Yosemite Valley free shuttle busYosemite National Park has free shuttle buses in Yosemite Valley with stops at most major sites of interest and some trailheads. There is no parking lot for park visitors at the visitor center, and very little parking other places. People are asked to park their car at their campsite or hotel or day use parking, leave it there, and ride the shuttle or ride bikes or jog/hike/walk/stroll.
Except when road repairs are being done and some roads might be closed, most of the buses drive the same route over and over again all the time.
Once people understand the route most of the buses use, they can switch buses at a couple of major stops to cut lots of time off the time needed to get to their destination.
All the buses should be wheelchair lift equipped. Please take the baby out of the stroller and fold up the stroller. No inflated rafts, tubes, etc. are allowed. You can carry/wear your big backpack, but it shouldn't have a seat for itself if the bus is crowded.
Most drivers prefer you wait until everyone has finished getting off before you get on. Most prefer you enter from the door at the front end of the bus and exit from the back.
Any time usage is high, especially on a summer afternoon, standees need to move to the back to let more people on.
The most current route map for the free Yosemite Valley shuttle bus is in the newspaper Yosemite Today that you can get as you enter the park or it can usually be found at:
http://www.nps.gov/yose/trip/shutmap.pdf
or at: http://www.nps.gov/yose/trip/parking.htm
It looks something like this:
(Map below courtesy of NPS)
Since the routes/times change frequently through the year I will not try to keep a current map here at this site, but I will give you hints (below) about using the shuttle bus more effectively. If you print a copy of the most current route (see link above), the following will make more sense and you can note any changes to the stops.
Locations of Yosemite Valley AEDs (automated external defibrillators), as of June 2004, are mentioned in teal. Valley patrol vehicles and Valley ambulances also have AEDS.
A June, 2007 schedule said the valley bus runs every ten to 20 minutes, depending on the time of day, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. In seasons other than summer it usually runs every 30 minutes.
The bus stops usually are:
1) Day use parking lot just south of Yosemite Village
2) In front of the main grocery store in Yosemite Village
There is an AED just inside doorway at the parking lot exit of the Yosemite Village store.
The main store has the biggest selection of food and gifts, toys, Yosemite logo clothes. You will find a bigger selection of fresher produce in larger groceries near home, so bring your own.
 
map below courtesy of NPS
3) The Ahwahnee Hotel (the bus stop is just out into the parking lot, not under the cover of the porte-cochere)
There is an AED in the front hall of the Ahwahnee between the front desk and the entrance to the dining room.
Below, the view from the free shuttle bus stop looking toward the Ahwahnee porte-cochere (covered entrance).
4) At the corner of Degnan's in Yosemite Village
5) Visitor Center
park rangers, Yosemite Association bookstore, information, exhibits and an AED
6) At the end of the loop path to the base of lower Yosemite Fall. There is a map of the area at:
How to find the location of John Muir's cabin (hang nest) in Yosemite Valley
There is no bus stop across the street going in the opposite direction. For example, if you come from the Visitor Center or campgrounds direction and you get off at this stop to do the hike to the base of Yosemite Falls, if you want to catch a bus returning in the same direction, you need to walk to stop 8 at the Lodge to catch it.
7) Camp 4 (Sunnyside) walk-in campground and trailhead to Upper Yosemite Falls. The stop is across the main road and just down the shuttle bus road from these, closer than stop 8 to the Yosemite Lodge hotel buildings Laurel and Juniper.
8) Yosemite Lodge (hotel, restaurants)
There is an AED in the Yosemite Lodge registration area.
Map below courtesy of NPS
9) Visitor Center (right across the street from stop #5)
10) Across the street from stop #2 at the main grocery in Yosemite Village
11) Sentinel Bridge (walk across the bridge to the Yosemite Chapel)
12) Housekeeping Camp (on the opposite side of the road from the bus stop, with showers and laundromat - the laundromat is usually open through the winter even when housekeeping units are not open) and LeConte Memorial Lodge
Map below courtesy of NPS
13A) Curry Village bike and or raft rental in summer, ice rink in winter
13B) Curry Village registration office. Pay phones outside.
