chaoscreature

Tenaya Lodge is just outside the valley and is much more reasonable. I got married there 10 years ago and it was amazing. The Wawona hotel is also pretty cool, and one of the oldest hotels in CA but it's not nearly as fancy/plush as either the Tenaya Lodge or the Ahwahnee. I remember the flat iron steak at the Wawona being absolutely perfect.

fatmike

Yosemite is my favorite National Park. Best advice: Book early. Like now for summer 2018. If you want to book a trip this summer you are very late. After the Awahnee, the accommodations are mostly rustic and/or camping.

The hiking is great. Don't underestimate how hard any hike that comes off the valley floor.

Get up for sunrise. Don't miss sunset and the alpenglow.

Tuolumne meadows and Mono Pass are worth the time.

I suspect the waterfalls will be running all summer based on the snowpack in the high Sierra. Unfortunately, it wouldn't surprise me that there is a flooding issue in the valley or on the limited access roads...

Google "horsetail falls Yosemite" to get an idea what your in for...!

Good luck.

/

Winston711

+1 for the Ahwahnee, also if your in Carmel and want to do dinner, I highly recommend Casanova restaurant.

95_993

Great recommendations....we're working on it now.

Thanks!! Keep the ideas rolling in.

goldcountryboy

The tourist season in the valley is a zoo. Get in early then get out early. The traffic jams are just plain crazy. I used to do the half dome hike but now I am perfectly happy to do the hike from the valley up to Glacier Point and then to the Panorama Trail. Gorgeous hike.

95_993

Ok. So we are booked at Rush Creek Lodge which looks great, but my wife was just informed it's close to the entrance but still 2 hrs from anything...can that be true? Yosemite roomie here.

burton

OP, enjoy the journey. Both Yosemite and Yellowstone are worth (extended) visits. If you ever decide to visit Yellowstone, let me know.

71-3.0-911, you saw a caribou at Yellowstone? Interesting.

RonCT

Seems that if you are going to Yosemite, you might as well stay "in the park" at the Ahwhanee. And if staying there insist on a cabin, not the main hotel. We've been to the property several times and only once got stuck in the main hotel building for 1 night and it was a nightmare. Paper-thin walls. 10:00 we call the desk about the neighbors. 10:05 we hear the phone in the neighbor's room ring, guy picks up, talks, says to his wife and sugar-high kids "That was the manager who said we're making too much noise".

The cabins are absolutely wonderful - configurations and setting in the woods next to the river.

993Mpls

You might be two hours from completing a hike that starts in the Valley, but you're not two hours from "anything". Take a closer look at your map; you'll find good stuff to see and do, and probably won't be as crazy as the Valley either!

Enjoy your trip!

71-3.0-911

Haha. Good catch. Should have said Elk. Alaska habits

skywachr

There is seriously no other choice than the Ahwanee. It's a once in a lifetime event that we've now repeated over and over many times. Yosemite is amazing, we support Yosemite Conservancy because it is hands down one of the most amazing spaces on the planet. Don't look at the price itself. Ask whether it's worth paying $200 more a night for a few nights to have an experience you and your family will never forget. We prefer staying in the cottages, especially with family. Please don't cut yourself short.

Some additional ideas:

Make sure to hike with the kids to Taft Point plus Sentinel Dome (2 hikes in one). Take the Park bus to Panorama Point and hike the Panorama Trail all the way around to Veil Falls and down again to the Valley floor. Spend a day seeing the amazing Sequoias in the south of the park.

Drive to Carmel, stay there at La Playa Carmel, very reasonable for a beautiful hotel with huge champagne breakfast every morning. While there do the Monterey Bay Aquarium, one of the best in the world (the Aquarium restaurant has a top-rated chef so plan on lunch there) and hike Point Lomo State Park, and take the 17 mile drive on the toll road around Pebble Beach (if you have lunch at the Bench Restaurant (outdoors) at the golf course you will be reimbursed the $35 bucks or so for the drive.

Drive south to Big Sur, stay there or not (lots of choices) but do have lunch on the amazing deck of Nepenthe Restaurant.

Take the kids down the coast further to the legendary Hearst Castle and take a tour. Don't miss the huge sea elephant colony in that area. Both will be mindblowers and, again, hopefully unforgettable for the kids on every level.

End up in Santa Barbara. Nice beach town with more going on than most.

Your results may vary. Have fun.

95_993

I totally understand the Ahwanee is the place, but it's been booked out for months. $ isn't a concern. Rush Creek was the next nicest option. Thanks for all the feedback

skywachr

So here's how this works, assuming your Rush Creek reservation can be cancelled. All the National Park "Great Lodges" are booked a year in advance during the summer. For some reason people ALWAYS cancel within the 2-3 days before the reservation. If you call then, there will be a room available. Our summer home is less than two hours drive from one of these "Great Lodges". On the spur of the moment we call up and book a room within 2-3 days. We have never failed to get a room, once one of the 2 great corner suites of El Tovar at the Grand Canyon directly overlooking the canyon. It's worth a shot if it works for you.

95_993

That's some great info...thank you

997rs4.0

We just spent spring brake in Yosemite, what an amazing place! Picked up a 40foot RV outside San Fran and drove to Carmel and then to Yosemite. Stayed a few days and then on to Napa.
Great vacation with family.