Visiting yosemite

[princessap]

I am trying to figure out how to see Yosemite in our trip plans. We are starting in San Diego for a few days before heading to DL, from there I am unsure where to go. We want to see Monterey, la and end in San Francisco.

Where could I fit Yosemite in and now many nights do I need there?? What are good hotels? Is it worth splurging!! Would love to hear from someone who has been there!

 

[JimMIA]

The first question that comes to mind is what comes after San Francisco? Do you live there, or is that your departure point for the trip back home?

The logical order would be San Diego, DL (which is just south of LA), LA, either Monterey-Yosemite or Yosemite-Monterey, and finally on to San Francisco. I would probably tend to go to Monterey before Yosemite -- driving at least part of the way from LA-Monterey along the PCH -- but accommodations in Yosemite might decide that question for you.

Accommodations in Yosemite National Park are going to be very difficult to come by. You want to be in Yosemite Valley itself and that means either the famous Ahwahnee Hotel or Yosemite Lodge, or possibly a motel room at Camp Curry. The Ahwahnee is one of those iconic National Parks lodges and is luxurious and expensive. Yosemite Lodge is moderately priced, not very modern, but spacious and clean.

You can book lodging in Yosemite one year and a day from your arrival, and almost all of the inventory sells out the first day. So you will have to plan, call early, and be lucky.

The other options in the Valley would be camping, or staying in a tent cabin (big tent on a platform) at Camp Curry. The other lodges in Yosemite are a LONG way from the valley, and anything outside the park is even further.

Another determining factor is the time of the year you will be visiting. When are you going?

The Yosemite National Park website is www.nps.gov/yose . Poke around on that website a bit (especially Plan Your Visit) and you'll find a wealth of information, including links to the lodging options.

 

[bcla]

What time of the year?

One issue with staying in Yosemite Valley is that most options tend to be reserved well in advance. And the campground reservations during peak season are a bloodsport. It's really a mad dash for the few spaces that are available, with literally thousands trying to do the same thing at the same time. Part of it is that the about half the available campsites in Yosemite Valley were taken out of circulation after the Merced River floods in the mid-90s, and the other is due to a computerized reservation system where those thousands can try to reserve at the exact time when they become available. There was also unauthorized reselling (aka "scalping", but that seems to be a thing of the past with some tweaks to reservation policies.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I am trying to figure out how to see Yosemite in our trip plans. We are starting in San Diego for a few days before heading to DL, from there I am unsure where to go. We want to see Monterey, la and end in San Francisco.

Where could I fit Yosemite in and now many nights do I need there?? What are good hotels? Is it worth splurging!! Would love to hear from someone who has been there!

If I were you, I would call the Yosemite park and see what options there are, they do have tent option and they have hotel options. And they could tell you everything you need to know about staying onsite. I only went during the day. But it is so beautiful to see and visit.

I hope this link works.
Phone: (209) 379-2606
USA toll free: (800) 93-LODGE
Fax: (209) 391-2390

Evergreen Lodge at Yosemite
33160 Evergreen Road
Groveland, California 95321

 

[bcla]

Sorry - out in the sun too long and didn't catch that you said in a few days.

You're going to have some difficulty trying to get reservations. I'd completely rule out camping unless you're willing to stay outside the park. Many of the other options stand a good chance of being fully booked. Maybe you'll find a hotel outside that has availability, although many fully book up even on weekdays. If you're willing to drive a bit, then the Merced or Fresno area should have rooms. I would have recommended the Chukchansi Gold Casino in Coarsegold, but they've been shut down over some infighting of the tribe that owns it.

 

[Serial]

If you can't get lodging inside Yosemite, which as a PP mentioned is often expensive and booked far in advance, you may want to look into the Yosemite View Lodge just outside the Hwy 140 entrance to the park in El Portal. The rooms are a bit dated but relatively clean and reasonably priced compared to in-park options, and the motel is just about a 5-minute drive to the gate, and maybe 20 minutes to the valley floor.

Prices do tend to shoot upward during the late spring and summer months, from about Memorial Day to Labor Day. Late May to about early July tends to draw in crowds especially because the waterfalls for which Yosemite is known tend to be at full blast during that time, depending on the amount of snowfall from the prior winter; and kids are out of school and on family trips.

Otherwise, there's not much lodging options as close to the park. Along Hwy 140 in and out of the park, you're looking at lodging in small towns like El Portal and Mariposa; and along the Hwy 120 route into and out of the park, you're looking at maybe Groveland. Those lodging options will require about a 45 minute drive to the valley floor.

 

[JimMIA]

The real link for Yosemite National park is www.nps.gov/yose . NPS websites are a bit clunky and require some exploring, but if you start with Plan Your Visit and do some clicking, you will find a wealth of information.

Lodging within the park is linked on that site, but be aware that not all of the lodging linked is within the park. Also be aware that Yosemite is a large park, and even some locations wtihin the park could be an hour drive from the valley where you want to be.

Like most of the more popular national parks, Yosemite has many commercial websites which try to pretend to be the official site to sell you a hotel room 100 miles away. Check your maps carefully and be sure you understand where you are booking a room.

 

[bcla]

The real link for Yosemite National park is www.nps.gov/yose . NPS websites are a bit clunky and require some exploring, but if you start with Plan Your Visit and do some clicking, you will find a wealth of information.

Lodging within the park is linked on that site, but be aware that not all of the lodging linked is within the park. Also be aware that Yosemite is a large park, and even some locations wtihin the park could be an hour drive from the valley where you want to be.

