Yosemite/Sequoia/Kings Canyon Questions

My wife and 9yo daughter and I are considering a summer trip to
Yosemite/Sequoia/Kings Canyon. We have a few questions for people who
have been there. We're not campers, so we prefer staying a decent
hotel, and then getting up in the morning for exploring the parks,
doing day hikes, and picnics, then returning in the evening for dinner
and going to bed. We plan on being there 6-7 days.

* Which area (Yosemite vs Seq/KC) has more accessible day hike
opportunities?
* Should we stay in the park, or is there a outside the park area with
hotels/restaurants/shopping for the evenings? (Three rivers, for
example?)
* What are the 'must see' locations in the parks?
* Our thinking now is that we should pick either Yosemite or Seq/KC,
as they are far enough apart that it's probably not reasonable to
cover both areas in one vacation. Agree?

Scott wrote:
My wife and 9yo daughter and I are considering a summer trip to
Yosemite/Sequoia/Kings Canyon. We have a few questions for people who
have been there. We're not campers, so we prefer staying a decent
hotel, and then getting up in the morning for exploring the parks,
doing day hikes, and picnics, then returning in the evening for dinner
and going to bed. We plan on being there 6-7 days.

You might want to split your visit between a few hotels/lodges at
Yosemite or you'll be doing a lot of driving. A couple of nights in
White Wolf Lodge (Tenaya Lake area), a couple down in the Wawona area
(Tenaya Lodge or Wawona Lodge) and a couple of nights in Yosemite Valley
(which is a mad house in the summer) at Yosemite Lodge, or outside the
park in Cedar Lodge or Yosemite Bug.

I would choose one or the other park. Sequoia/Kings Canyon is much less
crowded but it does lack the spectacular waterfalls of Yosemite.

If you're talking about this coming summer, you'd better get moving.
Even with the recession, accommodations in Yosemite are tight, and they
just lost a bunch of cabins in Curry Village due to rock slide danger.
I'm sure you're too late for White Wolf Lodge already. Maybe get
something out in Mono Lake.

"Scott" wrote in message
...
My wife and 9yo daughter and I are considering a summer trip to
Yosemite/Sequoia/Kings Canyon. We have a few questions for people who
have been there. We're not campers, so we prefer staying a decent
hotel, and then getting up in the morning for exploring the parks,
doing day hikes, and picnics, then returning in the evening for dinner
and going to bed. We plan on being there 6-7 days.

* Which area (Yosemite vs Seq/KC) has more accessible day hike
opportunities?
* Should we stay in the park, or is there a outside the park area with
hotels/restaurants/shopping for the evenings? (Three rivers, for
example?)
* What are the 'must see' locations in the parks?
* Our thinking now is that we should pick either Yosemite or Seq/KC,
as they are far enough apart that it's probably not reasonable to
cover both areas in one vacation. Agree?

For that short a period of time, if I were you I'd spend all of it in
Yosemite because you won't be able to see it all in 6 or 7 days. Save the
other two for another trip, that is if you don't go back to Yosemite! KM
--
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It seems to me I heard somewhere that SMS wrote in article
:

Scott wrote:

If you're talking about this coming summer, you'd better get moving.
Even with the recession, accommodations in Yosemite are tight, and they
just lost a bunch of cabins in Curry Village due to rock slide danger.
I'm sure you're too late for White Wolf Lodge already. Maybe get
something out in Mono Lake.

No, you don't want to do that; Mono Lake is very brackish water,
though it does have spectacular tufa formations. There is no town
called Mono Lake; what you want is Lee Vining (two words) where CA 120
departs from US 395, the north-south highway on the east side of the
Sierras. Http://www.planetware.com/map-of/lee...g-us-ca-lv.htm
will give you some idea of what's available. It's a reasonable but
not short drive up over the Sierras, entering Yosemite at a high point
(Tenaya Lake) and taking a winding route on down into the main tourist
areas. It might do if you can't find lodging closer in, but I'm not
sure I'd like to commute over the Tioga pass very often. :-)
--
Don Kirkman

Don Kirkman wrote:
It seems to me I heard somewhere that SMS wrote in article
:

Scott wrote:

If you're talking about this coming summer, you'd better get moving.
Even with the recession, accommodations in Yosemite are tight, and they
just lost a bunch of cabins in Curry Village due to rock slide danger.
I'm sure you're too late for White Wolf Lodge already. Maybe get
something out in Mono Lake.

