Experience Yosemite in the backcountry.

Learn to Backcountry Hike in Yosemite

For 4 Days, 3 Nights From San Francisco

Yosemite Like A Local

Stretch your legs for your privately guided hike into the Yosemite wilderness for four days and three nights of adventure, including your complete camping setup, wilderness advice, private driver from San Francisco, and more.

Inhale the fragrant scent of pine trees as you saunter down an empty trail, or study the starlit sky and constellations once night falls. Our private guides, with time, skill, and know-how away from technology, can unlock a wonderful — and “wonder” is the operative word — private backcountry hike in Yosemite you never knew existed, regardless of your skill level.

Are you unsure of the best trails to hike in the famed national park? Do you want a private Yosemite tour from San Francisco without the hassle of crowds? We recreate a Yosemite backpacking trek the locals would approve of, not one planned for the masses.

Tour Highlights
- Trip begins from your hotel’s front door in San Francisco
- Turnkey Yosemite hiking experience with private, certified guides
- Visit El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridalveil Fall, and more
- Reconnect with your family or friends in Yosemite privately—away from your Ipad, laptop, phone signal, and thousands of other people
- Available for all skill levels
Private Guides
- Each tour is led by a Wilderness First Responder or a certified EMT guide who truly cares about the balance between you and Yosemite.
- Whether you are a beginner with map and compass challenges or a veteran who is training to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, our private guides can help.
- We want to share our Yosemite knowledge, so the next time you visit the treasured national park, you will not need us.

Included
- Luxury ride to and from Yosemite from San Francisco
- Equipment for each guest, including backpack, complete sleeping setup, trekking poles, and more
- A pre-departure meeting in San Francisco to issue your gear, provide packing tips, go over our route and safety issues, and answer any last-minute questions you may have
- A private guide who understands efficient use of your time while showing you stunning spots in Yosemite even photos cannot describe
- All meals while hiking in Yosemite
Not Included
- Hiking clothes such as pants, shirts, socks, fleece, or rain gear
- Boots or, more recommended, trail runners
- Meals outside the wilderness (such as on the drive back to San Francisco)
- Gratuity for your guide

Don’t Be Fooled About Yosemite

Google “Yosemite Guided Hiking Tour” and you’ll find an assortment of tour operators offering Yosemite hiking tours. Few, however, will offer a private driver from San Francisco, and even fewer will provide a secluded, private hiking tour. To us, most of the Google search results sound like a business model — not the best Yosemite tour possible.

We began with a different goal, to design the trek we’d be proud to lead a family member on — a tour that begins when you arrive in San Francisco and are greeted by a private Yosemite guide, who explains every step of the process. This results in more time for sightseeing in the iconic park and less wasted time on the road. No staging days, and no “tour” feeling. Instead, we offer you the chance to truly feel like a local, because efficiency is important to us.

Which type of private Yosemite tour would you prefer?

Transportation
Because we pride ourselves on doing things the right way, we begin at your door in San Francisco. No shuttle service with us; all your transportation is private, with a private tour guide. We go the extra mile because you deserve it. We want your experience to be effortless so you can instead concentrate on training, spending time with your family or hiking in Yosemite.
Meals
Dine on fresh meals prepared in the Yosemite backcountry, and more importantly, learn how to prepare excellent camp food yourself — for the freedom to explore Yosemite, or any backcountry, on your own in the future. Are you on a gluten-free diet? A vegetarian? A homemade jerky aficionado? If you require a certain diet or are prone to allergies, we can accommodate you with healthy hiking meals.

Recommended Length
4 Days, 3 Nights
Hiking Distance
20-35 Miles (40 km)
Hiking Distance
Private Transportation
Mercedes GL 450
San Francisco
Trip Starting Point
San Francisco

Interests
Whether you want an easy hike to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature or a wilderness workout to lose weight or hone those thighs, our luxury tour guides can plan a private Yosemite hike tailored for you and your interests. Tell us how you prefer to do things and we’ll create a personal and safe Yosemite itinerary as long or as short as you desire. How may we help?
Preparation
Safety is our top concern. We recommend all participants in Yosemite hiking be active and healthy, and you should be comfortable hiking many hours with no breaks.

Are you in shape? Intimidated by the mountains? A workout plan in the weeks or months before your hike can help to combat your jitters. We provide top of the line, lightweight equipment, but the more you train and exercise beforehand, the easier your private hike in Yosemite will be.
Disclaimer for Beginner Hikes in Yosemite
Hikes in Yosemite can be anywhere from moderate to strenuous, and participants will need to each carry a 40-pound (20-kilo) bag on his/her back for long distances, sometimes on rocky or unstable terrain. A regular physical exercise plan is strongly recommended before your tour. A medical release is required for anyone under the care of a physician.

All private tours are subject to approval of wilderness permits, and we reserve the right to change routes based on availability, weather limitations, or other unforeseen factors. Sometimes trips may be cancelled due to trail closures or natural disasters such as erosion or fire. We recommend travel insurance to cover your expenses if any these events should occur.

To keep with the integrity of traditional backpacking trips, we do not offer stock or porter services. Otherwise, come with us to see the Yosemite John Muir would be proud to share.

Ready to Reserve?

Privately hiking amongst the domes and rivers of Yosemite, where few tourists go, is simple when you go with the right team. You can easily feel, from your front door in San Francisco, what it’s like to leave the city behind and venture into the wilderness with trusted friends. You only need to show up healthy and ready to hike.

One phone call and a private tour guide can begin to paint a picture for this unique Yosemite backpacking trip of a lifetime. We are not afraid to set the bar the other tour companies should be reaching for.

