Yosemite National Park Travel Forum

We have use of a friend's RV (33') for 9 days from June 23 - July 2, and want to go to Yosemite. Alas, the sites all appear to be full (in Yosemite and nearly everywhere else nearby), but we got reservations at Bass Lake/Lupine campgrounds for 4 nights. We're pretty flexible, and my kids are dying to go to Yosemite (alright, I admit it, so am I). My thought was to try and take a day trip up to Yosemite and get into a campsite that's first come, first served in Yosemite, one which also allows RVs.

I'm happy to eat a night or two at Lupine if I can use it as a staging ground to get into Yosemite, and then stay there the rest of the time, but I just don't know how hard it is to get one of those campgrounds. I believe that only Bridelvail and Tuolomne Meadows have first come, first served for RVs of 33', and I'm not sure when Bridalvale will even be open (I thought the site was avaialble for a horse reservation for that time, but it's impossible to see if the whole campground is open). The NPS website said that it's tentatively set to open July 5, but does that mean it could be earlier OR later? Is it worth trying to go there?

Is Tuolomne too far to try to get to and risk failing? I figure since Bass Lake is only about an hour or so from the park, it's not too hard to take the drive to Bridalvale Creek and not get a place, but Tuolomne is a lot further away, and that would be a major drag.

A couple more questions:
1) Are there cancellations at the reservation-only sites that you can get in to at the last minute?
2) If we don't have a separate car we're hitching along, will we lose our campsite if we take the RV out to dump it and fill up on water at some point? 3) Is there some way to keep your campsite when you leave it for a little while (I understand it's different when you leave your tent there all set up, but here our "tent" would be riding along with us).

I'm curous about the thoughts of some more experienced people.

Thanks.

Hi there

My husband, myself and daughter (28) are visiting Yosemite from the UK probably 28th Oct for 2 nights after starting a flydrive holiday in San Francisco. We had looked at website for The Redwoods Cabins in Yosemite and seen varying reviews (some good some poor) on the internet.

Can you help - do you have any personal recommendations. We need to have space for 3 adults.

Also anything you can recommend in Yosemite at that time of year, which I understand can be unpredictable weatherwise.

Many thanks

hi,i am planing to head over to yosemite national park this summer and i bet i'm gonna have a fabulous time cause i have been waiting to go ever since , i love camping and i was thinking about staying at this campground called bridalveil creek , i was fascinated cause it's real beautiful than any other campground i've seen on the internet and read about but i have to know a couple of things first from you who have been there .

1. does bridalveil creek campgrounds creek good enough to swim in , is it shallow or deep ? and can you take a pleaseant swim or dip ?

2. how are the cmapsites i've heard there private and spacious and beautiful , but it takes to know words from a real person whos been there , so are the campsites spacious and reamote from each other and beautiful ?

3. what type of scenery lies in bridalveil creek , are there snow capped mounatins , or mounatin valleys , meadows along with mounatins how'd you describe the scenery

4. does the campground lie in shade ? or is it hot and exsposed ?

5. can you see the creek from the campsites along with the meadows ?

6. what animals hang around the campgrounds and sites ?

7. is the campground road pretty and beautiful ?


thank-you ever soo much i can't thank-you enough for adding to my vacation and making it the best one i couldn't do it with out your help .

We are from Australia and will be holidaying in Canada & the USA

In mid October we will be driving from Las Vegas to San Fracisco via Yosemite.

Yosemite wasn't in our original plan. But we thought we could squeeze it in. Will this work?

We plan to drive from Las Vegas to Yosemite on the 18th stay overnight. Then drive on to San Francisco the next day stay the 19th & 20th and fly home on the 21st.

We want to stay overnight somewhere near Yosemite so we can explore a little the next day before driving to San Francisco.

I have a couple of questions.

1. Which is the best / shortest route to drive from Las Vegas to Yosemite?

2. We have been looking at available accomodation and we think we could stay in Oakhurst at either a B&B called The Hounds Tooth or at Cedar Lodge, but we don't know where Oakhurst is in relation to our drive from Las Vegas / Yosemite/ San francisco.

Do we drive through Oakhurst to get to Yosemite or is it on the other side of the park on our way to San Francisco. We don't really have the time to be retracing our driving.

Considering our restricted time frame I was hoping someone could give us some advice please.