No, you don't want to do that; Mono Lake is very brackish water,
though it does have spectacular tufa formations. There is no town
called Mono Lake; what you want is Lee Vining (two words) where CA 120
departs from US 395, the north-south highway on the east side of the
Sierras. Http://www.planetware.com/map-of/lee...g-us-ca-lv.htm
will give you some idea of what's available. It's a reasonable but
not short drive up over the Sierras, entering Yosemite at a high point
(Tenaya Lake) and taking a winding route on down into the main tourist
areas. It might do if you can't find lodging closer in, but I'm not
sure I'd like to commute over the Tioga pass very often. :-)

There are some great hikes in the eastern part of Yosemite, and just
outside, around Saddlebag Lake. While the Mono Lake area wouldn't be my
first choice, if you want a place to stay around Tenaya Lake, it's
probably way too late.

"SMS" wrote in message
...
Don Kirkman wrote:
It seems to me I heard somewhere that SMS wrote in article
:

Scott wrote:

If you're talking about this coming summer, you'd better get moving.
Even with the recession, accommodations in Yosemite are tight, and they
just lost a bunch of cabins in Curry Village due to rock slide danger.
I'm sure you're too late for White Wolf Lodge already. Maybe get
something out in Mono Lake.

No, you don't want to do that; Mono Lake is very brackish water,
though it does have spectacular tufa formations. There is no town
called Mono Lake; what you want is Lee Vining (two words) where CA 120
departs from US 395, the north-south highway on the east side of the
Sierras. Http://www.planetware.com/map-of/lee...g-us-ca-lv.htm
will give you some idea of what's available. It's a reasonable but
not short drive up over the Sierras, entering Yosemite at a high point
(Tenaya Lake) and taking a winding route on down into the main tourist
areas. It might do if you can't find lodging closer in, but I'm not
sure I'd like to commute over the Tioga pass very often. :-)

There are some great hikes in the eastern part of Yosemite, and just
outside, around Saddlebag Lake. While the Mono Lake area wouldn't be my
first choice, if you want a place to stay around Tenaya Lake, it's
probably way too late.

"SMS" wrote in message
...
Don Kirkman wrote:
It seems to me I heard somewhere that SMS wrote in article
:

Scott wrote:

If you're talking about this coming summer, you'd better get moving.
Even with the recession, accommodations in Yosemite are tight, and they
just lost a bunch of cabins in Curry Village due to rock slide danger.
I'm sure you're too late for White Wolf Lodge already. Maybe get
something out in Mono Lake.

No, you don't want to do that; Mono Lake is very brackish water,
though it does have spectacular tufa formations. There is no town
called Mono Lake; what you want is Lee Vining (two words) where CA 120
departs from US 395, the north-south highway on the east side of the
Sierras. Http://www.planetware.com/map-of/lee...g-us-ca-lv.htm
will give you some idea of what's available. It's a reasonable but
not short drive up over the Sierras, entering Yosemite at a high point
(Tenaya Lake) and taking a winding route on down into the main tourist
areas. It might do if you can't find lodging closer in, but I'm not
sure I'd like to commute over the Tioga pass very often. :-)

There are some great hikes in the eastern part of Yosemite, and just
outside, around Saddlebag Lake. While the Mono Lake area wouldn't be my
first choice, if you want a place to stay around Tenaya Lake, it's
probably way too late.

Sorry for the empty post - hit the wrong key/icon.

A couple of points:

1. There is no lodging around Tenaya Lake. Closest would be Tuoloumne
Meadows, about 20-30 minutes east of Tenaya Lake. Lodging there is either
camping (Tuoloumne campground) or Tuoloumne Lodge - tent cabins as at Camp
Curry in the valley. A good idea is to have reservations if wanting to stay
at the lodge. There used to be a walk-in campground at the west end of
Tenaya Lake, but it is now long gone.

2. You enter Yosemite National Park from the east at Tioga Pass just a tad
under 10,000 feet, about an hour or so east of Tenaya Lake. The nearest big
lake to Tioga Pass is Tioga Lake to the east of the pass.

3. Mono Lake with its fascinating tufa formations contains water more salty
and alkaline than that of the Pacific Ocean. Obviously brackish water can
be found where various fresh water streams - e.g., Lee Vining Creek -
empties into the lake.

