How To Elope In Yosemite National Park | 2024
Let me just say that if you want to say your “I do’s” surround by 360 degrees of awesome, Yosemite could be the place. Planning an elopement in Yosemite National Park is pretty straight forward, but there are some things you need to know before booking the trip. In this article, I am compiling what I have learned over the years of photographing couples and ceremonies inside the park. I will do my best to answer your questions and provide some useful tips.
How To Get A Yosemite Wedding Permit
If you want to have your elopement or micro wedding ceremony inside the park, one thing you’ll want to do sooner than later is to get a wedding permit. The requirement used to be that you also needed a permit to do any wedding themed photos inside the park (without a ceremony), but they have since changed the rule. As of writing this in 2024, a permit is required if you have a wedding ceremony inside Yosemite National Park. When you apply for a wedding permit, you will need to know information such as your desired date, location and the amount of people you will have (more on these things below).
To apply for a wedding permit, you must fill out the application and pay a $150 application fee. You must fill this out AT LEAST 21 days before your desired date, but no sooner than 1 year out. You can find the application on this page.
Holiday Wedding In Yosemite
Unfortunately, if you wish to elope in Yosemite on a holiday or holiday weekend, you will not be able to have the ceremony inside the park. The National Park Service in Yosemite will not issue a wedding permit for any holiday weekend. I have faced this issue before and the options as of now would be to change your date or have the official ceremony elsewhere and just simply take photos inside the park.
Yosemite Wedding Venues & Elopement Locations
Yosemite National Park offers an array of backdrops for your marriage ceremony. When settling on your wedding location, there are many factors you must should consider, including crowds, scenery, amount of people you have and time of year you wish to have your ceremony.
Wedding Venues In Yosemite
If you plan to have more than 11 total people, yourself and photographer included, then you will be restricted to one of these 12 small wedding venues which you may use for a maximum of 2 hours.. These are all first come first serve with the permits.
Cascades Picnic Area
Lower Yosemite Fall Paved Trail
Swinging Bridge Picnic Area
Cathedral Beach Picnic Area
Sentinel Beach Picnic Area
Bridalveil Fall
Glacier Point Amphitheater
Chilnualna Falls Trailhead Parking Lot
Tenaya Lake Beach
Tuolumne Meadows Lodge Area
Tuolumne Grove
Merced Grove
Each of these 12 Yosemite wedding venues has different rules and restrictions. Some allow more people than others and some only are available during certain times of the year. I recommend visiting the Yosemite NPS website for details on each location.
Yosemite Chapel Ceremonies
The Yosemite chapel operates separately from the other venues inside the park. These ceremonies are all organized and scheduled by the Yosemite Community Church. You can reach them at (209) 372-4831.
Elopement Locations In Yosemite For Less Than 11 People
If you are keeping your ceremony very intimate, perhaps just the 2 of you, an officiant, your photographer and a small handful of guests then your available elopement locations in Yosemite are no longer limited to the ones listed above. YNP is however strict on keeping ceremonies out of the open meadows and riverbanks. Other than that, there are many places and viewpoints throughout the park which would serve beautifully for your ceremony. Remember that you aren’t allowed to stop people from using the area or sight seeing. However, when you are relatively quick, people are often very respectful and try not to disturb your ceremony in my experience. I am going to let you know a few spots that I really like, but if you like to explore, please by all means discover a unique spot that you like best.
Taft Point
Taft Point is extremely popular for elopements, because who wouldn’t want to get married with those views? I highly recommend that if you are plan your ceremony at Taft Point, to do it at sunrise. Sunset of course is also beautiful, but the crowds can get heavy. Sometimes it really feels like you are simply taking turns with others to get the shot. Sunrise has always been very empty in my experience because not many people are willing to hike with headlamps in the dark. Yes, you will have to arrive in the dark and do 30 or so minutes of hiking in the dark. I promise you though, watching that sun rise up over these views and seeing the first light hit the dawn wall of El Capitan? There’s nothing like it. It is truly humbling.
If standing on the edge of a couple-thousand foot cliff isn’t your idea of fun, there are other spots at Taft Point that are also beautiful and don’t require conquering your fear of heights.
Glacier Point
Next on my list is Glacier Point. Overlooking the magnificent ‘Half Dome,’ it is probably the most popular Yosemite elopement spot. I’ve seen multiple ceremonies happening at the same time on numerous occasions. Luckily, their are lots of nooks and viewpoints so even with the crowds, you can usually avoid anyone being too close. Glacier Point attracts more crowds because you can actually drive right to it, whereas Taft Point you must hike in and out. At this location, both sunrise and sunset offer incredible views. Whichever you decide will be beautiful, but I am a little biased to sunrise.