Hope this makes sense.

Thank You

We are traveling the first week of June from Lake Tahoe to Yosemite to San Francisco. Looking at the map I can't tell what entrance or route is best to take from Lake Tahoe to Yosemite and also, what are the highlights to see at Yosemite? Any additional information is also appreciated.

According to the National Park Service www site Hwy 120 Tioga Pass is to open today (Wednesday) at 8:00 AM.

My friends and I are planning a 4 day hike June 21-26. We are in good shape and feel we can handle moderate hikes. My question is does anyone know of a 4 day hike that has a lot of water for swimming and fishing???

Thanks very much in advance!!

My wife & I are planning a trip w
in camper van from aprox 10 sept for 5 days to park,& would like to get more information suited to
our age. We are quite mobile but cant risk falls .Gentle hikes of 3 miles would cause us no problems.
We would appreciate any suggestions.Thank you.

I would to no if if the tent cabins with heaters if you can bring your own heaters thank you Judy Taylor

Neglected to say that we're driving from LA

I've got tons of literature but seeking help from members of VT regarding lodging. In the park or outside? Don't plan on spending more than $300/night and leaning towards a cabin.

We are traveling the first week of October and are new to hiking. Any suggestion and attire we need during that time?

This coming 1st week of May we are planning to visit the Yomesite Natl Park. We have 2 yr old daughter with us. My question is:
1. How safe it is now there for her?(im not a dummy, promise!!)
2. It seems we have a hard time getting a place to stay. It's all booked up. Any recommendations as far as driving is concern?
3. Please give some places over there that my daughter & me will enjoy.

Hi there,

With a friend, I am taking a vacation to the USA in April. We will be driving from San Francisco to Yosemite on the 11th April, and staying at the Yosemite View Lodge, near Highway 140. We will have a rental car - can anyone tell me if we will need snow chains in the car then? We plan to visit the Valley floor and Yosemite Village, but we are not likely to be going towards the Tioga Pass road, so I am not sure if we will be subject to any chain regulations. Also, is there any shuttle/public transport to get into / around the Park?
We are really looking forward to the visit, and would appreciate any help you can give! Thanks in advance.

my wife and i are planning atrip to yosemite,but a few questions...time of year? first priority is low crowds second is good weather. we were thinking four days, can we see much of the park in four? stay in the park or outside the park? when to make reservations, how early?? best day hikes for 55+ adults, around 4 to 8 miles? thanks in advane for your advice.

A few friends of ours will be in LA in May. They are looking out for some affordable tours from LA to Yosemite for about 5 nights. I have heard that there are some Chinese tours which regularly operate around this route. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to go about the itinerary should they decide to do this trip on their own? They would also like to visit Montery.

Thanking you all in advance:-)

Hi!!
We will be driving to National Park from San Francisco..so which would be the best way to enter the park? Later our idea is to go from Yosemite to Las Vegas. Is it possible to do it in one day? Which is the best route to do it? ARe the roads bad?
Do we have to go through the park to get to LV?


Thank you very much

Hi there,
Im going to yosemite at the end of March witha friend.
we will be staying 3 days n 2 nights, and we would like to do some hiking.
can anyone give me any advice on trails at that time of the year? We know that maybe some entrances will be closed and we are not expert hikers, but we do it quite often.
Any advice will be helpful.
Thanks

I will be visiting Yosemite mid-March 2008. Originally I had planned to take at least one day to explore outside the park with a visit to Bodie. Am I correct that with Tioga passed not open I probably will not be able to make the trip? Are there any other ghost towns that will be accessible at this time year in the general vicinity of Yosemite?

Thank you in advance.

We (2 adults, 2 kids ages 8 and 12) will be visiting Yosemite in late June (20 - 27). We'll be approaching from the south, after visting some relatives in LA. We'd like to be able to visit Bodie while we are there, but I know it all hinges on Tioga pass being open. Here's what we were thinking:

Fri, June 20 -- Fly into LA, stay with relatives
Sun, June 21 -- Drive to Oakhurst
Monday, June 22 -- Drive into Yosemite, stop and see the big trees, make our way to Yosemite West, where we've rented a cabin
Tues, Weds -- "Do" the valley -- probably rent some bikes, not sure what else; my daughter would really like to do something on horseback....
Thursday, June 26 -- Drive east, stopping at various points as we desire, drive over Tioga Pass, stop and see Bodie; continue on to Reno
Friday, June 27 -- Fly home from Reno

So, my questions are: Is our itinerary for Thursday too amibitious? If we chicken out and decide we aren't willing to bank airline tickets out of Reno on Tioga pass being open, is it possible to do the eastern end of the park and Bodie as a long day trip if it does turn out to be open? About how long will it take us to drive from the valley to Bodie? Any suggestions of "MUST DOs" while we're there?