Available 2024 Tour Dates

Please send us an email for an updated schedule of our private tour availability.

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Private Yosemite Guided Backpacking Trip from SF

Private Backcountry Hike for Beginners

For a Father, Son and Girlfriend

The Real Yosemite

Owen, from Orlando, Florida, was about to graduate from college. His father, John, wanting to give him a present he would never forget, asked us to plan a private Yosemite backpacking tour for three: John, Owen and Owen’s longtime girlfriend, Jess. They wanted to bond as a family without their daily phone calls, emails, laptops and iPads, and see the best of Yosemite — away from the crowds.

Below is a brief description of the private trek we provided, published with their permission, as an example of what we can offer.

Day 1

7 a.m.
Front-door pickup in San Francisco
10 a.m.
First view of Yosemite Valley, El Capitan and Half Dome
Noon
Bespoke picnic lunch with fresh ingredients

Before Yosemite’s Wilderness

To be sure the family was adequately prepared, we conducted a mandatory meeting in San Francisco to go over our private Yosemite backpacking tour step-by-step, which included providing each family member his or her own hiking equipment, such as an ultralight tent, mattress and rucksack, and going over the proper apparel and manners for a Yosemite backcountry hike. By the end, after answering the families’ questions, we were ready for the outdoors.

The next morning, we departed San Francisco and saw many of the Yosemite tourist sights, and were about to see so much more.

3 p.m.
Begin to truly absorb and understand Yosemite, away from the crowds
5 p.m.
Set up our campsite
9 p.m.
Soul-stirring Milky Way stargaze amongst the evergreens

Explore Yosemite on Foot

Day two was our opportunity to forget about the traditional Yosemite crowds and instead hike ourselves into the wilderness. It was John, Owen and Jess’s first full day in Yosemite’s wondrous natural environment, and with our equipment, meals and wilderness-trained private Yosemite guide, it went smoothly. The family could concentrate on connecting with each other, rather than being engrossed in maps or getting lost on a trail.

That night, we cooked our campfire meals under the stars and ended our day without hearing one car horn.

Day 2

8 a.m.
Awaken to campfire coffee
10 a.m.
Privately explore the domes, trails and rivers of Yosemite
3 p.m.
Enjoy seclusion in nature

Our Workout Day

Today was the family’s day to experience the incredible Yosemite views firsthand. We climbed the switchbacks of our trail—with plenty of breaks for healthy snacks and fresh distilled water along the way—and ascended over a ridgeline to see spectacular views of Yosemite to the horizon. There was no rush for us because we had all day to arrive at our destination. Our campsite was on the edge of a pristine lake and waiting for us when we arrived.

No hike in Yosemite is complete without a sweat, and soaking our toes never felt so good.

10 a.m.
Privately hike amongst Yosemite’s wildlife
12 p.m.
Lunch with a view
6 p.m.
Enjoy our last night of solitude

Saying Farewell

John, Owen and Jess were a wonderful family to be around, with good attitudes and an obvious love of nature. They were open to a bespoke experience unlike any other and had the tenacity to hike just as John Muir did in the 1800s. It was such a meaningful and bonding experience, by the end of our private wilderness hike, nobody cared who was the guide and who was a guest.

A little sore, a little sunburnt, but closer together as a family (and a friend), we conquered Yosemite how it should be done: on foot and away from the crowds.

Day 3

8 a.m.
Wake at your leisure
10 a.m.
Last swim in Yosemite’s pristine waters
3 p.m.
Depart for San Francisco (and showers) in our private Mercedes

Disconnect to Connect

Sometimes the greatest present you can give yourself is the reconnection to self and family through nature. Unfortunately, though, in today’s connected society, many rarely do, even when visiting Yosemite, one of the first national parks on earth. Only when one is forced to put the phone down (except for stellar photo ops) and privately hike can a person truly understand that there are connections among us that are stronger than a cellular one.

A Quick Recap

By The Numbers

16 miles of trails

9+ Yosemite Landmarks

1 Iconic National Park

1 Satisfied Family

Our Mission

Luxury and bespoke for us means the ability to get away from the crowds the park draws each year and connect with authentic Yosemite nature—privately, with only you and your chosen companions. Led by White Wolf Private Tours expert guides, clients reach these pristine spots on foot, away from the crowds, as natives and naturalist John Muir once did.

To us, a private bespoke tour is so much more than eating caviar and drinking fine wine; it’s about balancing the body and mind.

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Yosemite Backcountry Hike from San Francisco

Where We Went

On Our Private Yosemite Guided Hiking Tour

A Note from White Wolf Private Tours

The majority of tourists who visit Yosemite do the same thing: fight the crowds to see Yosemite Valley in one day. Not many, though, go in the opposite direction of the crowds and do a privately guided Yosemite hike, the same kind John Muir did, the kind that makes you fall in love with a wonder like Yosemite, leaving one eager to return again and again.

The world is big; there are many places to see. We hope when you are done with your privately guided hike with us you won’t need to see Yosemite again. But you will want to.

What John, Owen & Jess say about us

“Thanks again for a fantastic trip and trek. We had a great time and made
lifelong memories.”

John H.Orlando, Florida

“Awesome four days and I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon White Wolf. I will definitely come back to Yosemite.”

Owen H.Orlando, Florida

“Yosemite was the most highly anticipated part of my summer and it did not disappoint!”

Jess A.Orlando, Florida

Experience Yosemite in the backcountry.

Learn to Backcountry Hike in Yosemite

Yosemite Like A Local

Don’t Be Fooled About Yosemite

Recommended Length

Hiking Distance

Hiking Distance

Private Transportation

San Francisco