Glacier Point can also be a great spot to grab some photos after your sunrise elopement ceremony at Taft Point, since they’re pretty close together. I have done this a couple of times and it makes for a great morning! View a Taft Point & Glacier Point morning here.
Tunnel View
Tunnel View is another epic viewpoint in Yosemite that can result in beautiful images. To me, tunnel view really screams “Yosemite.” It’s also super easy to access because there’s a parking lot right there. That’s also this spots biggest downfall is that there is a parking lot right there. However, with a little creativity it can still be the perfect spot for a small ceremony.
Lower Yosemite Falls
If you prefer to have your wedding ceremony in the valley, my gosh there are so many potential spots. In the spring though, I really recommend somewhere with view of Yosemite Falls. It is an incredible sight when the waterfall is booming.
A Location That Speaks To You
My honest advice, is to find a spot that truly speaks to you. I am always on the lookout for new locations and potential spots, and I would love to explore and find a unique spot that you love. The best part? You can still go get incredible pictures and explore elsewhere before or after your ceremony. You aren’t tied to a single location so make the most out of it! Your elopement day should be an adventure!
Best Time Of Year For A Yosemite Wedding
If you are in the early stages of planning your wedding in Yosemite, selecting a date is probably on your to-do list. Remember first of all that you won’t be able to get a permit for a holiday, that’s factor one. Other factors that will come into play when selecting your date will be weather, crowds, environment and road closures.
Spring
Spring is my favorite time for a Yosemite elopement. I am going to give you some pros and cons about a spring wedding. When the snow melts, all of the waterfalls are booming and the environment is extremely green. This of course is beautiful, however, it can mean flooding in many of the lower elevation areas. Springtime also has very unpredictable weather. It can be sunny and warm, or extremely foggy and stormy, which is what you see in the image at the top of this page. I really like the adverse weather sometimes, it’s a vibe. These unpredictable weather conditions can also help keep the crowds down. One last thing about spring time, is that Glacier Point Road and Tioga Pass are not usually open until roughly Memorial Day Weekend. This means you’ll want to plan your travel accordingly and know that Taft Point and Glacier Point are not accessible by car.
Summer
Summer time is definitely going to be the option that has the most predictable weather for your ceremony in Yosemite. It’s often very warm and the sporadic showers and storms that spring delivers generally don’t happen in the summer months much. With that said, summer time is when YNP will be frequented the most by other travelers. If you choose to have a summer wedding, I definitely advise to take advantage of sunrise. Otherwise, even on weekdays, you can expect large crowds and parking/traffic delays.
Late Summer/ Early Fall
My second favorite time of year for eloping in Yosemite would be late summer and early fall. By mid August, school has gone back in session, the weekday crowds are not as high as they would be in the summer time, the mornings and evenings are cooler and the road to Glacier Point will still be open along with Tioga Pass. One thing to be aware of about this season, is it is in fact fire season here in California. If one of the surrounding areas has a large forest fire, the smoke can and will build in Yosemite, which can of course obstruct the views.
Late Fall / Winter
The reason I am grouping late fall and winter into the same category, is because if you are planning your wedding in Yosemite after the beginning of October, the potential conditions you face are similar. It is very common for the first snowfall of the year to come at some point in October. Some years it’s early, sometimes it’s late. Historically, by the first or second week of November, Glacier Point Road and Tioga Pass will close for the season. Of course with the possibility of snow comes cold temperatures. But what else? Lower crowds and the potential for extremely dramatic conditions and epic images.
Yosemite Wedding Photography
I would be honored to help you plan and execute your dream wedding in Yosemite, and of course to document the story.
My preference is always going to be all day coverage to be able to the full story of your adventure. My full day coverage (up to 10 hours) for intimate weddings and elopements starts at $5000 but I do have other options for Yosemite starting at $3000 for 4 hours. When you book me as your photographer, that includes my travel to Yosemite, help with planning and permitting, a highlight slideshow and a print release for all the final images. I also offer video as an add-on.
Contact me here if you’d like to chat! I’d love to hear about your vision.
About me: My name is Nic Hilton, I am a wedding and elopement photographer in California. I love big epic environmental portraits but my main focus is always to tell your unique story. When I shoot, I am constantly adapting and focusing on how I can capture the moment in the most fitting way right here, right now.