I just want to set the record straight. Any folks in doubt can do the
requisite net searches to verify my points. Additional comments.

a. Lodging outside the park in addition to Lee Vining:
Fish Camp is about an hour from the valley floor.
Couterville and Groveland are well over an hour and a half from the
valley floor.
Mariposa is somewhat over an hour from the valley floor.
There are a few motels along 140 between Mariposa and Yosemite, e.g.,
just outside the park boundary at El Portal.

b. Actually, Lee Vining is not a bad location to visit Bodie - largest ghost
town in the west - as well as Mono Lake. You'd be about two and a half
hours or so from Yosemite's valley floor, about three and a half hours from
Glacier Point.

c. Bishop and/or Big Pine is a good location to visit the Bristlecone Pines
and Eureka Dunes.

d. Lone Pine is a good location to visit Darwin Falls, Fossil Falls, Red
Rock Canyon, Trona Pinnacles, and the Alabama Hills.

Check the net for details on these places.

Lawrence Akutagawa wrote:

1. There is no lodging around Tenaya Lake.

Both Tuolomne Meadows Lodge and White Wolf Lodge are close to the Tenaya
Lake Area of the park. I was just up at White Wolf last summer. The
original poster might get lucky, as there happened to be last minute space.

What he should _not_ do, is plan to stay in the Valley or outside the
park in Fish Camp or El Portal, and drive for hours each day to reach
various parts of the park. The summer traffic in Yosemite isn't as bad
as Yellowstone, but it can still be maddeningly slow.

I just want to set the record straight.

LOL, first you need to know the facts!

"SMS" wrote in message
...
Lawrence Akutagawa wrote:

1. There is no lodging around Tenaya Lake.

Both Tuolomne Meadows Lodge and White Wolf Lodge are close to the Tenaya
Lake Area of the park. I was just up at White Wolf last summer. The
original poster might get lucky, as there happened to be last minute
space.

What he should _not_ do, is plan to stay in the Valley or outside the park
in Fish Camp or El Portal, and drive for hours each day to reach various
parts of the park. The summer traffic in Yosemite isn't as bad as
Yellowstone, but it can still be maddeningly slow.

I just want to set the record straight.

LOL, first you need to know the facts!

"SMS" wrote in message
...
Lawrence Akutagawa wrote:

1. There is no lodging around Tenaya Lake.

Both Tuolomne Meadows Lodge and White Wolf Lodge are close to the Tenaya
Lake Area of the park. I was just up at White Wolf last summer. The
original poster might get lucky, as there happened to be last minute
space.

What he should _not_ do, is plan to stay in the Valley or outside the park
in Fish Camp or El Portal, and drive for hours each day to reach various
parts of the park. The summer traffic in Yosemite isn't as bad as
Yellowstone, but it can still be maddeningly slow.

I just want to set the record straight.

LOL, first you need to know the facts!

[chuckle] As I clearly wrote, Tuolumne Meadows is about 20 - 30 minutes
from Tenaya Lake. Most folks (including me) would place Tuolumne Lodge
around/at Tuolumne Meadows rather than around/close to Tenaya Lake. But if
SMS ( ) is inclined to place Tuolumne Lodge around
or close to Tenaya Lake, so be it. Ditto White Wolf, which is further from
Tenaya Lake in the opposite direction. Here's a National Park Service
Yosemite map that you can check for yourself:

http://www.nps.gov/PWR/customcf/apps... ional%20Park
short url: http://tinyurl.com/dj2dlb

By the same logic and per the same cited NPS map, SMS would - methinks -
place El Portal around or close to the mouth of the valley where you can
find Pohono/Fern Spring and Bridalveil Falls parking lot less than five
minutes or so away from the spring. EL Portal - on highway 140 - is just
outside the western boundary of the park, about 10 minutes or so from the
Arch Rock entrance station and about another 10 minutes from Pohono/Fern
Spring at the mouth of the valley.

http://www.oceanlight.com/lightbox.p... natural_world
short url: http://tinyurl.com/dh8h3l

That spring is a few minutes drive across the Merced River from where Big
Oak Flat Road (hwy 120) and El Portal Road (140) intersect on the cited map.
Note that the intersection is closer to El Portal is than White Wolf is from
Tenaya Lake and about the same as - if not slightly less than - Tuolumne
Meadows Lodge is from Tenaya Lake.

Most folks (including me) would not place El Portal around or close to the
mouth of the valley - that is, where Pohono/Fern Spring and the 120/140
intersection are. But logically speaking, if one places Tuolumne Meadows
and White Wolf around or close to Tenaya Lake, then it does follow - does it
not - that El Portal is indeed around or close to the mouth of the valley.

Knowing the facts, one ought to be consistent...should one not?