Yosemite Valley Floor Tour

Words cannot describe the incredible splendor of the tour. The Rangers know the best spots for photos that will make you believe you are a talented photographer. Kiera gave an interesting historical perspective of Yosemite and the importance of preservation for our overall well being. Take this tour to enrich your Yosemite experience. My college son said it was a ‘bomb’.

This tour is a great way to get oriented with Yosemite Valley. Note the winter tours are in a regular bus, limiting the views of certain sights, but you can always walk back later to explore any areas you like once you know the lay of the land.

Having never been to Yosemite and visiting with a kid and two older parents, my activities to do at Yosemite were very limited. My time was also limited because it was a last minute trip and I couldn’t find a hotel that was nearby for a reasonable price so a day trip was all that I could afford.
I did some research and came across this tour being offered every two hours and I thought it was very neat! Booking the last tour of the day, running from 3 PM — 5 PM, my family and I made our way to Yosemite from the Bay Area at 9 AM.
Getting there was a breeze, but traffic was horrible at the entrance of Yosemite where they collect $ 30 for a 7 day pass per personal vehicle. And more traffic came up when we got closer to Yosemite Valley.
We were suppose to arrive about two hours earlier to explore the area before the tour but we got there 15 minutes pass 3 PM. I quickly dropped off my family after seeing that the tour bus has not left us. I had to circle around 3 – 4 times before finding a parking spot. I quickly ran to the bus and grabbed a seat and the bus took off about 5 minutes after. it was so stressful and hectic for me that I got a headache and did not really enjoy Yosemite until my nerves calmed down shortly after.
If you are visiting for the summer, I would highly advise you getting there as early as possible to avoid the traffic and delay at the gate entrance. If you cannot, then try to get the latest tour time possible.
The tour itself was great, very informative about the history and folk tales of the park. We got to do two pit stop where we got off and took pictures of the amazing scenery surrounding the Valley Floor.
The first pit stop allowed a bathroom break and the second pit stop allowed a water break at Inspiration Point.
Our tour bus hit traffic heading back to Yosemite Lodge at the Falls so the tour guide was kind enough to let people off if they wanted to walk.
This tour is a great way to sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery if you are visiting for a short amount of time. I bought tickets online for 2 senior and a 2 adults + 1 child packet and the grand total was $ 100.

On a recent trip to Yosemite we were really hoping to sign up for the Glacier Point star gazing tour, but unfortunately it is only in operation Sun — Thurs, and we were only planning to be in the area on a Friday night. So we opted for the Yosemite Valley Moonlight Floor Tour instead and were not disappointed we did. Just after 9pm we loaded on to the tour «bus» (which was more like a open-​air moving platform with benches) and toured through the park for about an hour (one hour out, one hour back for a total of 2 hours), all the while our tour guide pointed out notable spots in the park and grazed the meadows with her flashlight to bring the wild life to light (we ended up seeing a few deer, raccoons). The best part was being able to see the headlamps of the rock climbers on El Capitan as they settled in for the night still precariously suspended from the granite monolith’s edges. Experiencing the sights of the park from the light of the full moon was really spectacular so if you’re ever visiting during a full moon, consider taking this tour!

On day two of visiting Yosemite, we had booked this tour. Our guide was fairly new (she had been there 3 weeks) and did an ok job. She had a cheat sheet she kept under her leg which she would read from time to time. Honestly, I was hoping for more inside info that I couldn’t get if I was seeing the park on my own.

We signed up for this because as the driver in our family, I wanted to be able to see and enjoy all the beautiful sites Yosemite has to offer and not keep my eyes on the road all the time. This tour was a perfect option. An open air tram so you can get lots of great pictures. They stop twice on the 2 hour tour so you can get out and take pictures, go to the restroom or just stretch your legs. The guide told us Indian legends, park history, geography and fun facts the whole time. She offered to take pictures of us and they provided much appreciated cups of water at one of the stops. Whether you are short on time and just want to see the highlights, or maybe at the beginning of your trip to get a good overview of the park, this tour is great.

A good way to get an overview of the Valley and hear a little history of the park.
Could have done without the White Shame political commentary from the Ranger though.

I normally don’t recommend taking a tour through a National Park as I feel like you should explore it by hiking. However, we were exhausted from a long day and this seemed like the perfect way to end the day. I thought the shuttle was super informative and gave a nice overview of the park. Since we took it near dusk, we got amazing views from Tunnel View as the sun was setting and then we saw several bears roaming around on our way back to the Yosemite Village. Finally, I guess for those individuals you cannot hike or have trouble walking this provides a great opportunity for them to see different aspects of the park from the bottom up.

