A curious chipmunk in the high country © Jeffrey Pang
The park operates a small fleet of free and fully-accessible shuttle buses. Not only do they decrease traffic congestion and pollution, they can decrease visitor frustration by taking the steering wheel out of your hands. Park shuttles are best utilized in Yosemite Valley.
Valley Shuttle Route operates all year, looping around Upper Pines Campground, Curry Village, Ahwahnee, Yosemite Village, and Yosemite Lodge. Express and El Capitán Shuttles only operate in summer. The short Express Route is direct transit between the large visitor parking area at the northeast end of the valley and Yosemite Village. El Capitán Shuttle completes a one-way loop between El Capitán Bridge and Valley Visitor Center. Each of these shuttles runs daily every 10 – 20 minutes depending on the time of day. Valley Shuttle operates from 7am – 10pm and El Capitán and Express Shuttles operate from 9am – 6pm.
There’s also a free shuttle service between Wawona and Mariposa Grove during summer. And another ferries visitors around the Greater Tuolumne Meadows area in summer. Neither of these routes connect to Yosemite Valley. However, there is free shuttle service between Wawona Hotel and Yosemite Lodge in summer. This route departs Wawona each day at 8:30am and returns from Yosemite Lodge at 3:30pm. Plan accordingly if you intend on utilizing these shuttles.