It feels crazy typing this recap up just after having posted my recap of our road trip to Zion National Park, but we’re on a bit of a road trip kick lately to say the least. Right after New Years this year, we decided to do a 3 day trip to Yosemite in hopes of catching some snow before winter is over.

We usually try to get up to Big Bear for the snow, but last year there basically wasn’t any, so this year I thought if I was going to risk not being in the snow, it might as well be somewhere beautiful and enchanting. Nothing against Big Bear, it’s just we’ve been there millions of times (winter and summer), and I’m just kind of over it. The snow is really what makes that place magical and if there isn’t any snow, it’s a pass for me. So we were watching the weather in Yosemite the week of Christmas and saw they were having snow flurries and rain and freezing cold temperatures, so thought it was worth the gamble. Also, if we didn’t catch any snow, we’d still be able to see the beautiful valley and enjoy the road trip.

Day I

We left Orange County around 6:30 am and drove straight to Yosemite. We checked in at The Tenaya Lodge . We’d never been there before and it was absolutely beautiful! The cozy outdoor fireplace, the fire pits for s’mores, and of course the giant tree in the lobby still decorated for Christmas really set the entire vibe for our little winter getaway!

After checking in, we set up our room with the pack and play for Jaxson and the bed bumpers for Avery. Then we explored the lodge! They have so many activities for winter! An ice skating rink, arcade, indoor pool, and game rooms spread out throughout the hotel with foosbal and chess/checkers tables. The lodge also has an on site cafe for grab and go food, a complete restaurant and bar, and a pizza restaurant across the street! Every night they had a s’mores table set up for guests to grab and take to the outdoor fire pits!

We ate a late lunch at the restaurant and after playing games and exploring, went back up to the room to fully unpack. After unpacking, it started raining, so we enjoyed watching the rain come down out our window, we had a beautiful view of the fire pits and outdoor fire place. It probably took all of 10 minutes for the rain to turn to snow!! It was SO AMAZING! So obviously we all bundled up and ran out the door to enjoy playing in the snow!! This was Avery’s first time being in the snow when it was actually actively snowing and seeing the look on her face was priceless, it was so magical.

We spent the entire evening out in the snow having a snowball fight, making a miniature snowman, and then making s’mores at the fire pit before we called it quits for the night. It was so much fun.

Day II

The lodge is located right outside the South entrance of Yosemite National Park. We ordered room service for breakfast, packed our own lunches, and drove to the park! The roads were very slippery from the freshly fallen snow the previous day, and unfortunately we watched cars start slipping and losing traction on the roads. We had chains but if the roads were covered in black ice at our current elevation, we figured it was going to be way worse higher into Yosemite, where we planned on going too (to those typical Yosemite hikes and views of Half Dome and the waterfalls). SO we decided to stay on the southern area of the park where we felt it was safer. We literally watched an SUV slide and skirt before falling into a ditch off the side of the road. It was terrifying, and what was terrifying more was that the car was behind us, where had the car not gone into a ditch, it could have caused a multiple car pile up. So we felt good about our decision lol.

The Southern area of Yosemite includes : Wawona Village area, Maripose Grove of Giant Sequoias, and the South Gate. We went to the Yosemite History Center , which the history nerd in me LOVED. While the tours and activities are closed during the winter, you can still walk around the village and see the homes and cabins of villgers that lived in the valley from 1876 and on. I even had Avery reading all the little signs with me!

Afterwards, we drove to the famous Mariposa Grove to hike to the grove of Giant Sequoias. There is a road and parking lot located near the entrance to the grove, BUT it is closed in the winter, so the only way to get there is to park further down the mountain and hike (2 miles each way, 4 miles round-trip) from the lot to the Grove. The hike was amazing, the snow from the night before was melting off the trees and it was beautiful watching the melted snow fall as we hiked up the mountain! While the hike is a moderate hike, about half way through Avery no longer wanted to walk, which meant Joey and I were switching off holding a child the whole way up lol. We actually made it about 0.8 miles away from the actual Grove before deciding to head back down the mountain. I was burnt out and Avery was basically falling asleep on my shoulder, which meant carrying dead weight the rest of the way and then all the way back down. SOOOO yeah, Joey and I had done this hike years ago, you know prior to children, and just decided to turn it around and get back to the warmth of the truck.

SO if you go, go earlier in the day when littles are still full of energy! Or go after April, when the road to the Grove is open and you can just park right outside the grove!

After making it back to the truck, we took off our layers and drove back to the hotel to play in the arcade before getting pizza for dinner!

I didn’t think to pack bathing suits for us, so we totally missed out on the indoor pool festivities, but the lodge also has movie nights at the pool on the weekends! And funny enough, Saturday night, they were playing The Nightmare Before Christmas! It was so cute. We finished day 2 watching cartoons and eating pizza in the room, we also bought this animal poop matching game at the gift shop (lol) so played that as well- Avery loved it.

Day III

We packed the car up and left Tenaya at around 8:30 am, then drove to Sequoia National Park! If I’m being honest, of all the National Parks, Sequoia has to be one of my favorites, maybe tied with Zion. I just love the giant trees, the way the trees smell, and walking through groves of these giant trees in the mountains. It’s all very mesmerizing and peaceful.

We drove through the park and stopped by the gift shop before hiking the Sherman Tree Trail. This hike is paved, but you hike downhill first and then uphill the whole way back. It is also not stroller friendly due to all the stairs you walk up and down, so if you have little ones, make sure you bring a harness to wear them and/or have dad carry on his shoulders!

This was sadly our last stop before heading home, but it was a good one! We spent about 4 hours in Sequoia total before heading home! IT was such a perfect little winter, mountain getaway!