Woo Hoo! Let’s get started on a recap of our road trip! Click here to check out an overview of the entire route. We flew out to San Francisco from New England and hit the road in our Escape Campervan. First destination…. Yosemite Valley!
Day one (September 28, 2016)
We jetted out from New England and landed in San Francisco around 11 AM. After an uber ride and a very quick and easy pick up process we were behind the wheel of our Campervan and headed for one of the most magical places on Earth (NO, not Disneyland! C’mon, you know us better than that. Yosemite!).
We stopped at a gas station to fuel up, grocery store to load up on some food and beer (we picked a Trader Joe’s that wasn’t far from the van pickup in Burlingame – we are vegetarians, so there was a much better selection there and their prices
are pretty reasonable. There were plenty of stores to choose from if TJ’s isn’t your thing), and then we were on our way.
This drive is around 4 hours or so, if you hit the road and don’t stop. It WILL take you MUCH longer! Count on that, especially if you are unfamiliar with the area and don’t have a set place to stay once you get to the Yosemite area. Most of the campgrounds will likely be booked solid.
We stopped along the way for plenty of photos and produce at a fruit stand, eventually arriving at our campsite in Yosemite Valley. I got lucky and found 3 consecutive nights open at Lower Pines campground right in the Valley which cut down on a LOT of driving for us. We got to our campsite around 9 pm, put the van in bed mode, and it was lights out.
Day Two (September 29, 2016)
We spent our first day getting the lay of the land by exploring Yosemite Valley via bike. We rented cruiser bikes ($35/person/day in Half Dome Village) and spent the day riding around taking in the sights. There is a network of bike paths around the Valley which makes it super easy to get around via bike without having to worry about traffic too much. I highly recommend bringing a bike or renting one while you are in Yosemite. There are shuttle buses regularly that can take you anywhere you want to go, but getting there by bike is SO much more fun.
After adventuring in the Valley for the day we took a ride to Tunnel View, a scenic vista looking out over an impressive span of granite peaks. It is definitely worth the ride to take some pictures and just sit back and enjoy the view.
Yosemite is definitely one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Ever. EVER!
Coming up next…. hiking/trail running the 4 mile trail —-> Glacier point —–> Panorama Trail —–> Mist Trail. I was going to include that in this point but it was so freaking beautiful, it deserves its own post.
Adventure Sneaker 
Ooh, looking forward to reading about the 4 mi trail!
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Love it! My friends and I did a similar trip and stayed in an Escape Campervan too. Such an awesome experience and Yosemite was the most beautiful place I had ever seen too!
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Oh that’s awesome! Aren’t the vans so much fun??? And Yosemite was just stunning. I can’t wait to go back.
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