This whole site is built on a 12-hour radius from Southern California, and Yosemite sits right at the edge of it. November 2025: four straight days of rain, a 12-mile hike that nearly broke us, three meals at camp that didn’t, and the kind of mountain views you don’t forget. Here’s exactly how it went down — and the playbook for doing it yourself.
The Drive — Orange County to Yosemite Valley
- Departed: Thursday, 6:00 a.m.
- Arrived: Yosemite Valley around 1:00 p.m.
- Total time: ~7 hours
- Distance: ~390 miles (one tank of gas if you start full)
- Route: I-5 N → CA-99 N → CA-41 N through Oakhurst → South Entrance into the park
Gas up before Bakersfield — prices climb the higher you go. The drive from the south gate to the valley floor takes another hour once you’re inside the park.
Getting In — Fees and Reservations
- Park fee: $35 per vehicle, good for 7 days
- Annual pass: America the Beautiful — $80, pays for itself in 3 visits
- Timed entry: Required in peak summer; in November you just pull up to the gate. Check the official reservation page before you go.
- Camping: Reservations through recreation.gov are essential — they open 5 months out on the 15th of the month at 7am Pacific. They go fast.
Where We Stayed — Upper Pines, Site 71
We had site 71 at Upper Pines. Here’s the full picture if you’re planning a stay:
- 238 sites total — biggest campground in the valley
- What fits: tents, RVs up to 35 ft, trailers up to 24 ft (varies site to site — read the listing before booking)
- Each site has: picnic table, fire ring with grill, and a bear-proof food locker
- Bear box dimensions: 35″ deep × 43″ wide × 28″ high — measure your coolers before you go
- Site size: sites are small and close together — don’t expect privacy
- Rate: ~$36/night, open year-round
- No showers at Upper Pines — paid showers at Curry Village, about a 10-minute walk
Site 71 was a solid spot for our crew — room for a few tents, table for the kitchen, and a clear view of the granite walls through the trees when the clouds lifted.
The bear thing is real. Everything scented goes in the locker every night: food, toothpaste, gum, sunscreen, deodorant. Black bears in Yosemite aren’t aggressive, but they will absolutely destroy a car for a granola bar.
The Crew
Twelve of us. Tents pitched between the pines, fire going by night two, and a lot of laughing in the rain.
The Hike — 12 Miles to the Waterfall
The headliner. A 12-mile out-and-back to the top of Upper Yosemite Falls — relentless stone stairs, switchbacks for hours, and a payoff at the top that makes your knees forget what they just did.
- Distance: ~12 miles round trip
- Time: ~5 hours moving, longer with breaks
- Elevation gain: ~2,700 ft
- Difficulty: Strenuous — sustained climbing, slick rocks in the rain
- Trailhead: Camp 4 (free parking nearby; shuttle stop #7)
What to pack for a rainy Yosemite hike
- Waterproof shell + insulating layer (puffy or fleece)
- Trail runners with grip, or boots with microspikes if there’s any ice in the forecast
- Trekking poles — non-negotiable on wet granite
- 2L water minimum + electrolytes + real food (not just bars)
- Headlamp — sunset in November is around 4:45 p.m.
- Beanie, gloves, dry socks in a ziplock for the descent
- Battery pack for your phone (cold drains it fast)
Hiking + park resources
- Day hikes overview (NPS)
- Upper Yosemite Falls trail page
- Current trail conditions
- Weather forecast
- Wilderness permits (for overnight hikes)
- Lower Yosemite Falls (easy 1-mile loop) and Mirror Lake (5-mile loop) — good when you don’t have a full day
Food at Camp — Three Dinners
Three nights, three dinners, none of them light:
- Night 1 — Burgers on the grill. Classic camp food.
- Night 2 — Tomahawks and ribeyes. Reverse-seared over the fire. The kind of meal that makes you forget you’re cold.
- Night 3 — Pasta. Simple sauce, big pot, everyone fed.
The picnic table at site 71 became the kitchen. The bear box held the meat.
What to Eat Outside the Park
On the way out, stop at Bee’s Bakery Cafe in Oakhurst, right on Hwy 41 south of the park. Croissant sandwiches that were genuinely good — the kind where you stop talking for a minute — and the coffee was a solid 8/10. Added it to the Where to Eat page. If you take the south entrance in or out, this is your stop.
The Drive Home
Left Sunday morning, eight hours back to Orange County. Light traffic until the I-5/CA-99 split, then the usual SoCal soup.
The Verdict
Yosemite at the edge of a tank of gas, in the rain, in November. Spectacular doesn’t really cover it. The valley in low clouds is something you don’t see in the postcards — waterfalls running fat, granite walls disappearing into mist, light that softens everything.
Anyone who only visits in summer is missing half the park.
Chase your own lines. — Ricky