Accommodation near Yosemite

Looking for some help please.

I am trying to organise my itinerary for a fly drive. I am starting in San Francisco and intend to take in Yosemite and as many other sights as possible. I am planning spending 3 nights in the Yosemite area and want to get as near to the Park as possible without paying a huge sum for a room.

Can anyone tell me what the Best Western at Oakhurst is like?How convenient is it for the park? I have been told that there are huge queues to get into the park - I am going in August so I expect some delays - is this likely to be a significant time to get in though? On a practical note, what about watering holes around the park - toilets, drinks etc? I know that 95% is wilderness so I am not some idiot who thinks they are going to Disney but.......!! Any advice would be really welcome so that we can try to get the best out of this leg of our trip.

Need to start working on the Grand Canyon bit next.........

Many Thanks

Jurneyman

Accommodation near Yosemite

Good morning Jurney Man,

You might want to check out a map of the area and consider your lodging either along Highway 120 or 140, both very convenient from SF, where Oakhurst is quite a trek. Valuable if you are intent on exploring the Wawona end of the park and the Mariposa Grove, but quite a distance for daily round trips into-out of the park.

140 will give you the shortest daily communtes and has a great little budget place near midpines called Yosemite Bug. You might also consider lodging along Highway 120 with properties from under $100 to over $200 and a great place to base from for explorations along tioga pass, Tuolumne Meadows and into the valley. www.StayNearYosemite.com can give you choices.

Have a fantastic holiday!

Accommodation near Yosemite

Watering holes around the park---there are public restroom facilities at places like Happy Isles and Glacier Point. Many others will have ';sanicans';.

There are small stores where you can buy drinks and snacks at Wawona, Crane Flat, and Tuloumne Meadows, as well as the big store in the valley. There are snack bars at some of the trailheads, like Glacier Point, Happy Isles, and Tuolumne Meadows. Casual meals (deli type) in Yosemite Valley, and a grill at Tuolumne Meadows. Full-on dining rooms for a meal in Yosemite Valley, Wawona, and Tuolumne Meadows Lodge (must make reservations). If you just want to sit and have a beer, there is a bar/deck at Curry Village, or the Mountain Room lounge at Yosemite Lodge.

That%26#39;s the summer list. In winter, some roads are closed and most of the places outside the valley are not open.

Are you going to the Grand Canyon on the same trip? If so, the drive over Tioga Pass is beautiful.

Queues at the entrance---yes, there can be lines. Some entrances have a lane for pass holders. If you are going to 3 or more national parks on your trip, it makes sense to buy the annual parks pass.

Thank you both very much for taking the trouble to reply. The information that you have given me is invaluable and I will certainly be making use of the accommodation advice and the information about refreshments etc.

I am going on to the grand Canyon from Yosemite so perhaps the drive over Tioga will be a nice way to say goodbye to Yosemite.

Anybody know best route and distance to Grand Canyon from Yosemite?

Many Thanks

Jurneyman

The drive through Tuolumne Meadows, over Tioga Pass, and down Highway 395 along the east side of the Sierras is beautiful, and also the best route. If you can, spend a whole day on your drive through Yosemite, stopping in Tuolumne Meadows for a few hours (maybe a short hike?). Or stop at Teneya Lake for a swim---there is a nice swimming beach at either end (we like the west end). There are restrooms there for changing.

You can spend that night in Lee Vining at the bottom of Tioga Pass---lots of motels there, and Mono Lake is very interesting. There are some nature trails to explore to the lakeshore, especially nice at sunset.

You will need a motel reservation in Lee Vinig; the town is on the main tourist route and fills up in the summer. I%26#39;ve seen families arriving around 6 pm without reservations, and told they have to drive another 60 miles or so to the next town, as Lee Vining is full up.

Then head south on 395. Lots of people drive through Death Valley---it might be the shortest route. But it is VERY hot in August. You will be fine in an air conditioned car, but-----to be honest---I%26#39;ve never considered it. Maybe someone else can advise you on that one. The alternative is to keep going south on 395 and connect with the I-15 freeway (now you are in desert and it%26#39;s hot here too), and then the I-40 to Williams---assuming you are going to the South Rim? If going to the North Rim, you would stay on I-15 to Las Vegas and St. George, Utah, and drive through Zion National Park.

You might try the Arizona forum for this part of your trips---lots of helpful people there.

You absolutely need reservations at the Grand Canyon. Bright Angel Lodge, inside the park (south rim) and right on the rim of the canyon, is a good budget option (under $100).

Thanks Canyonmari - you are a diamond

Jurneyman

I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll get many responses soon, when people are finished with their holiday affairs, but I wanted to at least weigh in for spending a little time along I-395 on the Eastern Sierra on your way to the Grand Canyon from Yosemite.

You might even be tempted to spend two nights. There%26#39;s lots to do and the scenery is spectacular.

Here%26#39;s a nice sum-up article that gives you an idea:

viamagazine.com/top_stories/articles/eastsid鈥?/a>

Death Valley is also spectacular (and spectacularly hot in August), but if you time it right, driving through some parts of it in the early part of the day and and the waning part of the day is when the sun%26#39;s angle is most flattering and the desert%26#39;s colors are incredibly beautiful.

We just stayed at the Best Western in Mariposa (intersection of Hwy. 140 and Hwy. 49) on Christmas Eve and were very pleased with the room which included a nice breakfast. The property is being renovated and the room we stayed was nice and new and the staff quite pleasant.

It is about an hour drive to Yosemite village from there with no line at the park entrance.

Mariposa has several little shops and some places to eat. We found Savoury%26#39;s to be very good.

For a single day%26#39;s trip, staying in Mariposa or Oakhurst isn%26#39;t too bad, but for a three day visit, an hour%26#39;s to an hour and a half commute every day, each way, doesn%26#39;t sound like much of a vacation to me! And when visiting in August, lines at the entrance gates are fairly common (we just got back yesterday and even 2 days after Christmas we got a line at the gate, mostly from the rangers doing a very through check for chains on all the cars going through.)

On the other hand, the closer you get to the park, the more you will to have to spend for accomodations. However, if you are willing to rough it a little, and walk to a communal bathroom, you can stay in the valley itself in a tent cabin at Curry Village for a decent price. Other than that, I would second the recommendation for the Yosemite Bug, which is rustic and still a bit of a drive, but inexpensive for the area.

Loads of good information.

Thanks again folks

Jurneyman

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