Like most of the more popular national parks, Yosemite has many commercial websites which try to pretend to be the official site to sell you a hotel room 100 miles away. Check your maps carefully and be sure you understand where you are booking a room.

However, the large majority of Yosemite visitation is in Yosemite Valley. Even so, Wawona (inside the park) is a reasonable distance.

I'm not necessessarily worried about sites that try to sell something well outside, but the resellers of actual park lodging that look similar to the official concessionaire. They offer pretty much no added value, tack on a surcharge, and have poor cancellation policies.

Yosemite View Lodge was mentioned, and it is a great location. Yosemite Cedar Lodge is a little bit further out and is run by the same company. However, they are often fully booked.

I thought of a few other options where there might be something left. There's one inholding called Foresta. It's within the park but not legally part of the park. Wawona also has an inholding (not the area with the Wawona Hotel) and I think there are limited rentals. There should be more homes there for rent in Foresta. There's also Yosemite West, which is actually just outside the park boundaries. It's kind of an odd location since the only roads leading there are through the park. The have private homes and condos, although it seems like most are used as vacation rentals. They might have better availability since they're not that well known. There are several rental agencies that work with the owners, with offices there. I think there are also B&Bs there.

 

[tanyaandallie]

We stayed at Yosemite Lodge on our trip 2 years ago. It was nice. Not sure it's worth what we paid but it was nice enough. We are not campers and were flying in so camping really was not an option. I stalked the website until I was able to get reservations for both nights we were there. It took some time but was so glad I did it. We are not campers.

Yosemite is amazing. I'm dying to go back!

 

[bcla]

We stayed at Yosemite Lodge on our trip 2 years ago. It was nice. Not sure it's worth what we paid but it was nice enough. We are not campers and were flying in so camping really was not an option. I stalked the website until I was able to get reservations for both nights we were there. It took some time but was so glad I did it. We are not campers.

Yosemite is amazing. I'm dying to go back!

Yosemite Lodge is basic indoor accommodations. Yeah it's kind of expensive for motel-level accommodations, but it is what it is.

 

[McNs]

We are visiting Yosemite for the first time this year, staying at a cabin in Curry Village. Managed to get a booking about 4 months ago for a Mon/Tue in late September. For accomodations in the valley, you are really paying a premium for the location, but from what I have read it is really worth paying the extra to be in the valley.

 

[bcla]

We are visiting Yosemite for the first time this year, staying at a cabin in Curry Village. Managed to get a booking about 4 months ago for a Mon/Tue in late September. For accomodations in the valley, you are really paying a premium for the location, but from what I have read it is really worth paying the extra to be in the valley.

Cabin or a tent cabin? It actually makes a difference. They have very few hard-sided cabins now and have taken out many over the years. Several were in the rockfall area that took out a good chunk of Curry Village.

You can actually eat inside a hard-sided cabin. Eating isn't allowed inside the tent cabins, and you'll need to place your food in one of the bear boxes at each tent cabin. Did I mention the bears? They have a well deserved reputation for aggressively going for food. They're not particularly dangerous towards people, but they can cause a lot of property damage. Definitely don't leave any food or coolers with a strong smell of food in your vehicle when it's dark.

 

[McNs]

A hard sided cabin with bath.

I have read a bit about bears, unfortunately so has my 6yo and she is now worried... Mrs McN also read about the hantavirus so now the 6yo is also worried about mouse poos...

Apart from Disneyland, I am most looking forward to Yosemite, thanks in part to Mary-Jo's day 6 podcast she did last year. That got me googling Yosemite and when I saw what it was I knew I had to try and see it!

 

[bcla]

A hard sided cabin with bath.

I have read a bit about bears, unfortunately so has my 6yo and she is now worried... Mrs McN also read about the hantavirus so now the 6yo is also worried about mouse poos...

Apart from Disneyland, I am most looking forward to Yosemite, thanks in part to Mary-Jo's day 6 podcast she did last year. That got me googling Yosemite and when I saw what it was I knew I had to try and see it!

I wasn't going to bring up hantavirus, but apparently you've already done your research. The issue at Curry Village was that rodents were leaving poop behind in the crawlspace in "high end" double-walled tent cabins called Signature Cabins, which looked kind of like a hard-sided cabin on the inside with drywall and foam insulation, but surrounded by a traditional canvas wall on the outside. The official concessionaire claims that they were all removed and replaced with single-wall tents.

http://www.yosemitepark.com/hanta-virus.aspx

And bears? They're for the most part harmless, although I did hear about one guy who got clawed fairly recently. For the most part the bears don't want to mess with people. If they can be hazed before they get to food, they run away quickly. They definitely don't mess with park rangers. They're used to getting hit with projectile weapons that the rangers use. One time we were camping and a bear managed to get food from a campsite two sites from us. Their bear box door mechanism was jammed and the bear just kept on banging on doors until it hit the jackpot. People tried hazing it, but it didn't care once it got food. So we just watched until a park ranger showed up and it took off immediately. The occupants of the site were in their tent the entire time. When they finally got it, the kids in the tent seemed disappointed that they didn't see the bear. Dad asked if he could get copies of my photos of the bear, since the kids wanted them, and I emailed them when I got home.

 

[buzz5985]

We visited 1 year ago. We flew into LA, went to DL. Left there and drove up to Sequoia NP. Then we drove up to Yosemite and stayed in Yosemite West. Well worth the money. We had a small house - Eagles Nest - 2 BR, laundry, etc. Google Scenic Wonders. When we left Yosemite we drove across CA to the Pacific Coast Highway and drove north to San Francisco. Great trip.