Our 4-Night Yosemite National Park Itinerary in October
Plus How to do Half Dome without a Permit
Yosemite National Park had been on my hiking bucket list for years. Although I’d visited once before on a California road trip in 2018, we only had enough time to stop at Glacier Point and hike Sentinel Dome before moving on. I always knew I wanted to come back and spend several days exploring everything the park had to offer.
We spent four nights staying in Curry Village, giving us plenty of time to hike some of Yosemite’s most iconic trails, explore Yosemite Valley, and check off one of my biggest bucket-list hikes—Half Dome.
Visiting in October turned out to be a great choice. The cooler temperatures made long hiking days much more enjoyable, and the trails were noticeably less crowded than peak summer. While some of the waterfalls weren’t as powerful as they are in the spring, the trade-off was worth it.
If you’re planning your first trip to Yosemite, here’s exactly how we spent our four nights, what we loved, and a few things we’d do differently next time.
Before diving into our itinerary, check out my Yosemite Travel Guide, where I cover the best time to visit, where to stay, getting around the park, park passes, and everything you should know before you go.
Yosemite Itinerary at a Glance
| Day | Highlights |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Fly into Fresno, drive to Yosemite and check into Curry Village |
| Day 2 | Hike the Mist Trail to Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall |
| Day 3 | Explore Yosemite Valley, walk to Mirror Lake, Hangout in Curry Villages community area |
| Day 4 | Hike Half Dome via the cables and celebrate afterward |
| Day 5 | Drive back to Fresno, horseback riding along the way and fly home |
Why We Chose This Itinerary
With only four nights in Yosemite, we wanted to prioritize the park’s most iconic hikes while still leaving time to enjoy Yosemite Valley without feeling rushed.
Staying inside the park at Curry Village made it easy to get early starts on the trails and avoid spending hours driving in and out of the park each day. Looking back, I think four nights was the perfect amount of time for a first visit. We were able to do some of Yosemite Valleys main hikes and we still had plenty of free time at Curry Village to enjoy the food, bar and camp vibes.
Day 1: Arriving in Yosemite National Park
We landed in Fresno, picked up our rental car, and made the 2.5 hour drive into Yosemite National Park. The drive itself is beautiful, and as soon as you enter the park, it’s hard not to stop every few minutes to take pictures.
After checking into Curry Village, we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in Curry Villages community area where we ate food and got some drinks from the bar and enjoyed the camp villages energy.
One thing I immediately loved about staying in Curry Village was how central it was. Since most of the major trailheads and shuttle stops were nearby, we didn’t have to use our car for the rest of the trip.
Day 2: Mist Trail, Vernal Fall & Nevada Fall
We had a slow morning, took advantage of the breakfast that Curry Village offers and then set out for the day around noon.
The Mist Trail begins near Happy Isles and immediately starts climbing. The first part of the hike follows the Merced River before reaching the famous stone staircase leading up to Vernal Fall.
Although the waterfall wasn’t flowing nearly as heavily as it does in the spring, it was still impressive.
From there, we continued climbing toward Nevada Fall.
Once we reached the top of Nevada Fall, we took a well-earned break, ate our PB & J sandwiches, and enjoyed the views before beginning the hike back down. We kept taking different paths along the way to check out different areas and were on the John Muir Trail at one point.
By the end of the day, we had covered over 11 miles and the hiking poles had really come in handy since my knees weren’t aching as much as I thought they would be.
Vernal Fall & Nevada Fall via the Mist Trail
- Starting Point: Happy Isles (shuttle stop #16)
- Theres no parking at Happy Isles, the closest parking is at Curry Village
- From Curry Village its a 1 mile walk (or take the free shuttle) to get to Happy Isles
- Distance: Approximately 6.5 miles round trip depending on how far you go
- Vernal Fall Footbridge:
- 1.6 miles round-trip; 400-foot elevation gain
- 1–1.5 hours
- Top of Vernal Fall:
- 2.4 miles round-trip via the Mist Trail; 1,000-foot elevation gain
- 2–3 hours
- Top of Nevada Fall:
- 5 to 7 miles round-trip; 2,000-foot elevation gain
- 4–6 hours
- You have an option to hike out the same way via the Mist Trail which is the quickest option but this route can be hard on your knees since you’ll be going down the Vernal Fall granite stairs.
- The other option is to take the John Muir Trail down which adds about 1.3 miles but is easier.
- Vernal Fall Footbridge:
- Difficulty: Strenuous
Travel Tip: Bring plenty of water and snacks. There aren’t any services once you leave the trailhead, and you’ll definitely want to take breaks along the way.
Day 3: Yosemite Valley & Mirror Lake
After our long hike the day before, we planned a much more relaxed day. We spent the morning sitting in rocking chairs at Curry Village while sipping coffee and watching a squirrel gather his acorns lol.
Next we decided to walk to Mirror Lake, which turned out to be one of the funniest moments of the trip.
When we finally arrived…there wasn’t any lake left.
Since we visited in October after a long, dry summer, Mirror Lake had completely dried up. While it wasn’t quite what we expected, the walk itself was still nice and we didn’t want this day to include any strenuous hiking since we were hoping to do Half Dome the next day.
Mirror Lake Info
- Starting Point: Mirror Lake Trailhead (Yosemite Valley Shuttle Stop #17)
- Distance: 2–5 miles round trip (depending on your route)
- If you just go to the lake and back its 2 miles
- If you do the full loop its around 5 miles
- Difficulty: Easy
- Time: 1–3 hours
That evening, we headed back to Curry Village to get everything ready for what would become the biggest adventure of our trip—Half Dome.
