Yosemite Vacation..?

[rattlsnak]

OK, so the family would rather head towards Yosemite and Kings Canyon instead ot Mt Rushmore this year. Planning on flying into San Fran or Sac. Thinking about sleeping in Fresno?? What can you guys tell me about this trip?

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Fresno is the armpit of the world

[craigster59]

Go to Three Rivers to the "Lazy J Motel" and grab a room (right where the north, Kaweah,south meet) and relax for a day. Then head up the road to Sequoia Park and drive thru to Kings Canyon and north to Yosemite. Leave alot of extra time for sightseeing and dayhikes because you will be overwhelmed by the beauty and accessability. Enjoy PM me if you need any info, Sequoia is my favorite park and I've hiked alot of the area both west and east.

[artplumber]

Don't fly to SFO.

Don't stay in Fresno...

[Don Plumley]

Oakland or Sacramento.

Get Reservations - the valley gets very crowded in summer. Beautiful and worth it, but busy. Consider staying in Curry village in a hard sided tent (don't get soft side, you have to store all food/tolietries in a bear locker).

Let me know if you have more specific questions about Yosemite. Unlike the 15 minutes at Rushmore, there are days of things to see...

[Evans, Marv]

Jared & Art are right about Fresno. Although when I lived there we used to call Bakersfield the armpit of the San Joaquin Valley. If you've got kids who can take walks, you should take a day or more in Sequoia. The giant sequoias are a wonder to be next to & look at. You can see the General Serman tree - the biggest living thing in the world. You can see a section of a tree with rings indicating events in the distant past. A walk through the Congress grove next to the Sherman Tree is something you probably won't forget. Also, if you walk out to Crescent Meadow (maybe for a picknic), you can visit Hale Tharp's log (Just an old fallen down, hollow Sequoia with a little cabin on the front) where he stayed during the summers when he would bring his livestock up to graze. In the evening before & during twilight you can go up on Morrow Rock. If you're lucky, you'll get to see the ring-tailed cats scamper up & down the side of it.

[RKC]

Hiked in Kings Canyon and Sequoia years ago for 10 days. Was up near Mt. Whitney and Eagle Scout Peak. Didn't see much of the actual facilities in the park. But it was beautiful and uncrowded back there.

If you go to Yosemite, I second the vote for Curry Village (though I was in a wood cabin not a tent). Take some time out of the beautiful but crowded valley - head up for a day hike in Tuolumne Meadows or go down to Mariposa Grove for big Sequoia trees.

Tougher hikes range from 4 mile trail to Glacier Point (what a view) to hiking up the backside of Half Dome. Depends on your time frame and interest in strenous climbs. You can take a shuttle from the valley to glacier Point and hike down 4-mile trail. This is pretty and much easier than going up and back if you have little ones.

While it is easier to fly closer to Yosemite, if your kids haven't been out there much, I think SFO makes sense just to show the family the city for a day or so.

[KevinG]

My wife and I visited in early March - stayed at the Shilo Inn in Oakhurst. Nothing fancy, but clean with attentive staff and $89 per night. I am attempting to attach a picture I took of the approach to the valley from the El Portal approach. Hope it works

Nope didn't work.

[KevinG]

Let's try one more time.

Rats - all I get are black boxes - anyone know what I am doing wrong?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Agreeed. My wife and I have done considerable amounts of camping in and around Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, the John Muir Wilderness, etc.

Fresno is nothing worth seeing. Avoid if possible.

Yosemite - stay in one of the outlying campgrounds. Avoid the Yosemite Valley - it's nothing but stupid clueless tourists in rented RVs they can't drive. You won't miss much. Visit/hang out in the day if you must, but sleep/camp elsewhere. I recommend Glacier Point. Plenty of good hikes to be had.

If you're planning on doing half-dome, start at dawn. No joke. It's longer than you think.

Sequoia has some of the best hikes I can remember - well worth your time to go.

Other things that pop into mind are Toulamie Meadows (great hikes, breathtaking scenery and far enough from the Valley where it's reasonably isolated and uncrowded).

Have fun.

[kang]

Originally posted by Don Plumley
Oakland or Sacramento.

Get Reservations - the valley gets very very very very crowded in summer. Beautiful and worth it, but busy. Consider staying in Curry village in a hard sided tent (don't get soft side, you have to store all food/tolietries in a bear locker).

Let me know if you have more specific questions about Yosemite. Unlike the 15 minutes at Rushmore, there are days of things to see...

I added some emphasis to your post... stay away July 4th weekend, etc...

[ckissick]

If you are going to stay outside the park the first night, you should stay in an old gold rush town. Groveland would be a good place to stay.

[RoninLB]

Tons of tourists during summer in most of Calif's parks especially on weekends. You should have left in early spring.

Its become so dam crowded even the cougars are pissed off.

[scottmandue]

One more vote for DO NOT FLY INTO SAN FRANSISCO... great city... bad airport.

The Lazy J ranch, have friends who swear by it, they used to go there almost every year.

[scottmandue]

If you fly into Sacramento there is a nice section called "old town"

If you fly into Oakland you could stay in San Fransisco ($$$) or Berkley ($$)

[addictionMS]

I would consider flying into San Jose as well....smaller airport, but not too small.

Easy drive to SF and Yosemite.

I live just south of SJ and have driven to Yosemite, hiked to the top of the falls and been home for dinner, but I was driving a 911 and not at 55 like HRC would like us to.

Jim

[scottmandue]

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Originally posted by scottmandue
If you fly into Sacramento there is a nice section called "old town"

If you fly into Oakland you could stay in San Fransisco ($$$) or Berkley ($$)

old town Sacramento is cool.

[sammyg2]

No one goes to yosemite anymore cause it's too crowded

I went to jellystone last year for a week, hadn't been there since I was 18.
Still cool but now it's like disneyland. Tourist trap where everyone is after what's in your wallet. Hopefully yosemite isn't like that. Yet.

[jhc]

Great place. Kind of crowded in the summer. The Mist Trail is highly recommended.