How Far Is Yosemite National Park From Los Angeles

Yosemite National Park attracts many visitors every year from all over the world.

If you’re a nature enthusiast from Los Angeles or are traveling to the city for a holiday, Yosemite makes for a fond date with nature.

In this article, we take a look at how far is Yosemite National Park from Los Angeles and all the ways of conveyance to the park. 

Choose the best way to get there according to your needs and preferences.

Yosemite National Park distance from Los Angeles is 280 miles. To cover the distance you can choose different options.

By Car

There are multiple driving directions from Los Angeles to Yosemite National Park. The fastest route is as follows:

• Take the I-5 freeway
• Go north for about two hours and connect with CA-99 N proceeding to Fresno
• Connect to CA-41
• An hour later, you reach Yosemite National Park 

This route takes just over five hours. If the weather blocks this road or for any other reason it cannot be taken, or you just plan on a fun road trip, here is an alternative, more scenic way to cover the distance from Yosemite National Park to Los Angeles.

• Begin on Highway 110, move to CA-170 and join the I-5 freeway near Sheldon Arleta Park
• At the diversion, follow CA-14 eastward towards Lancaster
• After nearly 75 minutes from Lancaster, merge into Highway 395
• About 160 miles on Highway 395, pass the Mammoth Yosemite Airport and continue to Lee Vining joining Tioga Road
• Go past Ellery, Tioga and Tenaya lakes. 15 minutes later from the Tioga Road junction at Mono Lake, enter Yosemite through the east entrance.

This route increases the driving distance from Los Angeles to Yosemite National Park but is incredibly serene. 

How far is Yosemite National Park from Los Angeles won’t weigh heavy on your mind as the trip becomes a part of your sightseeing experience.

Note: The second path towards Yosemite might be closed during the winter season. Check before departing for your trip.

On the topic of scenic routes, you can opt for the Pacific Coast Highway. This stunning road trip will take you through alluring sights in Malibu, Oxnard, Ventura, Lompoc, Monterey, Carmel, and more.

Drive along the 17-Mile Drive and take the CA-152 eastwards. After one hour, connect with CA-41 and proceed to the park.

One great option when driving to Yosemite is to take a self-guided audio-driving tour. Learn about Yosemite as you go along your road trip and also get directions from the tour.

The service gives you information based on your location and is a good way to learn more about the park and navigate it.

By Bus

You can take a bus from Los Angeles to Yosemite National Park for another way of getting to Yosemite. 

Buses are an affordable way to cover the distance from Los Angeles to Yosemite National Park.

While direct buses are not available, you can travel comfortably through buses, making only one change.

Get on a Greyhound bus from downtown Los Angeles. An early bus departs from the terminal at around 6 am.

The bus travels through Bakersfield and Fresno before arriving in Merced.

This is where you must make the switch and get on a YARTS bus that will take you to Yosemite National Park.

The journey from LA to Merced takes 6 to 7 hours, and the journey from there to the visitor center of the park takes anywhere between 2 to 3 hours.

Combined, the journey normally lasts for 10 hours or less.

It is factored in the journey how far is Yosemite National Park from Los Angeles, and guests have access to a few amenities.

The buses make frequent stops for refreshments, etc and are equipped with free Wi-Fi as well as restrooms.

Buses are a preferable option if your trip is longer than a day. 

It takes longer but is a good option for tourists and those who wish to avoid a long time of driving from Los Angeles to Yosemite National Park. 

Yosemite National Park tours from Los Angeles

Want to do away with booking, changing and other hassles related to a bus? Just book a bus tour from Los Angeles to Yosemite National Park and take care of it all with one booking.

Many types of bus tours are available from LA. That includes multi-day tours that cover not just Yosemite but also other major attractions for an extraordinary sightseeing experience.

Another great option is a 2 day Yosemite National Park bus tour from Los Angeles that involves a visit to Kings Canyon National Park.

Visit two spectacular displays of nature in the Sierra Nevada with a comfortable minivan/bus, cozy accommodation for one night in Fresno and ample time to explore.

By Train

Trains are a fast and economical way of making the trip. You can move by train from Los Angeles to Yosemite National Park and enjoy the beautiful scenery that you pass by during your journey.

Since a train cannot directly reach Yosemite, you may need to make a change of trains depending on your travel arrangements.

Trains usually transfer visitors to the nearest town from where they take a bus to Yosemite.

It takes 10 to 11 hours to reach Yosemite from LA by train.

Start from the Union Station in Los Angeles. Take an Amtrak bus that will transport you to Bakersfield.

Three hours later, the bus arrives at Bakersfield, and you can catch the San Joaquins train to Merced.

This will also take three hours. Upon arriving at Merced, take the YARTS bus to Yosemite.

An alternative is to take the Pacific Surfliner train from LA to San Luis Obispo. If you choose this route, you will pass by some stunning sights.

From San Luis Obispo, take the Amtrak bus to San Francisco and then hop on the San Joaquins train to Merced.

Upon reaching Merced, the YARTS bus would need to be the last ride you board before arriving at the national park.

A convenient option for visiting Yosemite National Park from LA is the Yosemite and Glacier Point Tour from Los Angeles by Amtrak.

This tour leads to a comfortable expedition as it manages your train ticket, accommodation during your journey, park entry and the trip back to LA.

You also have a choice of going to San Francisco after visiting Yosemite.

To summarize, you will be picked up from LA and driven to Amtrak station where you board the train to Fresno.

In Fresno, you will have a hotel to stay overnight. In the morning, you will be driven to Yosemite where you can enjoy your day and explore the beauty spread in all directions.

After that, you have an option of taking a trip back to Los Angeles or going on to San Francisco or Sacramento.

No matter which of these options you choose to exercise, they are included in the tour.

Some other tours from LA to Yosemite and other places are:

1. A 3-day highlights tour that covers Yosemite among other popular Californian attractions and comes with accommodations taken care of.

2. A 7-day trip to Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and more with accommodation, guided tour and breakfast included.

By Plane

If you are planning a lavish vacation, you can fly near Yosemite and reduce your travel time.

As you’d guess, there are no flights from Los Angeles to Yosemite National Park directly.

No matter how far is Yosemite National Park from Los Angeles, a flight can significantly cut down the time of getting there and also treat you to a ravishing bird’s eye view of nature.

The fastest way is to fly from LAX to Eastern Sierra Regional Airport in Bishop. Upon landing in Bishop, you will only be 90 minutes away from Yosemite.

A YARTS bus is available at the airport and will take you to the park.

Another recommended way is outlined below.

From the Historic Broadway Station in LA, take the metro A-line and reach Willowbrook – Rosa Parks Station. This generally takes 29 minutes.

Once at the Rosa Parks Station, change to the metro C-line and reach the Hawthrone/Lennox Station.

The tram takes about 12 minutes to get there.

From Lennox Station, board a number 40 bus and get to Hawthrone/El Segundo. It takes 7 minutes, and buses arrive every 15 minutes.

Then, from Hawthrone (HHR) Municipal Airport board a flight to Mammoth Lakes (MMH).

The flight duration is almost 80 minutes. From the Mammoth Yosemite Airport, drive to Yosemite National Park. It should take approximately 90 minutes.

Alternate options include flying with Alaska Airlines from LAX to Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) and then taking a YARTS bus to the park.

The bus takes 4 hours to get to Yosemite, stops included and only runs for the summer.

In winter, you can take a car (rental or cab) and reach in 1.5 to 3 hours depending on conditions.

You can also take the Advanced Airline’s newly offered private conveyance to Mammoth Yosemite Airport.

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