What Do People Do For Food in Yosemite?

[Shelly32]

We're going for 4 nights next week(staying in Half Dome Village with DDs aged 7) and it looks like there are bear boxes to store food but no fridges so meat and salad vegetables probably wouldn't last more than a few hours in the heat.
We don't want to buy food from the pizza deck or food hall every night as the whole point of camping was to rough it a bit and eat BBQ.
I think we might have an electric socket in our cabin so Pot Noodles are an option for lunch but I was wondering what other people do foodwise when they've camped here. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Many years since I camped in Yosemite but I think you just accept that you won't be eating particularly healthily for a few days - will you have a car? You can store a bit of fruit/salad in the car. There is a shop there (expensive).

Have a great time and yes - we did see bears !!!

Were is it? intrigued

I'm not sure where you are staying, but unless you are used to cooking over a fire you might struggle with a BBQ.

Ladtstarkers it's in California :)
Thank you Ragwort. We've been advised not to leave anything in the car as the bears will break in so I guess it's Pot Noodles for lunch and dinner! Wow- my girls want to see bears...I on the hand... ;)

Are you going from uk to caifornia for 4 days? 😮

BritInUS1 We were thinking of buying some disposable BBqs and grilling on those. Are there many places you can cook on fires though as I imagine in teh summer months they get nervous about forest fires.

Ladystarkers- 21 days in all. A few nights in LA and then on to Yosemite and down the coast. It's a long journey for 4 days!! 11.5 hrs!

www.travelyosemite.com/lodging/half-dome-village/

I've just had a look at the website for Half Dome village and it seems you can only cook at the picnic sites - maybe worth checking it quite thoroughly and asking direct for advice about catering? Perhaps you will just have to eat at the restaurants for a few days?

I hope you have a fabulous time, I have been to Yosemite twice, it is my favourite place in the world .

Thanks for that! I'll check it out! It is one of the most beautiful places! I went on a day visit a lllong time ago when I was roadtripping the U.S as a student. I wanted my husband and girls to see what an amazing place it is. Thanks again!

We ate pizza for three nights ☺️...

We stayed in Half Dome in the cabins. They are teeny and there isn't anywhere to prep or cook food. Breakfast is expensive if you get lots of different things but okay if you're careful. We bought stuff from the shop to make packed lunches. Then we spent each evening on the pizza deck. There is a burger/grill place and also more traditional style stuff in the dining hall and you can all pick different things and then sit together.

There are Ranger stories/activities each evening for kids right by the deck so we did that and then decamped to the deck for food.

I think I figured it was just three nights!

Chorizo pasta?

It's been a few years but we did as teds77 just ate at the lodge for everything loved the pizza deck we made loads of friends.
We spent the days hiking around and I'm sure we had brought drinks and snacks with us but got a sandwich from the lodge for our days out.
My favourite walk was up to Nevada falls everyone tends to go to the first bridge but if you go to the top of Nevada it really is worth it. Have a wonderful holiday.

Slightly off topic but we are currenty staying in Wawona and were in the valley yesterday. We had an ice cream in the Half dome lodge, it was the best value food we have had in 11 days in US. We had the 1 scoop - which was actually 3 big scoops - for about 3 dollars!

We have found food - both eating out and buying in supermarkets - very expensive. Maybe just the exchange rate, we haven't been to US before but have done Canada (Vanc/rockies) and don't recall it being as expensive.

It's a beautiful place! We went Easter time thinking it would br warm and it was covered in snow. Not our brightest move. We were in a motorcaravan though so had our own fridge and cooking stuff...

Yip just suck it up and accept for all the incredible hiking your doing you'll be washing it down with poor quality over priced food nightly. Kind of beggars belief given the levels of tourism but there you go

I am taking a camping stove.
The grocery stores are Open until 8 or even 10pm. Hence, they refridgerate for you & you just cook items right away, stick any leftovers in the bear box. Along with your toothpaste, sun lotion & everything else with even minor smell to it! Only buy what food you need if it really will go bad fast, or at least before it can be cooked.
Powdered milk for porridge. Jam, butter, mayo might keep ok outside fridge.
Eggs would store ok outside fridge (cook well obv. when you do cook).
Stuff like rice keeps well, apples, carrots,parsnips will keep 2 days if required.

I'd love to go there. I'm jealous!

We are just back! It was wonderful, but HOT (although fine over night)! You won't have electricity in your cabin if it is one of the canvas ones, unless it is one that has heating in the winter. We are at the pizza place one night & in the canteen type place 2 nights. For breakfast, have the children's breakfast - much cheaper & still huge. The Americans all take huge cooler boxes with them & keep loading them up with ice, but you won't be able to do that. The camp site is very noisy, supposed to be quiet 10pm to 6am, but 6am is seen as some kind of target so don't expect to sleep beyond that. Please ask any questions & enjoy, it really is wonderful. (PS we found California to be very expensive for eating & accomodation, dreading the credit card bill arriving).

You can't keep cooked rice out of the fridge in that heat! Last week it was 35 degrees during the day.

*I meant uncooked rice will keep & therefore can be bought in bulk. Why cook so much that there's tonnes of leftovers.

Wabbit?

The bear box should be big enough to hold an ice chest for perishables.

Yes it should be, but who wants to buy a big ice box & then leave it behind? Plus, you would have to eat all cold food - you can't cook by the canvas cabins.
By the way, OP, take a padlock for the bear bin, torches & flip flops for the showers/toilets.

From what I'm reading, private padlocks on the bear boxes are prohibited. I can't find anything on NPS website, but more voices online are saying prohibited than allowed.

Damn, I have to move campsites each day (could not get same site more than 1 night at a time) but you can't check into new site until noon & I want to be off hiking then, not worried about the bear demolishing my car. Must figure out some communal bearbox I can stick cheap food & toiletries into while off & about.

I take it back.. .there are 2 types of lockers (ahhhhhhh). I think this is how it works: Communal bear boxes, like at carparks, that must not be private pad-locked (but are obv. not so secure) & private ones for individual campsites or cabins that can be padlocked if you want (but most people don't bother).