I have been out to San Francisco once, and it wasn't the right time of year to go out and see Yosemite. So, I plan to go back over there this fall. Probably in August (that sound like a good plan?).

Have any of you been there just to go there? That would be my sole destination. Probably fly into San Fran and take a bus of some kind out there? Can't see the need for a rental car is the "park" is mostly all inclusive. i.e. I shouldn't need to come back into the city.

Any idea on where to stay? It will just be me and the girlfriend... unless I can find a 2nd girl to come along. ;) hehehe

personally i'd rent a car. first off there is a lot to see in yosemite, but in the surrounding area, you have the june lake loop, you have mammouth, bridgeport, bodie, mono lake,etc....because of the record rains, there are water falls everywhere. in june lake area there is a water fall, as your driving threw town, you look up at about 8,000ft. and you see a water fall that drops to about 6,000ft. and then disappears. i think they call it fish fall (for it's shape), and mammouth is pretty spectacular in it's own right. renting a car is the ticket. you might want to drive up to carson city and do a little gambling. the area has so much to do, and everything is about an hours drive, i wouldn't want to be captive in a buss.

I'll be there for the third time at the end of September. Great place to go. That being said I have only been there after Labor Day when the crowds are gone. In August the waterfalls are slowing down or gone. But there is still plenty to see. That time of year I would think lodging would be sparse. For Yosemite Lodge (the average type hotel) in prime season you need to make reservations 1 year in advance. I normally stay in Curry Village which is about $70 a night for a Tent Cabin. It is nice but not real private. Think of it as staying in a canvas sided trailer court with a public bathroom. There are others from sleeping on the ground to the Ahwahnee hotel that starts at $379.00 a night. Checkout http://www.yosemitepark.com/ for in park reservations. And if you can swing it I would think about waiting until after Labor day. Things are very nice then. I will be there Sept. 20-30.

It is a great place to see. Here are a few of my photos. http://www.buffnet.net/~airrj/

What do you plan on doing? Hiking, etc. I can give you a few ideas on trips. My wife and I will be doing a 54 mile 5 day backpacking trip when we get there.

I'd have to agree with BlackHarley... I'd rent a car (but thats me)...

There are drawbacks to renting a car: gas, drive time (as opposed to pure site seeing), parking once at the park, etc...

But the car will allow you to be on your own schedule (there are some areas/hikes you might rather take, and others you aren't interested in, but the bus is going there anyway, and leaving when they say). And you can also look at other areas outside the Park... Yosemite is great, but there are alot of other things to see in this area.

I also agree with RJ, IF waiting until late summer, then I'd go after Labor day. Weather is still hot here, usually through September...

The crowds/traffic can be a big problem...


I think Beaux lives about 1/2 way between SF and Yosemite... ;)

Rent the car, Yosemite is quite large even though the main draw (El Capitain, etc) is in one primary area, there are redwood forests, etc. nearby. Hope you like hiking, its a great spot.

When I went there I stayed in a house on in the "redwoods" area (not literally, that's what it was called) - beautiful place. The house was nicknamed the "birdcage" and was spectacular, I would highly recommend it. Hiking right out the back door, etc.

Don't feed the Bears! They are not your friend, but you could be their lunch!

I think three nights will be the maximum stay. I'd love to just stay in the park area, but too many of the places to stay are just tents and such. Fine for the adventurous type, but the girlfriend would be worried of snakes crawling in the sack with us. Besides, this will be my one vacation this year, so I want to live it up.

So, I guess we will look for a place on the oustskirts. Like Mercer? and just rent a car at the airport. I'd love to find a nearby cottage with some kind of view. If I could find something like that to rent for 5 days at about $650, I'd jump on it.

RJ - I'd love to join in on the 5 day hike, but it would be the first long hike for the lady friend, and I might end up leaving her out there if she didn't pull her own wieght. ;) As for what we will do: just take in as many sites as possible. I'll pass on the X-games stuff, as I will be there to relax. but the girl friend is a Forestry person and likes to scope out the trees and landscapes. I"d like to do a bike ride or horse ride, and get to see more land. I'm more of a "get to the good spot quickly, then relax and soak it all up" type person.

I need to stop be an actual travel agent and find out more about the surrounding areas. My internet searching just keeps turning up the same nonsence. It' shard to see through the babble and just find what you are looking for when you have no idea about the distances between things.

-I will do some searching over the weekend and see what I can come up with.

I agree, do yourself a favor and rent a car. Or, you could do it on a bike like we did last year. Here are a couple of pics... Gaz:D
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Gazzer/GaznMindnYosemite.JPG http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Gazzer/GaznMindnbike.JPG

How many days are you going to be out here? I'll be moving to Fresno next week. Probably still be living there when you come to town.

Be sure to set aside part of a day to take the Sanger out on the water near Fresno :D Do a few hot laps!

I've never been to Yosemite, so can't give direct advice on the place. If you want peace and quiet and lack of crowds (especially on weekends), you will probably have to look elsewhere. There's a few towns before you get to Yosemite that might be worth checking out. Mariposa is one town. Has the Calif. State Mining museum. Like others have said, you should see Yosemite for a few days and then branch out (I'd head to the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada's. Lots of great site-seeing with very few crowds. Mammoth Lakes area is great. You could get a romantic cabin or Bed & Breakfast to stay at. Rent a mt. bike and ride you're arse off all over Mammoth Mountain at 9,000+ ft. elevation :) . Take a Gondola ride to the top of Mammoth. I have lots of good tips for things to see on the Eastern side of the Sierra's. Even on the Western side. Just don't have anything for Yosemite.

