Picnic area · Yosemite National Park
A quiet, pine-shaded picnic beside Yosemite Creek.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
“Ten Lakes Trailhead is coming up, with Yosemite Creek Picnic Area nearby. For a short break, I'd choose the creekside tables under the pines. You're beside the stream that feeds Yosemite Falls farther downstream.”
Yosemite Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yosemite National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Yosemite audio tourRecorded for this place
Yosemite Creek Picnic Area and Ten Lakes“Ten Lakes Trailhead is coming up, with Yosemite Creek Picnic Area nearby. For a short break, I'd choose the creekside tables under the pines. You're beside the stream that feeds Yosemite Falls farther downstream.”
Plays as you drive up to Yosemite Creek Picnic Area in the Parkwolf Yosemite Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“We just drove through Yosemite and it made our trip listening to this app as we drove through. Like having a tour guide in the car with you.”
Guide
Yosemite Creek Picnic Area is a small day-use picnic spot beside Yosemite Creek, tucked under the pines. If you’re already driving Tioga Road, it makes a pleasant place to eat or pause; I wouldn’t plan a long detour around it. Parking is very limited, so be ready to keep going if the spaces are taken.
The tables sit in mixed conifer forest beside the creek. Yosemite Creek eventually feeds Yosemite Falls, a neat connection between this quiet stop and one of the park’s major waterfalls. Bring your own food: this is a simple picnic area, with vault toilets but no grills or potable water.
Wildlife
732 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,747 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
332 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
11 sightingsPeregrine FalconMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
276 sightingsPikaMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
677 sightingsYellow-bellied MarmotMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yosemite. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingGrant Lakes via Ten Lakes Trail12 mi · 8 hr · 0.2 mi awayA 12-mile climb over Ten Lakes Pass to the first Grant Lake.
ChallengingTen Lakes Trail12.6 mi · 8 hr · 0.2 mi awayA long granite climb for basin lakes and broad Sierra views.
ChallengingTen Lakes to Tenaya Lake Traverse20.4 mi · 13 hr · 0.2 mi awayA high-country traverse from Ten Lakes Basin to Tenaya Lake.
ChallengingYosemite Creek Trail12 mi · 6 hr · 2.1 mi awayA long creekside walk through pools and polished granite.
EasyLukens Lake Trail from Tioga Road1.6 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayA short forest walk ends at a meadow-ringed alpine lake.
ModerateIndian Rock Arch Trail7.8 mi · 5 hr · 3.4 mi awayA granite arch turns the North Dome approach into its own hike.
ChallengingNorth Dome Trail10.4 mi · 6 hr · 3.4 mi awayA long ridge walk ends with Half Dome in full view.
ModerateWhite Wolf to Lukens Lake Trail4.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 4.3 mi awayA longer forest route to a lake ringed with summer wildflowers.
Campground · 2.1 mi awayYosemite Creek CampgroundRemote high-country camping comes after five rough miles off Tioga Road.
Campground · 2.9 mi awayPorcupine Flat CampgroundAn 8,100-foot base for Tioga Road's high-country stops.
Campground · 4.3 mi awayWhite Wolf CampgroundA quiet forest base near the Lukens and Harden Lakes trailheads.
Lodging · 4.4 mi awayWhite Wolf LodgeA remote cabin base near two high-country lake hikes.
Sight · 4.5 mi awayMay LakeA lake beneath Mount Hoffmann, reached by a steady uphill walk.
Lodging · 4.5 mi awayMay Lake High Sierra CampA backcountry bed and meal beneath Mount Hoffmann.
Sight · 4.7 mi awaySiesta LakeA quiet alpine lake with forest reflections.Parkwolf’s Yosemite ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
