My First Work from Home Trip to Yosemite

Being a weekend warrior requires me to be strategic—and it’s kind of fun. I work full time during the week, but mostly work from home, except for in-office days once a week. I don’t really mind it, but it did give me an idea for a fun, easy work-from-home trip with little stress and reliable wifi. If you work full time like me, and trying to find clever ways to optimize time and effort, I hope you find this relaxed-fit itinerary something you might consider for a little getaway. The more I escape outside, the more I crave being outside. This trip was a great way to make the best of both corporate and outdoorsy worlds.

With dreams of seeing Yosemite National Park during peak spring, when waterfalls are full, the valley lush, and wildflowers aplenty (so dreamy), me and my friend, Khara, created this plan to take advantage of the work week while also getting us to Yosemite (6 hours away from home in Orange County) by the weekend for full days of exploring.

Be sure to watch my vlog of the trip for more details and sights! And don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. Help me get to 1,000 subscribers by the end of the year!

Day 1 - Wednesday

From Orange County to Fresno

Living in Orange County, Yosemite is pretty far at about 350 miles away. So, I think this is probably the most strategic part of the entire trip. We decided to leave after work on Wednesday, driving only as far as Fresno to cut the journey to Yosemite in more than half for the first night.

We were so amped at this point. Me and my friend gushed over doing a work-from-home trip. The idea of working somewhere scenic was so exciting and just—fun. It felt surreal hitting the road. We were actually doing it. Obviously, there’s no reason why we couldn’t work in a different location, but there’s sometimes guilt associated with corporate jobs. Although we weren’t breaking any rules, it felt almost illegal to feel this good and excited during the work week.

We drove around 270 miles (4 hours-ish), getting to Fresno at about 10PM. We checked into an affordable hotel near the airport. It had all the amenities for a newish hotel that we needed, including wifi.

Day 2 - Thursday

Amped on life, I woke up at 7am to hit the hotel gym, getting a great workout and shower in before I needed to start my work day at 9AM.

We got a late noon checkout, and worked from the room all morning, grabbing free coffee and breakfast that was included with our 1-night stay. We took a couple of video meetings, and wrapped things up in time for lunch.

In a move of absolute perfection, our Airbnb in Oakhurst ended up being only 50 minutes from our hotel. So, using our lunch hour, we decided to drive that direction. Our sweet hosts allowed us to check in early!

We arrived to the Airbnb at around 1PM, and quickly got connected to wifi to finish our day of work (we might have also made trips to gather out bags and luggage… and snacks).

Nestled in the surrounding mountains of Oakhurst, the Airbnb felt wonderfully far removed. It could have used a little TLC, but it had everything we needed. Including the absolute BEST wifi, making the rest of the day wonderfully stress-free. Wrapping up the day working with lush mountain views has been my work-from-home dream for so long—and here I was. We did it.

Southcoast Brewery

The nice part of staying in Oakhurst is being near a lot of good food options, considering its small town feel. Starving, we headed to Southcoast Brewery where we shared a taco salad and pizza. This place always feels like a locals spot. We had been here a couple times before during trips to Yosemite for Firefall.

After stuffing our faces, we had one more task: grocery store to stock the airbnb. With one last work day ahead of us, we bought items to make breakfast and lunch during the day, and some snacks/food for the Yosemite weekend. Also, wine.

Day 3 - Friday

Homestretch. The work day didn’t feel long, but it was surprisingly busy. Don’t they know my head is in the clouds of Yosemite? Just kidding. I took a bunch of meetings, finished all my tasks—and I was so excited to close my laptop at exactly 5PM.

Success. We made it. Time to celebrate.

Smokehouse 41

We headed to our absolute FAVORITE restaurant in town that we discovered during this year’s Firefall trip: Smokehouse 41. You have to check this spot out for excellent barbecue. And do yourself a favor and get the Baker sweet potato. It’s HUGE, so plan on sharing—but omg, you won’t regret it. Great food.

With big plans for an early morning, we headed to bed at a reasonable hour and set our alarms for 5am.

Day 4 - Saturday

The weekend we’ve been waiting for has finally arrived. Huzzah.

Park Reservations

This year (2024), the national park put a reservation system in place that lasted from April through the end of summer. Since we arrived at 6AM, the rangers were already in the booths checking for reservations. We had ours ready to go, screenshotted on our phone (just in case we didn’t have service).

This is your reminder to check the national park website for alerts and what is required to enter the park. Be sure to check way in advance, so you have time to grab an entry ticket during a reservation season. We almost didn’t make it when they released tickets for the weekend we were going. They get snatched up quick!

Tunnel View

Even with the early morning start, and hopes of seeing sunrise at Tunnel View, we headed out the door a little later than planned—but that’s okay! We still arrived to Tunnel View at 7:00AM (not bad). We still had minimal crowds, and a glowing, moody Yosemite valley.

I fulfilled my dream of making a cup of coffee in this spot. Pulling out my jetboil stove, I boiled some water for my french press and brewed us a couple of cups as we enjoyed the view. The best way to start the day.