Here's some links to great spots: Note - gotta act quick, these are fantastic places.

http://www.4yosemite.com/
http://www.yosemitelodging.com/
http://www.redwoodsinyosemite.com/search.html (We stayed here in cabin #92R)
http://home.inreach.com/falkfoto/
http://www.yosemitevacation.com/

you can also stay at some of the surrounding areas for less. look around june lake, there were some resonable cabins and motels, all with a view, then you can putt a little up the road to yosemite, you could also mountain bike in mammoth, they use the same lifts for skiing that they do for mountain bikes. hop on a lift up, ride down. pretty cool for us lazier guys. if you rent something like a corolla, then gas won't be a problem, and you can get everywhere quicker than a bus. remember your at a fair elevation and buses pretty much crawl up there. less buss, more time to hike, fish, sight see, get chased by bears, etc.....

JMO
I wouldn't go near that place in summer. You can't move anywhere. Last time I went was October. Rented a room in the park and hardly any people around.

I was there for the first time LAST August some of the most spectacular scenery you could ever hope to see. Definitely take your own transportation. The first stop to make is immediately as you come out of the tunnel going to Curry Village, there's a pulloff/parking area. One of the best overall "ground level" views of the park. You should also be sure to go to Glacier Point. Curvy paved road that takes you up to the canyons edge and looks out over the whole valley...that shot became our Christmas card last year.

Our only disappointment was that, as stated earlier, in August most of the waterfalls were barely a trickle. I had seen pictures of Yosemite Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls, and was expecting to see those amazing torrents. I guess when the snowmelts done what would you expect? The plus side is that the waterfall-loving crowds were gone, and travel and sightseeing in general was relatively painless. What a great experience. Enjoy it!

August might be OK since there is so much snow pack this year. Most of the higher elevation campsites (above 6000 ft) are still snowed in. The crowds suck in the summertime. - especially the weekends. If you want a little slower pace check out Kings canyon and the Sequoias - about 2 hrs south. Merced is about a 1-1/2- 2hr drive to Yosemite valley. I would check out hotels in Mariposa or Oakhurst if you want to be closer to the park w/o camping. Another nice place to stay is Bass Lake about 15 min south of Oakhurst. Ducey's Lodge and the Pines are right on the lake. Its a nice lake w/ lots of waterskiing in the summer.

I just got back from Yosemite, the waterfalls were truly amazing. Merced river near max, very fast and violent. The crowds weren't so bad as to affect our endeavor, a 4 day fashion shoot throughout the park and surrounding area. We stayed in Mariposa at the Super 8, 30 miles outside the park. A rental car would be necessary, besides that would definitely be my recommendation. Some roads aren't accessible by bus (or motorhome, which was my vehicle), for instance, Mariposa Sequoia Grove. Our group was able to get over twelve rooms with only a couple weeks notice, breakfast was included, but I don't know the cost. I would also check into airfare to Fresno. If San Francisco isn't a significant part of your vacation, Fresno is alot closer to Yosemite.
Have Fun, whatever your decision
Rowdy
p.s. gas prices were between $2.40 and $2.70 just about everywhere, they may be less now, prices here in Vegas have been dropping a little.

BB,

Did you make it out west yet? Or are you still planning? Just wondering how the trip went.

Haven't made it out there yet.

We leave on September 12th. First stop is Sequoia Forest for two night stay. Then it's up to Yosemite for 4 nights stay. I have quite a few maps printed out already. Mostly we are trying to plan ahead as to what parts of the park we should see, and how to go about seeing them (hiking/driving/horseback).

How does parking work inside of Yosemite? It looks like there is only one big parking lot in the valley. Are you supposed to walk to every place from there?? ARe there random stopping points along the main roads. Just places to pull over for stretching/eating/picture taking?

The Rivers Are Still Running So Strong, That They've Had Two Drownings In The Last Two Days Up There, And They're Looking For Several Missing People, So Be Aware Of Your Surroundings While Your Up There.....

If Yosemite gets to busy, you can always check out Bodie. Probably the biggest and most preserved ghost town in the west! It's about 1hr. give or take exiting out the East entrance of Yosemite. www.bodie.com (http://www.bodie.com)

It's awesome!

Mike - It sounds like you have firmed up some plans already but I'll add my .02 anyway. There are 5 enterences to the park and a one way loop that takes you around the park. You'll want to see all the big features like half dome but save time to drive Tioga Pass (hwy 120) to the east end of the park. You'll hit more than 9000 feet and there are some great scenic stops along the way.

If I were coming in from the east, I'd fly into Lake Tahoe or Reno and start my trip from there. Hwy 395 is a cool drive and you could spend a day or two checking out June Lake loop, Mono Lake and then head over Tioga Pass Yosemite. If you fly into San Jose or SF you could head towards Sacramento and catch hwy50 to south Lake Tahoe, stay there for a day/nite and then head to the 395 and the Tioga Pass. You might really want 2 days in Tahoe though.

I'm sure you'll have fun and mid week travel is best, even after schools back in. Here are some links that may give you some help.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/pphtml/accessibility.html

http://www.nps.gov/yose/pphtml/planyourvisit.html

http://www.nps.gov/yose/pphtml/activities.html

http://www.yosemite.national-park.com/

http://www.yosemite-motels.com/

I am going to be there on the 19th of Sept. As far as the valley is concerned once you park the car there are free shuttle busses running around the valley. And I agree that a trip up to Tuolumne Meadows is worth while. It is an easy way to see the higher sections of Sierra's. You won't regret going after Labor Day. I have been there twice on the week after Labor Day and the crowds are minimal and most of the services are still open.

And make sure to watch out for Yosemite Sam

surround your tent with jelly doughnuts. seriously this will keep the bears out of your tent.