There is an AED at the Curry Village registration desk.
14) Curry Village parking (across the road from stop 20).
In the winter the buses do not run to stops (15, 16, 17 and 18) on the Happy Isles loop road.
15) Upper Pines campground, (across the road towards Curry Village from the campground).
16) Happy Isles with a nature center, a fen (marsh), the trailhead for the mist trail and the rest of the John Muir Trail.
17) Mirror Lake junction (service sometimes ends earlier than other stops)
18) Stable (service sometimes ends earlier than other stops) and North Pines campground.
19) Lower Pines campground entrance (Upper Pines campground entrance is across the road, North Pines campground is up the road).
20) Curry Village (right across the road from stop 14)
21) Curry Village bike and/or raft rental in summer, ice rink in winter, right across the street from stop #13A
To save time using the shuttle bus:
The main buses go to stops 1 through 21 in that order all day in the summer, or a few less stops in the winter.
If you had come from the Pines campgrounds and got off at the main store in Yosemite Village at stop #2 it would be a mistake to get back on the bus at the stop you got off at to go back to the campgrounds. If you did you would need to ride the whole bus route and it could take you an extra half hour or longer to get back. It would make more sense to walk across the street and get on any bus that stops at stop #10.
If you had come from the Pines campgrounds and stopped at a Curry restaurant or store and wanted to go back to the campground it would be a mistake to get back on the bus at the stop you got off at. Again, you should cross the street and get on a bus with a shorter ride to your destination.
Below is a picture of the two bus stops at Curry Village parking.
Most Curry Village cabins with bath are a shorter walk from the registration desk and/or bike and or raft rental in summer, ice rink in winter stops than from the Curry Village parking stops. Most Curry tent cabins are a shorter walk from the Curry Village parking stops than from the others.
If you had come from the Lodge to the Valley Visitor Center it would be a mistake to try to go directly back to the Lodge by getting on a bus at the stop you got off at. Walk across the road for a much faster ride.
Coming from Curry and the campgrounds to most destinations in Yosemite Village, not just the store, it makes more sense to get off at the store and walk to Degnan's or the Post Office, etc. than to stay on the bus and ride all the way to the Ahwahnee Hotel and back.
Campers in Upper Pines campground in the higher numbered campsite loops will find that it is a much shorter walk from the Happy Isles stop to their campsite than from the official Upper Pines campground stops at the west end of the campground.
Campers in the lower half of Upper Pines or any part of Lower pines campgrounds will find the stop at #15 gets them to their campsite faster than riding all the way to Happy Isles and getting off at the #19 stop at the entrance to Lower Pines. Please don't walk right through Upper Pines campsites 26, 27, 28 etc, at the end of the first loop after you get off the bus.
People at the valley backpacker's walk-in (for use the night before and / or after a backpack trip, permit required) will find it is a slightly shorter walk from the Ahwahnee bus stop than from Lower Pines or the stable IF you can find the way on the back road. The Ahwahnee stop would also be a much shorter bus ride to and from the main store, the cafeteria at the Lodge or to visit friends at Camp Four.
Yosemite Lodge buildings Laurel and Juniper are closer to the Camp Four bus stop than the official Yosemite Lodge stop. Buildings Tamarack, Dogwood, Aspen, are about equal distance to the Lower Yosemite Falls stop.
Here are the bus stops for the following Yosemite Valley activities:
To hike to Vernal Fall, Nevada Fall or Half Dome, get off at the Happy Isles stop. (There are pictures at Vernal Fall Mist Trail.) Or rather, to hike to Half Dome and back in one day, get up earlier than the buses run and make your way there. You can go directly to the trailhead by walking across the bridge in front of the bus stop, but then you'll miss the coolest nature museum (see info at: Yosemite visitor centers) in the park just up a trail past the restroom as you get off the bus.
