Yosemite National Park

[MMCD]

I haven't been here for over 15 years. Any helpful hints? We'd like to stay inside the park.

Thanks,

MMCD

 

[Uncle Buck]

I believe the valley is now completely closed to vehicle traffic. The hotels inside the park fill up well in advance, so you'll want to plan you trip arround dates where you can make arrangements there.

 

[jordanyosh]

Book early as places tend to fill fast. The best time of year to go is late May early June when the falls tend to be at their peak. The weather tends to be moderate at that time as well. During the summer, the falls tend to drop off and late summer/early fall, there may be no falls......It can get really hot during the summer too.

If you are just driving up for the day, stay in Fresno or Oakhurst and make the drive early in the am. If you are planning on staying for a few days, stay in the valley. Don't stay in Oakhurst, as it is still about an hour to hour and a half from the valley floor. The Wawona is nice and is about 45 minutes from the floor. Our room tho did not have a bathroom, but was still nice and there were rooms with bathrooms....

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

<font color=navy>We go to Yosemite every year (well, almost ). What do you want to know?

The flood of '97 washed out two campgrounds - Upper & Lower - as well as part of Lower Pines (what was across from Upper River). So, trying to get a campsite in the valley is really tough. You can try Bridalveil Campground, located on the road to Glacier Point (it's actually quite pretty there), or you can try White Wolf. There is also Wawona Campground, but that usually fills up quickly, too. A lot of the cabins at Yosemite Lodge were washed away, and some of the tent cabins at Curry Village were also washed away. They didn't replace those.

You have different options - the campgrounds, which are pretty much sold out right now. However, you can go to the website or call and see if any opened up. There is also Housekeeping, which is kind of between camping and staying in a tent cabin. I actually prefer it to the tent cabins at Curry Village. Of course, there is also the Ahwanee Hotel, 5 ***** and about $400 a night to stay there ... someday.

You can rent a cabin/condo in Yosemite West. This is located in Yosemite, but outside the valley. When you get to the Glacier Point turnoff, go the opposite way, down into the valley - you'll see a sign for Yosemite West. The problem with that area is the fire they had there in '91 that totally burned down the trees. On the bright side, you have a great view of El Capitan and Half Dome.

We stayed in a cabin last October, and we really loved it. If I could afford it, I would stay in one every year (besides tent camping - I love tent camping. The cabin we stayed in was located in a small residential community right by the Wawona Hotel. We had deer come by every day. Here is the website: http://www.redwoodsinyosemite.com/

Yosemite has changed a bit in that they are very strict about people walking on the meadows, etc. I like this because it looks more natural, and is beautiful. However, they continue with development, like expanding the parking lot at the foot of Yosemite Falls, and there is controversy about that.

I don't know if you went before or after the rock slide at Happy Isles, but there was one and that changed the trailhead for the hikes to Vernal and Nevada Falls. I heard that there was another rock slide along the Panorama Trail this year.

If you can't find anything within the park, try the Apple Tree Inn. It's a bed & breakfast in the town of Fish Camp, which is 2 miles from the south entrance on Hwy 41.

Just a note.... Summertime is really busy in Yosemite, and I was there right before Labor Day one year ... bumper to bumper ... I felt like I was in Los Angeles again, with all the traffic. If you can possibly go outside of peak season, try that. You'll have a nicer, more relaxing experience.

We also go to Sequoia all the time. If you haven't been there, you might want to try it.

Here's my website on our Yosemite Vacays (I should do one for our October trip - it was beautiful with the changing of colors, etc.)

Let me know if you have any questions. I love Yosemite - my favorite place on Earth

Yosemite 2000

Yosemite 2002

 

[MMCD]

I have a whole year to plan. If I can't drive in, how will I get my luggages into a cabin? I'm definetely cabining and not tenting. I've got 3 boys. I'll want a room with 2 double beds and I cannot afford the $400 but am willing to pay $110. I need to get a guide book so I can see what/where you guys are talking about.

MMCD

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

<font color=navy>They haven't stopped traffic from going into the park. We were there in October.

They've been talking about stopping traffic because of the congestion and pollution to the valley, but you can still drive in. If, in the future, you cannot, then there'll be busses.