Bridalveil Falls

On the way to Yosemite Village, I remembered that the trail to Bridalveil Falls had recently opened. I was excited to pull into the parking lot to start the easy .8 mile (out at back) trail. I’ve always wanted to see these falls up close, and oh man, I was not disappointed. The falls were gushing and it just felt like such a prime time to see this spot.

It wasn’t even that late in the morning, and it already felt like I had experienced so much.

Parking at the Visitors Center, we headed to Degnan’s Deli for breakfast/brunch—and more coffee. It was around 10AM and the park still felt wonderfully empty for Saturday during peak spring season. A nice surprise, but I might have spoke too soon.

Yosemite Falls

We strolled to Yosemite Falls (an easy 1 mile loop), starting the path from the village and through the ADA side of the trail, realizing the crowds were at the falls as it neared 11am.

Overwhelmed, I decided to take a hidden trail to the left of the falls, scrambled over a few boulders to be greeted with the most stunning view of Lower Yosemite Falls—all to ourselves. It was absolutely gorgeous as one of the tallest falls in North America rushed by us. It’s one of those moments you think, “wow, this is incredible.”

Yosemite Chapel

Finishing off the loop trail, we made our way across the valley, witnessing stunning spring views of Half Dome from Superintendent Bridge.

Yosemite Chapel is such an wonderfully picturesque spot. We also might have found the best bench to sit on in Yosemite. From one side, you’ve got the cute chapel. From the other side, insane views of Yosemite Falls, It doesn’t get much better than that.

Mirror Lake

After having a snack and mapping out the next spot, we strolled to Curry Village and hopped on the free shuttle to take us to the Mirror Lake Trailhead.

Unfortunately, Mirror Lake wasn’t really full enough to give those reflective views, but the trail was really nice.

As we made our way back, we could sense the weather getting gloomy.

The Ahwahnee

We hopped back on the shuttle, taking it a few more stops until we made it to, The Ahwahnee. I finally got to see it’s beautiful lobby and famous giant fireplace. What a vibe.

Rounding out the day on a high note, we stopped at the Ahwahnee bar for an adult beverage before taking the 1 mile trail back to the village, where we parked.

Surprise Snow

We had excellent timing, because just as we were headed out of the park the weather began to turn. The moment we hit higher elevation, passing by Tunnel View, it quickly went from rain, to snow flurries, to full-fledged snow sticking to the ground and trees.

I was giddy. I have always wanted to see snow in Yosemite. This made the potential for the next day so exciting. The drive home was so stunning we had to pull over and bask in the snow. Just two SoCal gurlies who grew up next to the beach absolutely stoked on a surprise snow storm.

We placed a Chinese food order for pickup as we made our way back, quickly stopping in Oakhurst to grab the food and head to our Airbnb.

The snow was barely sticking now as we were lower in elevation again, but it was a delightful surprise to have snow flurries at the Airbnb!

What an insanely good good day packed with a ton of great sights.

Day 5 - Sunday

Our last full day in Yosemite. On the way there we were greeted with a thick layer of snow as we drove through Fish Camp to charge my car. I was so excited, wondering if we’d make it into the park before the snow was going to melt.

We didn’t rush the morning, getting to the park around 9AM, and sure enough, the snow was melting quickly. By the time we made it to Tunnel View, the snow was mostly gone. Regardless, the moody view from Tunnel View was still superb.

With nothing on the agenda, we headed down to the village, grabbed a cup of coffee and simply strolled through and around the valley and meadows, taking in the views.

Around 3PM, we could tell the weather was turning again so we decided to head out a little early. But not without one last stop at Tunnel View on the way out. We boiled water for some tea as it started to rain. Kind magical.

While driving back and we decided since it was our last night we’d go all out for a good meal. We went back to Smokehouse 41 for more delicious bbq as the last hurrah of the trip. So good.

After dinner we strolled a couple local thift stores within walking distance. I scored a flannel, and some NorthFace and LuLuLemon tank tops for cheap—I love mountain town thrift stores. Hidden gems for sure.

We didn’t want the trip to end.

Day 6 - Monday

Our official last day. Our Airbnb host was nice enough to give us a late checkout. We worked all morning from the living room, basked in the mountain views one last time.

Taking our lunch hour, we left at around noon, driving back down to Fresno. We hunkered down in a Starbucks, working there for the rest of the day, until it was time to hit the road at 5PM.

The drive home felt bitter sweet. It felt like a long trip, so sleeping in our own beds sounded nice, but also, staying up in the mountains sounded nicer.

Regardless, we now knew we could do trips just like this. We talked about where we could go next. Zion? Bryce? Sequoias? The options felt endless (within driving distance reason).

We arrived home around 10PM.

And that’s a wrap on our first “work-from-home trip.” What an utter success!

Do you work from home? Have you tried doing a trip like this? Did this help with maybe a future trip?

Let me know in the comments!