Day 4: The Half Dome Adventure We Almost Didn’t Get to Do
Half Dome Hike Info
- Starting Point: Happy Isles (Shuttle Stop #16)
- Distance: 14–16 miles round trip
- Difficulty: Extremely Strenuous
- Time: 10–14 hours
- Permit: Required
- Cables: usually go up the Friday before Memorial Day in late May and come down the day after the second Monday in October.
Our Half Dome Adventure Without Permits
If you’ve done any research on Yosemite, you’ve probably heard about Half Dome. It’s one of the park’s most iconic hikes and was the main reason we planned this trip.
A permit is required to climb the cables during the final section of Half Dome. We tried the daily lottery while we were in Yosemite and had no luck.
At that point, we had accepted that there was a good chance we wouldn’t get to hike Half Dome.
Still, we decided to hike toward Sub Dome anyway with the hope that someone might have extra permits.
It definitely felt like a long shot, but we figured it was worth trying.
We did the hike on a Sunday in October, two days before they took the cables down.
After hiking for several hours, we finally reached the ranger checking permits near Sub Dome. We asked a few groups if anyone happened to have extra permits, but no one did.
We kept asking every new group that walked by us and finally one of the groups had one extra permit. So we figured one of us would take this permit and start hiking toward Half Dome and I would keep asking people hoping to find another.
Time was running out since we had already started this very long hike way later then your supposed to- we didn’t start hiking until 9 AM (most people start this hike around 5 AM).
Finally, I found someone who had an extra permit and I was able to pass the ranger, find my friend and hike towards the base of the Half Dome which we arrived at around 2pm.
Climbing the Half Dome Cables
This was easily the most intimidating part of the hike.
Pictures don’t do it justice.
The granite is incredibly steep, and you’re pulling yourself up using steel cables while standing on narrow wooden boards spaced along the rock.
I don’t have any experience with climbing besides doing some of the kids rock climbing walls a couple times, which even those were scary to me.
The one benefit to starting Half Dome so late in the day (and it being the off season in October) was that there was only a few other people there so I didn’t feel too rushed compared to if there was a whole line of climbers behind me waiting impatiently.
About partway up, I completely froze. I looked down, realized how high we were, and instantly regretted looking.
I honestly wasn’t sure I could keep going.
Thankfully, this hiker that was climbing down Half Dome (shoutout to Rachel!) saw the fear in my eyes and offered me her harness to borrow so I could keep climbing up while feeling a little safer. This allowed me to keep going and eventually we reached the top!
Reaching the top of Half Dome is something I’ll never forget.
The panoramic views over Yosemite National Park were incredible, and after everything it took just to get there—from not winning the lottery to almost turning around—it made standing on top feel even more rewarding.
We spent about 30 minutes taking photos and soaking it all in before starting the long hike back down.
By the time we climbed back down Half Dome it was around 3:45 PM and we still had 7.5 miles to go to finish the hike.
The Unexpected 3 Mile Hike in Darkness
By the time we reached Nevada Fall, it was completely dark, and we were hiking the final ~3 miles using our headlamps.
Needless to say, we were completely exhausted and pretty scared hiking in complete darkness with just headlamps on.
At about 8 PM we reached the end of the hike and we were so grateful to see the paved road that leads to Curry Village.
That night, we celebrated with a well-earned dinner and a whiskey sour back at Curry Village.
Looking back, hiking Half Dome is still one of my favorite travel memories. It was mentally the hardest hike I’ve ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. It was that kind of “type 2 fun” that is something you’ll never forget.
Toilets Along the Half Dome Hike
- Happy Isles Trailhead
- The very start of the hike
- Vernal Falls Bridge
- Has flush toilets and this is the last place that has filtered water fill up stations
- Emerald Pool
- Outhouse style toilets located just above Vernal Fall
- Nevada Fall
- Outhouse style toilets located near the intersection of the Mist Trail and John Muir Trail
- Little Yosemite Valley Campground
- This is the last toilet for the rest of the Half Dome Hike
- Compost toilet
- It is a short detour off the main trail into the campground area
Travel Tip: If you’re planning to hike Half Dome, start as early as possible, bring plenty of water and snacks, wear gloves and a harness for the cables, pack a headlamp in case you’re hiking back after sunset, and don’t forget to enter the preseason permit lottery months in advance. Its advised not to climb Half Dome if the ground is wet since most accidents that happen are due to the rock being wet and slippery.
Day 5: Head Home + Spontaneous Horseback Riding
After four unforgettable nights in Yosemite, it was time to pack up and make the drive back to Fresno for our flight home.
Four nights ended up being the perfect amount of time to experience Yosemite without feeling rushed, and there were still plenty of trails I’d love to come back and explore someday.
On the way to the airport, we spotted a random sign for horseback riding and decided to pull over on a whim. Neither of us had planned for it, but sometimes those spontaneous stops end up becoming some of the best travel memories.
It also happened to be my very first time horseback riding. We spent some time riding through the trails before getting back on the road, and I’m so glad we decided to make the stop. It was the perfect way to end our Yosemite adventure.
The company was called: Yosemite Trails Horseback Adventures.
4 Nights in Yosemite Recap
Looking back, I don’t think we could have planned a better first Yosemite trip.
From hiking to the top of Nevada Fall to summiting Half Dome, every day brought something different. Even though we didn’t win the Half Dome permit lottery, taking a chance and hiking to the permit checkpoint ended up becoming one of my favorite travel stories.
If I could change anything, I’d probably visit again in late spring to see the waterfalls at their peak. But I’d also happily return in October for the cooler hiking weather, smaller crowds, and beautiful fall scenery.
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