Coming from the west (Merced)? Coming from the south (Fresno-Oakhurst)? On a budget you can stay in one of several motels in Oakhurst. The closest out of park lodging to the west of the park is at ElPortal. There is a YARTS bus service coming from Merced into the Valley if you did not want to drive your car into Yosemite.

Housekeeping Units usually open up about Mid May. Glorified camping.
We like Bass Lake, staying at the Pines. It's about an hour into the valley, but Bass Lake has a lot to offer on the off days.

We stayed at Yosemite View Lodge. I thought it was a good place to stay, short drive into the park, you can even take a bus in if you don't want to drive. Had a pool and a decent restaurant- some rooms have river views - we were not in the room much so it worked just fine for us

Oakhurst is too far.

El Portal is good and has two motels (Yosemite View is the better one). http://www.yosemite-view-lodge.com/

The closest accommodations are in Yosemite West - privately owned condos and cabins
http://www.yosemitewest.com/

Make a refundable booking at one of the above and then keep trying for Yosemite Lodge at the Falls in the Valley. Because it books up so far in advance - there are very frequent cancellations. So try every day and there is a VERY good chance you'll get in. If not, either El Portal or Yosemite West would be fine.

evergreen lodge, outside of the park. we were told about it and were stoked!!! far enough away to avoid the hordes and close enough to go back to recoil. From our experience, avoid the in park lodging. felt like waikiki. we'll go back on the off season as visitors do here to Kauai...way more approachable and ease of enjoying...

sorry - Make a refundable booking

Make a 'cancelable' booking - you shouldn't have to pay a deposit so 'refundable' doesn't apply.

"avoid the in park lodging."

Evergreen Lodge is 40+ miles and nearly 2 hours from Yosemite Valley.

gaila - because reservations are made 366 days in advance, anything after April becomes difficult.

The good news is that you have to keep looking at reservations on a very regular basis and you will eventually find a cancellation.

I hope you are using the official reservation link, http://www.yosemitepark.com/lodging.aspx to do you booking. Their website is not intuitive.

BTW: There's room at the Ahwahnee all through June.

In your post you mention "most" of the lodging in the park is booked. Which venues have openings? I notice that there is some availability at Wawona in June. Even though it is about 45 minutes from the Valley it is still in the park. I would pick that over anything out of the park.

BTW..I've always liked Kauai in the summer. Guess that makes me one of the hordes. One travels when one can and Hanalei in the summer is heaven as far I am concerned.

Pitching a tent is a good option

My opinion, but..

Housekeeping=Grapes of Wrath.

You get a cinder block 3+ sided structure with a cloth or plastic shower curtain style closure and a canvas roof which is shared with another room so think duplex. The matresses are thin and creep me out. One double & a set of bunk beds. I love camping but find Housekeeping dreadful/

On the plus side you get a cement slab & dining area which includes electrical. Housekeeping is the only place in the park you can have a fire in the fire ring and the bear box for all your stuff in right outside your "room".

Check every day for Yosemite Lodge at the Falls cancellations. They happen all the time.

The nice thing about staying at Yosemite View Lodge is that the YARTS bus stops there and you can take into the park. I did not realize that until too late to use but I think it would be a good option. Parking in the valley floor can be challenging but bus will drop you off and then you take shuttles to various spots on the valley floor.

I don't recall exactly but I think no more than 20 min into valley floor from here.

"The nice thing about staying at Yosemite View Lodge is that the YARTS bus stops there and you can take into the park."

Yes - Yosemite View (El Portal) is probably the best 'outside the park' choice. About 25-ish minutes in to the Valley and 45-50-ish minutes to the Village.

I 100% agree w/ suzie about Housekeeping. The pits IMO.

But honestly - you'll have to be unlucky if you don't score a room at Yosemite Lodge. Try every day or so.

We couldn't get reservations inside the park this past June and Yosemite View Lodge was also full. We ended up at the Cedar Lodge, just a few miles past Yosemite View. It was very basic and I wouldn't have been happy staying there more than one night but it was okay for one night. The only wi-fi available was in the lobby and it wasn't free. The restaurant was okay for one meal but it was mostly fried food. We needed two rooms so it was next to impossible for us to find inside the park accommodations despite my trying two or three times a day from about a month from our departure date.

Wow...o.k. I'll go back and look again and keep on checking. I was hoping to keep the hotel at about 150-175 a night or less if possible. Some of the in park hotels are way over that. Am I being unrealistic?

Don't stay at the Cedar Lodge.

Agree with MichelleY about the Cedar Lodge. Some of the rooms/cabins at Curry Village would fit your budget, but rooms at Yosemite Lodge are well over $200 a night.

Staying in or near the park is spendy due to supply & demand. Most places are clean but basic and the cost is more like 3 or 4 star.

"Am I being unrealistic?"

A little, yes. Rates are high because this is a PRIME destination. Just like Manhattan costs more for smaller rooms than Des Moines, Yosemite costs more than Fresno . . . w/ good reason.

Yosemite Lodge sometimes has packages that include meal vouchers at their cafeteria which would help keep your costs down. But even w/o it is better to economize somewhere else and splurge to stay in the Valley.

(Cedar Lodge isn't terrible - but I can assure you most any Northern Californian wouldn't be able to stay there w/o having nightmares . . . A very gruesome history)

I wonder why they don't at least change the name of Cedar Lodge? Or did they?

Nope -seems like the obvious thing they should have done. But what do I know (?) -- probably most of their customers don't have any idea.

The cheapest lodging you will find within commuting distance of the Valley is the "BUG" HI hostel near Midpines. They do have a YARTS bus stop at the foot of their driveway.
They do have a small restaurant at the hostel if you did not want to cook in their kitchen.

The BUG is at least an hour from Yosemite Valley.

The only outside-the-park accommodations that are at all convenient to Yosemite Valley are in El Portal and Yosemite West. Everywhere else will 1 to 2 hours away.

Even Wawona (inside the park) is an hour from Yosemite Village (Though it is a good place to stay to visit the big trees)

They should bulldoze it and start over.

janis, I'd be more likely to sleep in my car.

Than which one . . . Cedar Lodge? me too

Yes, Cedar Lodge. I wouldn't have nightmares because I wouldn't go to sleep in the first place!

Bookmarking. Hoping to maybe get to Yosemite this summer. I'm another one who would never stay at the Cedar Lodge.

GTG at Cedar Lodge. LOL

really not funny, but I couldn't help myself

can we pick members to meet up there?

(the rest of us can meet for drinks in the Lobby bar at the Ahwahnee )

Actually, it is funny!