Me and my spouse are planning a trip in the middle of July. Will be flying into a nearby airport and have a car. Will have 7 days. We are thinking of combining this with a Wine tour. We have never visited this area. We are in our 50's and will be hiking some. Here are concerns.
Should we spend the 7 days in the Yosemite area only? Skip the wine area?
Thinking of staying at Evergreen Lodge. This is the price range we need to be in. Should we move to another area in Yosemite during this trip to see more?
If we do the Wine area, how many days for this and where should we sleep?
Yosemite trip
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My first suggestion would be to book your accommodation at Yosemite. The good
places are full well in advance. You will probably want to plan the rest of your week around these dates.
You should have time for a bit of wine tasting too depending on your interests and what you plan to do at Yosemite. Which airport or airports you fly in and out of may determine which wine area will be most practical in the time you have.
To answer your question about staying in 2 places at Yosemite, no, 1 will be fine. Book it now.
I would stay inside the Park. We stayed at the Yosemite Lodge and loved the views!! If they are full, keep calling for cancellations as they always get cancellations. http://www.yosemitepark.com/yosemite-lodge.aspx
Definitely book your reservations right away. Lodging goes quickly. I have never stayed at the Evergreen Lodge although I've driven by it. It looked nice and is convenient to Hetch Hetchy (which will be pretty hot in July) but it's a looong drive to Yosemite Valley and the high country. I'd estimate it's about 90 minutes to the Valley.
The Valley will be really, really crowded. It's probably ok (crowdwise) first thing in the morning and later in the day but will be ridiculously crowded during most of the day. It's probably not as bad if you're off on a hike but there will still be quite a few people on the more popular trails. There frequently are long waits just to get into the park since lodging in the Valley is both limited and expensive.
If it were my trip, I'd spend some of the time staying in the high country. It's gorgeous, not hot like the Valley, and there's way fewer people. There are tents available at the Tuolumne Lodge (which isn't a lodge, just canvas tents.) It's overpriced but nowhere near as bad as lodging in the Valley. I usually stay there once a summer and keep checking until there's a cancellation. Camping is reasonable but it doesn't sound like you'll have camping equipment.
Whether you spend part of the time touring wineries depends on how much you like winteries. There's certainly plenty enough to keep you occupied in Yosemite for a week.
It's a spectacular place. Hope you have a great time.
We are not campers so that is not an option. I tried to get a room at the Falls but it was full. I would have to move to a different room everyday. I understand there will be lots of people. I would not prefer this option, but this is the vacation time I have off. Sounds like I need to find lodging closer.
.
>>I tried to get a room at the Falls but it was full. I would have to move to a different room everyday.<<
Because folks have book so far in advance - than also means there are frequent cancellations. So keep trying -- but even having to move every day would be better than the Evergreen. Or you can try one of the two motels in El Portal - Yosemite View (the better one) or Cedar Lodge. They aren't IN the Valley but are much closer than Evergreen.
There are also condos and cabins in Yosemite West which would be fine if they fit in your budget.
w/ seven days you could spend maybe 4 in Yosemite and 2 in Amador County. This is an EXCELLENT wine region up hwy 49 from Yosemite . . . and an easy jumping off place to get back to SMF which is probably your best bet for fares/schedule.
Fresno airport has fairly limited service and can be expensive.
Call for cancelations every day. Anything outside the park is a miserable drive.
Last year we were inside the park and I got stuck in 1 1/2 hour traffic jam coming back from Glacier Road.
I likr Evergreen for a number of reasons besides price. Get up early on the day(s) you go to the valley to beat the traffic. Breakfast at Curry Village is noisy but fun. And day parking there is central to everything. I would spend a day in Tuolomne Meadows and a day at Hetch Hetchy, both easy to get to from Evergreen. If the airport is Sacramento, the Wine country is a short drive. I would take Hwy 128 both for beauty and time (factoring in traffic) and St Helena is the heart of the wine country. Choose your hotel by price you won't be spending any time in it.
To clarify - the 'wine country' JCarlinsv mentions is different than the one I suggested above (there are MANY wine regions in CA) and he is talking about the Napa Valley which is on the other side of the state from Yosemite.
Yes, Janis is correct. There are many wine appellations to visit in California. Depending where you are flying into/from, you should visit a wine growing area that is most handy to your travels. Amador And Calaveras County are close to Yosemite along historical Hwy. 49.
We will be flying out of San Francisco more then likely. Sounds like I need to continue to call Yosemite Lodge and hope for cancellations. I would prefer not to deal with traffic in and out of the park. I looked into the cabins in Yosemite West and read lots of negative feedback.
I called just about every other day in the morning of their time zone. and I did get cancellations. http://www.yosemitepark.com/yosemite-lodge.aspx
Try not to stay at the Cedar Lodge. We talked to a man who had stayed there and there were reports of bedbugs.
I managed to get a room at Yosemite Lodge when we went there and I have to agree that it's the most conveniently located hotel, apart from the Ahwahnee Hotel which is really lovely and fancy, but also very expensive.
You also probably already did your research, but it's about a 4-hour drive (give or take) to Yosemite from SF, so leave early. We left around noon, and with distractions along the way, it was already evening by the time we drove into Yosemite.