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Yosemite anyone?
Yosemite anyone?
Don has announced that he wants to visit Yosemite and Napa Valley this May.
I started researching and am finding most lodging in the park already booked. What surrounding areas should we check?we don't mind having to drive uptown hour.
In the park what shouldn't be misses? We're not hikers. More walkers an d looking for good photo pops.
Haven't started looking at Napa, so any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
I started researching and am finding most lodging in the park already booked. What surrounding areas should we check?we don't mind having to drive uptown hour.
In the park what shouldn't be misses? We're not hikers. More walkers an d looking for good photo pops.
Haven't started looking at Napa, so any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
janet
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California Girl
You'll be going at the right time! In the springtime, the waterfalls are at their very best! Try the Wawona Hotel http://www.yosemitepark.com/wawona-hotel.aspx and Yosemite's Four Seasons http://www.yosemitelodging.com/ for lodging. Be sure to go to Glacier Point (you can drive, park and look...no hiking!) and see the view of Yosemite Valley, Half Dome and Nevada Falls. It'll blow your mind! And check out the Ansel Adams Gallery in the valley http://www.anseladams.com/. I can't give you and info on Napa, but I know that you'll love Yosemite! 
If you're going the early part of May, it's even better than late May. One of the problems of staying on the outside of the park is the drive back in. If you're going for only a couple of days, it won't be that big of a deal, but any longer and the drive will get old. It's not the distances it's the drive, a two lane very curvy road.
Do what CalGirl said. If you are in a hiking mood, you might want to try a relatively short hike to Vernal Falls.
Do what CalGirl said. If you are in a hiking mood, you might want to try a relatively short hike to Vernal Falls.
Thanks for the suggestions. I looked at Wawona, but the reviews weren't very good. Dated, tired, paper thin walls. I'm guessing you disagree. I'll take another look.
We went to an Ansel Adams gallery in San Fran on our honeymoon. Will checkout the one you mention. Don is a huge fan.
We're planning mid-may.
We went to an Ansel Adams gallery in San Fran on our honeymoon. Will checkout the one you mention. Don is a huge fan.
We're planning mid-may.
janet
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California Girl
Mid May is perfect. Stand at the bottom of Yosemite Falls and it will be streaming. We've had a pretty wet winter in CA, so the snow cover is deep in the Sierra and that's where all those falls originate. You'll see some astonishing sites.
The accommodations are old but you'll be sleeping with a sense of history.
Here are some pix of Napa area to include Sonoma Valley, http://tinyurl.com/23rnb5o
Most of the decent restaurants are just north of Napa in a town called Yountville. Lots of great vinyards. I might suggest you visit V Santui. They bottle and only sell at the vinyard or online order. Great stuff and it's great at lunch time. They have a very big picnic area, super deli area, a bottle of wine and yep a great lunch.
The accommodations are old but you'll be sleeping with a sense of history.
Here are some pix of Napa area to include Sonoma Valley, http://tinyurl.com/23rnb5o
Most of the decent restaurants are just north of Napa in a town called Yountville. Lots of great vinyards. I might suggest you visit V Santui. They bottle and only sell at the vinyard or online order. Great stuff and it's great at lunch time. They have a very big picnic area, super deli area, a bottle of wine and yep a great lunch.
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California Girl
As amazing and spectacular as Yosemite Valley is, be sure to spend at least one of your days in Tuolumne Meadows. It's just as beautiful but it's a completely different landscape. You'll be exploring the meadows at the top of the valley (basically the area above of El Capitan) and it's just gorgeous!
http://jrabold.net/yosemite/intro2high.htm
http://jrabold.net/yosemite/intro2high.htm
Hi Janet
Got your pm. Figured I might as well respond on the forum.
We really loved our time in Yosemite and wished we'd had more. We spent three nights in Yosemite Lodge and one night in the Wawona Hotel. We really appreciated staying in the valley and if we return, will do whatever it takes to find accomodation in the valley---actually, we wouldn't be willing to pay Ahwahnee rates, but whatever else. The Ahwahnee is gorgeous and for us, a good place to visit and maybe have breakfast. We were very happy with Yosemite Lodge. There were some very negative reviews of it. I don't know if some of the buildings are in much, much worse condition than where we stayed, or if it was a matter of unrealistic expectations. We'd gladly stay there again. If we return, that's what we'd go for.