Thanks.

Sondra

Hi..I finally got my dates fixed and looked up for accomodation in and around Yosemite National Park for the month of July..and this is what came up:

Comfort Inn Yosemite Area
Yosemite View Lodge
Days Inn Oakhurst Yosemite
Best Western Yosemite Gateway Inn
Shilo Inn Oakhurst
Cedar lodge
Hounds Tooth Inn Bed and Breakfast
Oakhurst lodge

Can anyone tell me the best place to stay in..not too keen on camping outdoors and plan to stay for a night. We have a car so we can drive down to the National Park if its just a few mins away.

How abt the Blackberry Inn and the other B&B places? Are they worth it?

Thankyou so much!

This will be the first trip to Yosemite for my husband & I and another couple, so we are completely baffled on the best place to stay. (mid March) We have trimmed our choices down to two...the Evergreen Lodge which looks very quaint; I fear the cabins may be a bit on the small side and a private cabin in West Yosemite. None of us have children so the family enviroment is not of great concern. Our main concern is ambiance (& cleanliness). We are very much looking forward to a rustic, lodgey type getaway. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi fellows,

Four of us want to have a day trip to Yosemite in January. None of us have experiences of driving on snowy road. Is it safe for us to rent a car driving there in Jan? or Where I can find a day tour with reasonable price, if the day tour company is better alternative to us. Thanks

I am from the east coast & have always wanted to visit Yosemite. . . ideally, during the summer months. I have an opportunity to visit in March (13th-17th). What can I expect, not only weather wise, but the park in general. I am more the type of tourist who enjoys warm weather travel, photography & picnics rather than skiing & other outdoor sports, however, I feel this is an opportunity I would be foolish to pass up. I am anticipating much smaller crowds & a more intimate park experience. What are the chances of seeing active waterfalls?
Thank you in advance.

Hi

My girlfriend and I will be travelling to the US from Ireland for the first time next march and are really looking forward to it. We hope to drive from Lake Tahoe to Yosemite in March but heard from friends of ours that some of the roads might be closed due to snow. We were wondering what the story is on this, are all the roads closed, or is it just the more scenic routes?

Trevor

My husband & I are flying from the east coast to Las Vegas in mid-March on business. We are considering extending our stay by 3 days & driving up to Yosemite. Is mid-march too early for wildflowers & waterfalls?

Hi all,
Am travelling over the US from Australia in December. We are hoping to drive from Las Vegas to San Fran up through Death Valley, up the 395 and skirting around Yosemite (as I assume a lot of access will be cut off due to snow). Just wondering if this was a feasible trip over the course of 3 or 4 days?? Anyone that can give me an indication of the amount of snow I may encounter would be great. I have never driven on snow before and am a little apprehensive.
Thanks
Steve

I am planning a trip to Yosemite with my boyfriend during Thanksgiving. This will be our first time and neither of us are great hikers. Is it a bad time of the year? I had heard that fall is very pretty in Yosemite and thus had thought of the trip, but is the weather too cold/ rainy by the end of November? Our other option would be mid-March so we could postpone the trip. Any suggestions?

Hi all!

I'll be arriving (if I find a place to sleep) the 14th of august to Yosemite. I'm traveling on my own and using public transport (YARTS) and I'd like to know of suitable places to stay that are close to the bus itinerary. I've been looking on the net, and I've seen several places, but they might be quite far from the main road, and I have no car. If, besides, there are cheap places, then it'd be perfect, but I can't ask for too much in my conditions.

Thank you all!

I plan to visit Yosemite National Park over Labor Day weekend. How crowded can I expect it to be? I understand the Park will be busy over a holiday. Particularly, I am interested in potential traffic congestion and bumber to bumper traffic. Will this be a problem, or will traffic flow be okay? Thanks.