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I was hoping someone might have some ideas on who to call to reserve "no frills" accomdations for a few days in July near Yosemite. My son and I had originally planned to camp, but recent shoulder sugery precludes roughing it. Not looking for any fancy ammenities, just a clean bed and a shower..on a tight budget. Thanks for any help, Jim
Mariposa Lodge in Mariposa may be the best value (I stayed there 6 months ago - $65 a night), however as Steelygriz noted, Highway 140 between Mariposa and the park is now under 300 feet of rock. The drive to the valley is now about twice as long - 90 to 100 miles I think, from Mariposa via highways 49 and 41 via the Wawona entrance.
Unreal, This vacation is looking more and more like a complete debacle. First I break my shoulder and can't fish, now this... We have a chance to visit northern California the 2nd and 3rd week of July. I can't change the dates and realistically this is a now or never(or not for a long while)chance to have a decent vacation with my 14 year old son. If anyone has heard what the outlook is for opening the road- if you live near there and have heard estimates or something- please post. I have to probably reserve some accomdations soon if I'm going to. I know it's busy then- and if all the traffic is detoured that far to get to the Valley area it might not even be worth it. I'll be driving in from the Oakland area so looking at my (little tour guide) map it looks like I would take rte 120, but I haven't called AAA yet to set up a route. I don't know if this even makes a difference... I know that there is alot more to see in California, but this was going to be the highlight for both of us. Thanks for any info, Jim
The drive into the valley via the Wawona entrance on Highway 41 is a nice drive and will take you past the Mariposa grove of Gian Sequoias and Glacier Point, which provides a fantastic view into Yosemite Valley and some wonderful panoramas.
There are many lodging options in Oakhurst where Highway 41 and 49 meet south of the Wawona entrance, but I am not familiar with specific options. The 41 route through Wawona is the the route most often taken by visitors from southern CA.
You can also get into the valley via Highway 120 and Big Oak Flat Road and stay the the vicinity of Sonora.
[This message has been edited by tailingloop (edited 03 June 2006).]
Thanks Tailing Loop, I will try to narrow it down from there...We will be coming in from the NW side Big Oak Flat entrance so that is a likely place to start. It sounds like Oakhurst could still be impacted, so I'll leave the SW area of the park as an option for a daytrip once we get there and see whats up. On my very basic map it shows an area called Arch Rock Entrance- which sounds suspiciously like something that would fall and its in the area of the rockslide- just wondering if that was what fell? I hope no one got hurt- it sounds severe...
[This message has been edited by backbeach (edited 05 June 2006).]
Please define cheap. There isn't much in the Yosemite area during the tourist season that is cheap. We stayed a couple of years ago in Lee Vining and paid $140 (with tax) for a two bed, small room. On the same trip we stayed in a nice, large room in Las Vegas for $40. As has been mentioned already ~~ getting into and around the park this year is tricky. With 140 closed and no estimated date to open Tioga Pass ~~ this could be fun.
Rev Bob, Good point! Everything is relative, I was hoping under 100.00/ night; but if I have to pay more then I will. It looks like anything in the park is booked, and the further outside the cheaper....as expected. Stuff around Groveland looks decent and in my price range, but I realize it will mean a commute with traffic. I think that will work for us as we are going mid-week and we are early risers. We will be needing to get ice, cold cuts and sodas, waters etc daily and I understand there is a market there. We will do this on a shoestring as much as possible and save the funds for attractions, car rental and lodging when need be. The rest of the 2 weeks will be daytrips from my sisters home in Oakland, so it's not like I'll be lodging the whole trip. Some of the places that I'm considering are; Old Priest Station Inn,Yosemite Gatehouse Lodge, Hotel Charlotte, Yosemite Westgate Lodge, Yosemite Pines RV and Cabins, and Groveland Motel and Indian Village. Since I've read that bears will break into cars to get at food, I'd prefer a cabin over a tent-or at least a place that has 'bear boxes' to stow the cooler, etc. If anyone knows which of these is ok or which to avoid- please let us know- thanks, Jim p.s. Any other tips on travel or what we will need would be appreciated. For instance, I plan on picking up a couple of "camel back" water systems for hiking,, we have a GPS, a digital camera, with extra memory and chargers batteries, etc. (I assume I can bring a GPS on a plane in a carryon bag-is that true?)
I stayed in Groveland for Mother's Day weekend last month. We rented a cabin on the water at Pine Mountain Lake (gated community at Groveland). It's a tiny town, but it's only 25 miles from the entrance to Yosemite. There's another probably 15-20 miles from the entrance down to the valley floor where the lodge, gift shop, etc are. Traffic wasn't too bad (we were lucky since that was prior to Memorial Day Weekend which starts the busy season).
Oakhurst is much more built-up than Groveland (and thus likely has more options for hotels, motels, etc). The Mariposa entrance is just one of three so don't let the rockslide shut you down.
I'd be more interested in water levels in the park if I were you...make sure the snow melt isn't you're planning on fishing the rivers in the park.
Take the bear warnings to heart! We spotted one near the road as we were driving through the park that weekend. They do love to open cars (and it's scary how simple it is for them to open a car - those claws grab the top of a car window like they were designed for exactly that job and the glass just shatters as the thin metal top of a door folds like paper).
Bears don't know the difference between empty bags on the floor of your car and bags full of food...and they're plenty willing to open the car for a closer look.
Enjoy the trip. The falls are really flowing! Lots of chances for great pictures.
Thanks Twack, I can't fish due to recent shoulder surgery anyway, so I'm glad its a heavy runoff. I'm hoping that the falls won't be dry by the second week in July. The more I read about the area, the more amazed I am about the climate and changes associated with altitude, etc. It is incredibly complex compared to what we have around here. Despite the shoulder injury, I've got to get walking and build up the cardio before I get out out there or I'm going to be hurting on the hikes... Thanks for the post, Jim