Reservations do get snatched up quickly, but there are cancellations. I was coached on the TA forum to haunt the reservation website. We started with reservations for unheated tents in Curry Village and went through several cycles of upgrading. They do have a very efficient online reservation system and it's quite easy to make or cancel a reservation. Or hold a few at a time. Our goal was three nights in the Lodge. We started with three nights in an unheated tent, upgraded to three nights in a heated tent, plus one night in the Lodge, and eventually were able to grab two more nights in the Lodge. Curry Village does have a few options in addition to the tent cabins, including Stoneman Cottage, which is sort of a motel. It got a bit slippery with keeping track of reservations, cancellations, credit card charges and credits, but it all worked out. I got a bit compulsive in keeping an eye on the website and started feeling like a stock trader might.
Here's the website for accomodations:
http://www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations.aspx
There are other booking sites, but they operate as agents. This is the direct site.
We stayed in Wawona on our final night. We were heading to Carmel the next day and wanted to go to the Mariposa Sequoia grove before leaving. The hotel is old and worn and I can see why it would get some negative reviews. As for ourselves, we loved it there. As Promo phrases it, we slept with a sense of history. I have a very romanticized ideal of the Old West and this felt like I was in it. It is a distance from the Valley, though, and it would probably have felt like a drag pretty quick if we were making the commute. For a first night or a final night I think it would be great, but I'd really try to find something in the Valley for the bulk of the stay.
There are other many other options. The TA forum is a really great source of info about other choices for accomodations and for any info at all:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g6 ... ornia.html
We've used TA to plan a lot of trips and their Yosemite forum is really one of the best travel forums I've run into. A lot of really knowledgeable eager to share what they know.
We were there in late September. Most of the waterfalls had dried up and the remaining ones were just trickles. It was our first trip there, so we really didn't know exactly what we were missing. I think it would have been pretty spectacular with waterfalls, but it's pretty spectacular without them, too. But while you will have waterfalls, it may be too early to get to some of the parts of the park that we really enjoyed. Glacier Point and Tuolumne Meadows (Tioga Road) are stunning but the winters are pretty long and severe in the park and the roads to these areas may not be open. If they are open, they're absolutely worth going. Here's a site that lists past opening dates:
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tiogaopen.htm
There's a better chance of the Glacier Point Road being while you're there than the Tioga Road. Both areas are really unforgettable.
There's plenty to do and see in the Valley, even though some areas or trails may not yet be accessible. There are trails throughout and a shuttle bus that links different areas. The trails in the valley really are walking trails rather than hiking trails. It's a truly magnificent place.
When we were planning the trip we were thinking about either Napa or the coast after Yosemite, then on to SF for a few days. We finally decided on Carmel/Big Sur, but Napa/Sonoma certainly would have been equally wonderful. Promo's pics are lovely.
We had a really great trip, one of our best ever in many ways.
I'm glad to answer any questions, but be sure to get over to the TA forum if you haven't already.
Got your pm. Figured I might as well respond on the forum.
We really loved our time in Yosemite and wished we'd had more. We spent three nights in Yosemite Lodge and one night in the Wawona Hotel. We really appreciated staying in the valley and if we return, will do whatever it takes to find accomodation in the valley---actually, we wouldn't be willing to pay Ahwahnee rates, but whatever else. The Ahwahnee is gorgeous and for us, a good place to visit and maybe have breakfast. We were very happy with Yosemite Lodge. There were some very negative reviews of it. I don't know if some of the buildings are in much, much worse condition than where we stayed, or if it was a matter of unrealistic expectations. We'd gladly stay there again. If we return, that's what we'd go for.
Reservations do get snatched up quickly, but there are cancellations. I was coached on the TA forum to haunt the reservation website. We started with reservations for unheated tents in Curry Village and went through several cycles of upgrading. They do have a very efficient online reservation system and it's quite easy to make or cancel a reservation. Or hold a few at a time. Our goal was three nights in the Lodge. We started with three nights in an unheated tent, upgraded to three nights in a heated tent, plus one night in the Lodge, and eventually were able to grab two more nights in the Lodge. Curry Village does have a few options in addition to the tent cabins, including Stoneman Cottage, which is sort of a motel. It got a bit slippery with keeping track of reservations, cancellations, credit card charges and credits, but it all worked out. I got a bit compulsive in keeping an eye on the website and started feeling like a stock trader might.
Here's the website for accomodations:
http://www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations.aspx
There are other booking sites, but they operate as agents. This is the direct site.
We stayed in Wawona on our final night. We were heading to Carmel the next day and wanted to go to the Mariposa Sequoia grove before leaving. The hotel is old and worn and I can see why it would get some negative reviews. As for ourselves, we loved it there. As Promo phrases it, we slept with a sense of history. I have a very romanticized ideal of the Old West and this felt like I was in it. It is a distance from the Valley, though, and it would probably have felt like a drag pretty quick if we were making the commute. For a first night or a final night I think it would be great, but I'd really try to find something in the Valley for the bulk of the stay.
