Places to stay in/close to Yosemite

June 1, 2008 12:04 PM

Please advise on a place to stay in Yosemite in August for two not very outdoorsy families with young children.

We are planning on driving there from the Bay Area and staying for two-three nights.

posted by lmY2K to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

Curry Village might be a good choice, but I don't know if they're booked yet.
posted by you're a kitty! at 12:12 PM on June 1, 2008

Options for non-tent camping in Yosemite are limited. In addition to Curry Village there is the Yosemite Lodge (nice motel rooms, basically - I'd highly recommend) and the Ahwahnee (beautiful but crazy expensive). There are motels outside the valley (in El Portal, Wawona, and probably a few other places) but you will miss out on a lot of the experience if you have to commute 30-40 minutes to get to the valley floor.

Car camping by no means requires outdoorsy types, especially if you have an SUV or wagon for stuff. If you can't get a Curry tent or a lodge room, consider buying a big heavy tent (Amazon has 2-room tents for like $50) and roughing it for a few nights.

Then again, you may not have many/any choices. I'm just guessing but I think many people plan a trip to Yosemite in high season at least a year in advance.

If no spaces are available, you could probably chance it with Camp 4, which doesn't allow reservations (i.e., first-come first-served every day). I've never had a problem finding a spot and you probably wouldn't either. But then 2 families in tow makes 'probably' a little less satisfying.

Good luck! And consider a day trip to Tuolumne Meadows, which will be glorious in August (much cooler, less crowded, etc.).
posted by genug at 12:31 PM on June 1, 2008

I cannot recommend Curry Village highly enough - I'm a hiker who hates roughing it, and I love it there, even though it gets crazy crowded. It fills up fast, though, it may already be too late.

There's also Housekeeping Camp - haven't stayed there myself, but it sounds like a good compromise between actual camping and more traditional lodging.
posted by chez shoes at 12:42 PM on June 1, 2008

Thirding curry village. Though the Yosemite Lodge also looked nice (though I didn't stay there so can't say much about the rooms). Both the curry and YL are quite near easy hiking trails, some are even paved for the first sections. The YL complex has a nice food court (better than Curry's options, which are limited, but fine) and also rents bikes.
posted by zpousman at 1:59 PM on June 1, 2008

A few years ago I stayed in one of these cabins. It was right in the heart of Yosemite, very peaceful and quiet yet it didn't feel scarily (bearily) isolated. The cabin (an Economy one, I believe) was very clean and comfortable and everything in the park was easily accessible.

If you're not the outdoorsy camping type, then this might be perfect.
posted by essexjan at 2:33 PM on June 1, 2008

I stayed at the Narrow Gauge Inn a few years ago. It's just outside Yosemite and seemed like a nice place.
posted by willnot at 12:17 AM on June 2, 2008