To hike to Columbia Rock, upper Yosemite Fall, Yosemite Point or Eagle Peak (Three Brothers) use the Camp Four stop and head across the main road.
To hike to Glacier Point via the Four Mile trail use the Camp Four stop and take a short walk across the river and slightly south/west on the main road to the trailhead.
To go rafting, get off at one of the two raft rental stops. This is whether you want to rent a raft or have your own. More info is at:Yosemite Valley Rafting Advice
To go to a grocery store you have a few choices. The main store in Yosemite Village has a larger selection, but the grocery at Curry, Housekeeping or the Lodge might be closer to where you are staying and the bag of ice in your lap will be less likely to melt.
There are restaurants of various sizes and styles at Curry, Yosemite Village, The Ahwahnee and Yosemite Lodge.
To get a shower in the summer go to Housekeeping or Curry Village. In the winter only Curry is open. From the Curry bus stops, walk toward the large buildings. To the right, the biggest building houses the stores and a small food service. To the left of them is a service vehicles only road. Up that road a short distance on the right is the shower house (and swimming pool entrance in the summer).
free summer art classes usually meet in front of the art activity center quite near the main store in Yosemite Village
It is much faster to walk to the chapel from day use parking than to ride the bus from there.
Two other free buses run in the valley some of the time.
There is an express bus from day use parking to the Visitor Center between Memorial Day and Labor Day,
and as of June 29, 2006:
The new El Capitan Shuttle Bus will be operating daily from 9 am to 6 pm
through Labor Day (Sept. 4). It leaves the Visitor Center (Valley Shuttle
stop #5) every hour and half hour with the last run leaving at 6 pm. Stops
include the Visitor Center, El Capitan Picnic Area, El Capitan Meadow and
the Four Mile Trailhead. Shuttles stop at designated stops only.
2007 The El Cap Shuttle (has)... service from the Valley Visitor's
center with stops at Camp 4, El Cap Picnic area, El Cap Crossover and The
Four-Mile Trail head is available to enhance the guests experience.
Services operates every thirty minutes from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
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A different free bus runs to various stops at Tuolumne Meadows in the summer.
There is also a daily hiker's bus in warm months (fee for one way or with return) with stops along the road between Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows.
For info on the YARTS bus to and from the valley call 1-877-98YARTS.
The Big Trees tram tour runs in the summer in the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. See the Yosemite guide for info or call 209 375-1621.
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Yosemite Today or sometimes called Yosemite Guide newspaper has lots of safety info, a calendar of park activities including Ranger walks, and hours of operation for visitor centers and museums.
The commercial services section of Yosemite Today is usually a separate newspaper. It has hours of operation for tours, stores, food service, post offices, laundromat, showers, auto service, gas stations and more.
Online they are frequently combined at:
http://www.nps.gov/yose/now/today.htm
Maps of Yosemite are at:
http://www.nps.gov/yose/pphtml/maps.html
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I can find Camp 4, but what are people referring to when they talk about Camp 11 or Upper Tecoya??
The campgrounds were originally numbered. I've read that this system dates back to the 1800s and was formalized after 1906, during the time of the Cavalry. My 1958 topographical map of the valley has some of the numbers.
Camp 4 - Sunnyside Walk-in Campground
Camp 6 - not a campground anymore, now the Day-Use parking area south of the village (once called Camp Tresidder)
Camp 7 - former (flooded) Lower River Campground
Camp 9 - was a group campground, now backpackers' walk-in
Camp 11 - Upper Pines Campground
Camp 12 - North Pines Campground
Camp 14 - Lower Pines Campground
Camp 15 - former (flooded) Upper River Campground
Camp 16 - Housekeeping Camp
Tecoya (Upper, Middle and Lower) are park housing areas, around the Village store area.
Boy's town is a housing area at Curry. You see the tents as you go along the road between the Curry orchard and Lower Pines Campground.
Rancheria Flat, Railroad Flat and Abbieville are in the El Portal Administrative site.
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