This tour is fantastic. No need to repeat everybody else’s very complimentary comments. I definitely recommend it even for repeat yosemite visitors like me, I still enjoyed it and learned a lot new about the park, mainly from the personal stories of the park ranger guide.
I’d have rated this 5 stars but I’m taking off 1 star for the reservation system, they charged me 3 times and credited me 1 time which still netted me a double charge for the same tour. I tried to get this cleared up 3 times, one in email, another at check-​in at wawona hotel the day before the tour, and still one more time at check-​in in curry village 1 hour after the tour when they showed me one charge. At both check-​ins the clerks assured me there would only one charge after checking with their «managers». Either their reservation clerks are incompetent or their reservation computer system is defective. They did not respond to my email either, so I don’t know what up with them.

I agree with just about everything all other enthusiasts of the Valley Floor Tour said — it’s a fantastic way to orient yourself in the park and hear some amazing stories about what makes this place so extra special. The ranger guide we had was absolutely lovely and her enthusiasm for her job was obvious.
It really made me feel so proud to be American and helped me appreciate this absolutely stunning place even more.
I was able to buy my tickets upon my arrival in the park that morning (we went in late August) from the gate checkpoint. I paid at the meeting place where you can purchase other tour ticket related stuff.
Absolute must! I can even see myself doing it again — as it really is a grand overview with awesome stories.

We took this tour on our recent visit to Yosemite. This tour gives you a good base of knowledge to begin your stay in the park. It’s an open air tram that takes you to various scenic stops and lookouts on the Valley floor. The guides give you interesting information and history about each stop and the park in general. They will answer any questions you might have. They try a little too hard to make it fun with blaring music and wanting you to sing along and gesture to YMCA. It’s still worth taking the tour though.

I am a Yosemite girl!!! I have spent close to every summer of my life camping here, and if we for some reason can’t stay up here for a few days at a time, I at least make a day trip up here every year. The floor tour sounds totally lame, like it’s something old people do, or non-​English speaking tourists with cameras around their necks taking pictures of every tree or rock imaginable. But last year when my mom suggested it during our annual trip we thought, why not? I’m SOOOO glad we did! It was a very different experience, and even though I thought I knew almost everything about Yosemite, I learned A LOT! We had a great tour guide, who pointed out a lot of things that we’ve actually driven by 100 times before but have never noticed. In another couple years I will do this again, there was just too much info to retain! Highly recommended and worth it!

This was an extraordinary way to see the park. Being in an open air tram so you can see up, rather than just being in a car, was great. The ranger gave us lots of history and interesting stories about the park. You stop twice to get out and take in the views. There was intermittent shade as the tram passes through the valley and it’s trees so you don’t get too overwhelmed by being in the sun for two hours but sunscreen and hats are a good idea. You can bring your own water but they provide water at the second stop. It is a great way to get oriented and get some history on the park when you first arrive. It departs from the Yosemite Lodge and you can buy tickets in the Lodge’s lobby.

Lovely and educational 2-​hour tour of the Yosemite Valley Floor. Great way to get a start on exploring Yosemite. Knowledgeable ranger is the guide. Great sightseeing in the open tram. Great venue for photo taking. Along the route, the ranger tells the history of Yosemite, its first inhabitants and when the outside world discovered this remarkable valley. Also, covers the major men who pushed to get this land set aside as a National Park. John Muir stories were very interesting.
Several stops (one including water) along the way. Hits all the major valley sights as it basically does the valley floor loop.
$ 25 per adult. Hint: make reservations ahead in the busy summer months over the phone line, as the tours are often sold out.
Other tours available which look intersting also. See the webpage.

A pretty good and quick tour for the introduction to Yosemite! This 2-​hour tour on an open tram takes you around the Yosemite Valley Floor where, according to the tour guide, ~90% of the visitors spend most of their time when visiting the park.
We called about 2 weeks before our visit to reserve the spots for just in case. For $ 25 per person and considering that we drove all the way from San Jose for this day trip, it was totally worth it. Once we got there, we parked our car at the day parking lot and took the free shuttle service to the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls where the tour gathered to board the tram.
During the tour, we had a bio-​break and a few chances to get off the tram and wandered around the area for some photo shoots. If you are a frequent visitor to this gorgeous natural treasure, you might get a little bored. Nonetheless, I think it is also a perfect way to learn a little about the Yosemite. (e.g. How the park was rumored to be named by mistake.)
Kick back, relax, and enjoy your visit!

This tour was a lot of fun. Me and my 3-​year old daughter did the 2 hour tour at 6 pm. Although we were there during near triple-​digit heat, it was very comfortable riding through the open air. The tour guide spoke most of the ride and was very entertaining. It felt very safe, there were a couple of stops where we could get out and take pictures and they provided water. It costs $ 25 to ride the tour, children 5 and under are free. We bought our tickets at the activities desk at Yosemite Lodge. The tour meets at Yosemite Lodge by the checkin area, it is stop 8 if you use the free shuttle service.