I've stayed in the hard-walled cabins at Curry Village, and recommend this, if you want. Private cabins are pretty expensive during peak season. There are two types of cabins - with or without bathrooms - I've stayed in the ones without. The shared restrooms are pretty big, and they are modern.

I recommend that you go to http://www.google.com

and type in Yosemite + lodging You'll get a lot of options.

 

[rocknty]

Our family has gone every year for the last three years.

We like any post 4th of July week in July. Waterfalls are running fine. The crowds aren't bad (especially mid-week). Things are still green.

We just returned this year’s four day stint in the valley. We had two rooms booked at the Yosemite Lodge since last fall. Best trip yet for us.

The Lodge has gotten much better since the concessionare changed last year. They have remodeled three of the buildings and you must try and get into those rooms. Deluxe Room rate is $143.00 a night. They are nice now.

Pool at the lodge is great, multiple food choices, amenties for families abound.

The Awahnee is great and we have stayed there too but the pool is small and the only resturant is the main dining room unless you consider the bar a resturant. Its really better for couples or special occasions like weddings etc.

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Key to Lodge success these days is you just have to get into the remodeled rooms...the old ones are beat to a pulp, smell like smoke and just suck.

You must request <Remodeled/Patio/Falls View/Non-smoking> in advance. Yes, some have a falls view, and the patio is key, means ground floor, which is much cooler in summer. Plus they put nice furniture out there this year and its nice to sit outside at twilight.

Try and get to the Lodge by 3pm. Then tell the front desk you will wait till the rooms you want are clean. Official check in time is 5pm, but truth be told they let the rooms go out as soon as they are clean. Due to the drive time up to the valley most folks arrive at 4pm and then there is a rush and a long wait.
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On a couple of your days in the park make sure to drive out of the valley and up into the high country. Take a picnic lunch and lots of water.
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Our favorite hike is Taft Point/Sentinel Dome loop (4 miles) its right on the rim and one the best views in the world.

 

[MMCD]

We went to Yellowstone last year. Never have I seen the most beautiful spot in the world before!!! It is truly awesome.

At Yellowstone, it is best to hotel hop to see more. So at Yosemite, I should just stay at 1 hotel. I'm thinking of staying 3 nights.

MMCD

 

[DisneyDreamer2]

We were just there in June.Yes you can drive in.The falls were all running very full. It was beautiful and we just used the free shuttles to get to the different sites and trail heads.

We stayed at the Yosemite Lodge. We must have had a newly refurbished room, it was newer and nice, BUT there were planks of old dead wood between the box spring and mattress, as well as lots of squished mosquitoes on the wallpaper! Remember it's all about location- and you are in the center of it all.

In fact, I felt our Yosemite trip was a lot like Disneyworld. The Lodge was spread out like a moderate resort. We had a hike to the food court which was always crowded and had inflated prices. There were lots of free, but crowded to standing room only busses to shuttle you to all the attractions. There was lots of eye candy and everything was so well themed to the national park and great outdoors. We did a lot of walking. We rented bikes and swam at the Lodge. We got bit by a lot of Mosquitoes. And did I mention we did a lot of walking? But the best part- was while I was making these similarities on a hike we saw a hat left sitting on a rock, and of course it said. Disneyland.

Guess you can the girl out of Disneyland, but never Disneyland out of the girl!

 

[missypie]

WARNING: When we went to Yosemite, we made arrangements about 6 (rather than 12) months in advance, so we had to split our stay between two different locations within the park. When we made our reservation, they asked for a deposit for the first night's lodging and we sent it. When we tried to check in at the SECOND location, we were told that they had given our cabin away because we had not sent a deposit.

They were treating each location as a separate reservation and wanted 2 separate deposits, but of course, they didn't tell us that.

The only accomodations they had left were concerete platforms with tents on them (obviously no indoor plumbing). I was pregnant and there was NO WAY I was going to get up in the middle of the night and trample through the woods to the bathroom. I don't know exaclty what we said or did, but we ended up in a very motel-like room in one of the lodges.

Also, this was a few years ago, but they closed their pools very early. We hiked all day and wanted to come back and swim but by them the pool was closed (and it was no where near dark). Hopefully they've changed that by now.