falls. We may visit some of John Muir’s favorite spots, mentioned in his journals, as we find our own favorite spot to pause and enjoy the view.
Conditions and our guide’s sense of serendipity dictate where we explore and hike today, all still within the park. One possibility is the Hetch Hetchy Valley, where a controversial dam in 1925 raised the ultimately futile objections of John Muir and others from the budding conservation movement. Another option would take us up the Tioga Road to Tuolumne Meadows, with its great views of the Cathedral Range. This is the largest subalpine meadow in the Sierra Nevada, and we could enjoy any number of hikes in this gorgeous part of the park.
Most of this day is dedicated to hiking and valley exploration. "Guide's choice" trails might include the "mist trail" to Vernal Falls, Muir Trail, Mirror Lake, or Cook's Meadow. Later we can drop by the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center and you can also stop in at the Ansel Adams Gallery. Last thing this afternoon is a delightful private tour of the distinguished Ahwahnee Hotel—followed by a festive farewell dinner at the Ahwahnee’s famous dining room.
Catch breakfast at the hotel and shuttle to the airport for connections home.
John Muir Lodge is a stone and timber retreat, set within minutes of the Grant Grove giant sequoia forest, and named after the Scottish author and naturalist who advocated for the preservation of the wilds of the Sierra Nevada. The lodge was built in 1998, and in 2014, all of the hotel rooms were extensively renovated. Sustainability drove every decision, and a number of environmentally-friendly elements were selected for furniture, fabrics, and carpet.
The Tenaya Lodge is a lovely full service resort, located just a half mile south of Yosemite's southern entrance. This is a great base as it is a full service resort with several dining options, outdoor pool and lounge area, and also provides close and easy access to all the parks highlights. You're just a 30 minute drive to the main valley floor. (May Departure)
Big Trees Lodge (formerly Wawona Hotel) is a Victorian-style lodge and a National Historic Landmark set in a bucolic location amid lush meadows and rushing streams. The hotel’s beginnings were in the late-1800s, when Clark’s Station was built by miner Galen Clark, who left the gold camps due to ill health. While passing through the area, Clark became entranced with its beauty and returned to build his hotel. In 1878 a fire destroyed buildings at Clark’s Station, with the only survivor a stable and one cottage, now known as Clark Cottage. Over the years, the hotel complex went from pioneer stage stop to primitive inn, to a self-sustaining mountain resort—one of the very first in California. In 1932, the hotel became a part of Yosemite National Park. (April & October Departures)
Yosemite Valley Lodge sits in the heart of Yosemite Village in the heart of Yosemite National Park – needless to say, a central location! The lodge features glass and woodwork and lovely surroundings. The lodge features 226 lodge rooms, each with private bath, a desk, television, telephone, WiFi, and hair dryers. Coffee vouchers are presented at check-in, good for coffee in the café. Cell reception is available at the lodge for Verizon and AT&T customers, though reception quality varies throughout the property. A public computer is available in the lobby.
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