Kids Summer Fun in Wawona and Tuolumne Meadows

Wawona Area

Living History Programs
During the summer at the Pioneer Yosemite History Center in Wawona, interpreters in period costumes introduce you to some of the people and events that shaped Yosemite's history. See the Yosemite Park Visitor Guide for program times (summer only). The center is open year-round.

Stage Rides
In 1875, the Wawona Stage Road was built to carry visitors to Yosemite Valley. Today you can take a short but sweet ride (10 min.) in such a stagecoach. Buy your tickets at the Wells Fargo office. (Summers only)

Wawona Stables (Chilnualna Falls Rd.)
Take a two-hour ride on the Alder Creek Trail through manzanita and pine trees. Half day and full day trips are also available. Kids need to be 7 years old and 44 inches. The stables are open in the summer only, through Labor Day.

Crane Flat Fire Lookout
From May to October, visit an old fire lookout, perched on a flat mountaintop, with views of Yosemite National Park in all directions. The lookout is no longer used to spot fires, but you can go inside the lookout tower, still furnished with maps, a woodstove, and comfy wooden chair on a rubber mat (grounded in case of lightning). Today there's a helicopter-landing pad and they'll be happy to show you the high-altitude helicopters used for search and rescue teams and fighting fires. From the parking lot, a footpath leads the lookout at the top of the hill.

Tenaya Lake
Tenaya Lake is a sparkling high mountain lake, deep blue and icy cold. The eastern shore of Tenaya Lake has a sandy beach where you can wade and swim. Or, go out on the water in an inflatable kayak. Pitch your beach umbrella, spread out a picnic and spend the afternoon playing by the lake.

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad (Outside the park in Fish Camp)
Kids will enjoy a one-hour ride on this vintage steam train, “The Logger.” Roll down the tracks once used by logging trains in the 19th century. The steam train operates March – October, weekends only. During the week, ride on Jenny Railcars, trolley-like cars used by repair crews. Don't miss the Thornberry Museum, a log cabin, over 140 years old, for a glimpse of pioneer life.

Tuolumne Area

Tuolumne Meadows Stables
Explore the high country on horseback. The stable offers two hour, half day, and full day rides. Kids need to be 7 years old and 44 inches tall. Call for reservations (209) 372-8427.

Water fun
The South Fork of the Merced River is chock full of swimming holes and fun places to wade and swim. Bring inner tubes or inflatable rafts.

Olmsted Point
Stop at Olmsted Point for a gorgeous view of that swirly, scooped-out granite mountain called Cloud Rest and the backside of Half Dome. This is also a great spot to see slabs of rock neatly polished by the glaciers, and huge boulders left in the aftermath.

Tuolumne Meadows
The meadows at Tuolumne are perfect for kids. The Tuolumne River flows over moss-covered pebbles and sandy stream bottoms. Kids can play for hours, wading and splashing in shallow pools, building dams or moss gardens in little side streams that meander off the main river, or just running through the soft grasses in the meadows.

Tuolumne Visitor Center
The Visitor Center has exhibits about the plants and wildlife in Tuolumne, a 3-D relief map of the meadows and mountains, and a good selection of kid’s books and maps for sale.