yosemite accommodation for california trip

[applegate79]

I am just looking into booking accommodation for when we head to california in October and am a bit clueless about yosemite, I know that it gets really booked so am keen to book asap. I had thought that we would stay in the park but there appears to also be a lot of accommodation available just outside the park which is much cheaper.
Has anyone any experience of staying there/advice as to how long or how much hassle it is getting in and out of the park as opposed to staying in it?We will be staying 3 nights. Thanks in advance

Don't short change Grand Canyon- a 10 plus hour round trip in one day will not do it justice and I think would be a frustrating waste of time

I think we are going to give the grand canyon a miss for that reason. On the one hand it seems silly not to go when we are so close but in reality it is another long journey and I think, for this reason, it is one to save for another trip as I would rather go another time and have enough time to spend there and do it properly. Thanks so much for all your advice it's so helpful

You aren't that close. Honestly, I drove over last month & it was a huge slog. Besides, I think it's pointless to visit if you don't plan to go below the rim.

I would love to visit Death Valley properly one day, though. Am the only desert fan in the family.

I camped in Death Valley as a student. Was awesome but, truth be told, a bit dull you could nail it in a day/short weekend. Weather in November was perfect.
Grand Canyon was snowy at the top (early December) and 80+ down at the bottom.
San Francisco will be decidedly nippy in October. We were cold on Alcatraz in August. There's a reason why so many people come back from SF with logo'd hoodies!

Ha clam - that's so funny .... And sooooo true

The mantra in San Francisco is "layer layer layer"

No one expects the fog

I meant so close as in in california,but yep its definitely too far for this time...another trip, another time.

I can give a second recommendation for evergreen lodge just outside Yosemite.

We also ate lunch at the Fernwood Inn in Big Sur and I'd recommend that as a stop off. Looked very rustic but great location, good food, non-pretentious.

Definitely don't do Grand Canyon as a one day drive - we did it the day after our wedding and really really regretted it: long, boring, and a total waste of time.

This place is San Francisco was great - no frills, but excellent location and value for money: www.cowhollowmotorinn.com/

Try to see Bodie ghost town if you can - really enjoyable.

Is Bodie the place at the eastern end of the tioga pass on the way to mammoth?

Oh and Mono Lake, also at the end of Tioga Pass, is worth a visit too. Looks like something from an album cover from the 70s. Or a space landscape

Your itinerary is our honeymoon in reverse I think. Can't remember name of accommodation in Yosemite but we stayed in park in October in a lodge which was near a large shop/ cafe/ bar complex. Was reasonably cheap but think you'd need 2 rooms as wasn't spacious. Did use the park bus for dinner at the posh hotel one night.

Am very envious. Would love to take DC there, just waiting for lottery win!

Is Bodie the place at the eastern end of the tioga pass on the way to mammoth?

That sounds right - it was eight years ago now, and I didn't do the driving, but it was definitely near the Tioga pass. We went at the end of October, and saw some snowflakes!

We were really lucky and had a month, starting in Las Vegas, then Death Valley, Lake Tahoe, Mono, Yosemite, Gold Trail, Sacramento (to visit a friend - I wouldn't recommend it), Mendocino, San Francisco, then all down the coast finishing at San Diego before flying back from LA. It was a fantastic honeymoon! I know I've got the order of everywhere on the way to SF wrong!

We had to stay outside Yosemite, and I remember the drive being a lot longer than we'd anticipated. To be honest a day at Yosemite was enough for me, after the Grand Canyon and Death Valley in quick succession I was a bit parked out!

If you can get in I would recommend Evergreen Lodge - we didn't get in there but stayed in a nearby independent farm. No bother driving in, we finished up driving out the other side but then north towards Lake Tahoe. There is a very amazing lake (Mono Lake).