There are other many other options. The TA forum is a really great source of info about other choices for accomodations and for any info at all:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g6 ... ornia.html
We've used TA to plan a lot of trips and their Yosemite forum is really one of the best travel forums I've run into. A lot of really knowledgeable eager to share what they know.
We were there in late September. Most of the waterfalls had dried up and the remaining ones were just trickles. It was our first trip there, so we really didn't know exactly what we were missing. I think it would have been pretty spectacular with waterfalls, but it's pretty spectacular without them, too. But while you will have waterfalls, it may be too early to get to some of the parts of the park that we really enjoyed. Glacier Point and Tuolumne Meadows (Tioga Road) are stunning but the winters are pretty long and severe in the park and the roads to these areas may not be open. If they are open, they're absolutely worth going. Here's a site that lists past opening dates:
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tiogaopen.htm
There's a better chance of the Glacier Point Road being while you're there than the Tioga Road. Both areas are really unforgettable.
There's plenty to do and see in the Valley, even though some areas or trails may not yet be accessible. There are trails throughout and a shuttle bus that links different areas. The trails in the valley really are walking trails rather than hiking trails. It's a truly magnificent place.
When we were planning the trip we were thinking about either Napa or the coast after Yosemite, then on to SF for a few days. We finally decided on Carmel/Big Sur, but Napa/Sonoma certainly would have been equally wonderful. Promo's pics are lovely.
We had a really great trip, one of our best ever in many ways.
I'm glad to answer any questions, but be sure to get over to the TA forum if you haven't already.
Thanks Lex. Great info.
I haven't checked TA yet, but did read that cancellations open up rooms. Tents are available, but that's not me:(. May make a refundable reservation in Oakhurst or Fishcamp and keep trying for the Lodge. I think we can take public transportation and not have to drive everyday.
We also toted with doing the coast and golfing a round at Pebble Beach, but opted to relax a couple of days with lots of wine and cheese.
I haven't checked TA yet, but did read that cancellations open up rooms. Tents are available, but that's not me:(. May make a refundable reservation in Oakhurst or Fishcamp and keep trying for the Lodge. I think we can take public transportation and not have to drive everyday.
We also toted with doing the coast and golfing a round at Pebble Beach, but opted to relax a couple of days with lots of wine and cheese.
janet
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GidgetPicklebrain
- Posts: 170
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 7:54 am
- Location: Frederick, MD
Sentinal Dome is a must do. Easy 2.2 mile round-trip hike to 360 degree heart-stopping views including Yosemite Valley, Half Dome,various waterfalls, etc. all from above.
We sat and watched a pair of perigrine falcons doing aerobatics high over Yosemite Valley, at our eye level, for over an hour there. At times they would swoop right overhead.
Unforgettable experience. Awe-inspiring views, even without the falcons.
http://www.yosemitehikes.com/glacier-po ... l-dome.htm
We sat and watched a pair of perigrine falcons doing aerobatics high over Yosemite Valley, at our eye level, for over an hour there. At times they would swoop right overhead.
Unforgettable experience. Awe-inspiring views, even without the falcons.
http://www.yosemitehikes.com/glacier-po ... l-dome.htm
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. - Confucius
Do keep an eye on openings in Curry Village in addition to the Lodge. There's more options than the tents in Curry Village. And it is worth the effort to be able to stay right in the Valley. Also, have a look at the accomodations at Yosemite West. Not in the valley, but closer:
http://www.yosemitewest.com/
Again, the TA forum is rich with info and options.
http://www.yosemitewest.com/
Again, the TA forum is rich with info and options.
Got air and accommodations booked. Non-stop from Boston via United (FF).
Friends recommended a B&B in Yosemite West; other friends recommended a B&B in Calistoga. Will probably priceline the last night around San Fran and car.
Don just got an over-stuffed envelope with all kinds of brochures and info on Yosemite - did you know there is an App for that? (LOL)
Glad that we've got the winter to read and plan.
thanks for the tips.
Friends recommended a B&B in Yosemite West; other friends recommended a B&B in Calistoga. Will probably priceline the last night around San Fran and car.
Don just got an over-stuffed envelope with all kinds of brochures and info on Yosemite - did you know there is an App for that? (LOL)
Glad that we've got the winter to read and plan.
thanks for the tips.
janet