Can anyone tell me if there's reasonable cell phone coverage in Yosemite Valley and surrounding areas? My husband and I will be there next week, and we're leaving our 20-year-old twins at home to take care of the house and cats, but want them to be able to contact us if there's an emergency (or they simply have a question). We'd also like to be able to call them to check in on how they're doing.

What about coverage on the road between Yosemite and San Francisco? The day we drive back to the city one of our boys will be flying there to meet us, and it would be nice if he could contact us to let us know if he has any problems.

Also, does anyone know what the conditions are there now? I know a week ago the Valley was flooded, and people couldn't get in our out. The NPS website says that it is open, but doesn't really give any other info - I do hope we won't have any problems getting into the park when we're there!

The National Park website will give you the most recent info on if the park is open or not. With 180+% of snow fall and this hot weather we're having...flooding could happen at anytime.

We were in Yosemite in April and our DS, DIL and DGS were driving from South Carolina to California so we wanted to be able to talk to them each night to make sure they were safe while were were in Yosemite. (This is information is to wart off all those..."why do you need a cell phone in Yosemite" comments from other posters that I got the last time I answered a question like yours.)

Anyhow I have Verison Wireless and there were areas of the Upper Pines campground that I could not get service. Our campsite was really close to Happy Isle so you might not be able to get reception there. There were areas in Lower Pines that I could get service. Since I wasn't always checking my phone I don't know of all the places you can or can not get service. I did receive a call near Yosemite Falls and a few years ago I remember calling our son from the top of Vernal Falls. Your coverage might vary.

There are pay phone in the valley. We carry a prepaid phone card to call our parents & family when we are on the road and can't get cell service...it's because they worry about us if we don't call.

Utahtea

definitely carry a phone card. i have cingular & my friend has sprint and neither one of us had coverage anywhere in yosemite.

we were in yosemite last week when the valley flooded. we couldn't get into the valley last monday but it reopened the next day. call the hotline at 209/372-0200 to make sure the roads are open. just because the valley is closed does not mean the whole park is closed. you can visit mariposa or wawona. but then again if you are staying in the valley, you can't get out. it isn't a bad thing tho - the waterfalls are spectacular!

bring bug spray - the skeeters are already bad!
tina

My Sprint did not work in Yosemite.

I know this is an extremely radical idea, but perhaps you could use a regular telephone while in Yosemite? They used to work before the days of cell phones, and I suspect they still might. Are you staying in a hotel that has telephones?

We were in Yosemite recently and we have Verizon and our service worked there. We successfully met up with our other party and hiked to Vernal Falls which is a terrific hike with amazing views all around.

Have you considered renting a satellite phone? When hubby and son go to the Quetico region of Canada I insist they carry a satellite phone. It's expensive; but worth the piece of mind since cell coverage is poor. I may get a little grief over recommending this; but I once left a 20 yr. old son (who had never been any trouble!) in charge of house and dog. "I only invited a few friends. Don't know how it got SO out of hand...". Wish I had called that little stinker every 5 minutes!

Just the thing to help enjoy the wonders of Yosemite......somebody on their cell phone!

Curious

Curious,

So you never worry about anyone that is on vacation and with your attitude I'm gussing there isn't anyone that worries about you on vacation. We explained that these calls were for peace of mind...not work. And what is wrong with having a phone converstation while in Yosemite...you can't look and talk at the same time?

Utahtea

Well said Utah but no need to try to justify to a dunderhead like curious. As though there are not thoughtful and reasonable users of cell phones who are considerate of their fellow travelers. It's not like Sara said she needed it for a 2 hour daily gabfest with her best friend.

Thanks everybody, I appreciate the replies. We have Verizon, which I'm glad to hear worked for Suzie (but not so well for Utahtea), so maybe we'll be lucky and it will work.

Patrick, yes, our hotel will have phones, but we are staying at the Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal (couldn't get reservations in the park), and, as we expect to be out sightseeing and hiking during the day, we probably will only come back to the hotel at night. My main concern is for our boys to be able to contact us if they have a problem. Since this is the first time we've left them on their own, I can't help being a little nervous - they are both responsible, good kids - but you never know what crises can arise - or simply something they have a problem with that we didn't forsee. I'll be able to relax and enjoy myself more if I know they can get in touch with us if they need to. We do plan to call and check in every day, and we could use the hotel phone for that - but, since we have a national calling plan, we would save quite a bit by using our cell phone instead of paying the charge to use the hotel phone, plus the long distance charge, so if we could do that, we'd rather.

Billee, I'm sorry to hear that your 20 -year-old got into a bit of trouble in your absence - I'm hoping we won't have anything like that happen. They know that our next-door-neighbors will keep a sharp eye on things, and let us know if there are problems - and between their work and class schedules (one is taking some summer classes), I don't think there will be a lot of time for mischief.

I'm very excited to be going to Yosemite - I've never been there. I can hardly wait!

We were in Yosemite the first week of May. No service from Alltel in the park, but fine in Mariposa and El Portal.

We stayed at the Yosemite Lodge in the valley - Verizon yes, Sprint no.

We checked in with our 20 yo daughter, who was home with our dogs, every day . In our hotel room. Why pay their rates when we can use the cell for free? Why assume that all cell phone users are rude?

Sara,

You will have to check and let me know if you get service when you are at the Happy Isle shuttle bus stop! The campgrounds and Happy Isle are tuck in near the canyon wall so I think that is why we didn't get reception there.

The waterfalls will be magnificant while you are there!

Utahtea

Sara, Thanks for your sympathy. I naively thought my son would never do anything like that. He has since paid for the damages (minor) and I don't think he will do it again; but I now alert the neighbors just in case! Regarding cell phones: we do a lot of hiking and I feel safer knowing a cell phone is in my daypack in case of a fall, etc. We are hiking in Colorado in a few days and I will be packing a phone. Let us know how your trip went. i've never been there; but understand it's incredible.

T-Moble also didn't work the last time we were there, which was a drag. For us, we use the phones to keep track of our son and his friend, also in the Valley, but also we intended to check on my sister, who was dog sitting (one of whom was very old and in poor health). In Curry Village, there was only one person with a cell that could get reception -- he had at&t.

Although it won't work for you Sara, I was thinking that for us, keeping track of the boys, maybe one of those walkie talkies that we use when skiing would do the job. Has anyone tried this in Yosemite?

i saw a couple using personal walkies during my trip and they seemed to work. as long as you are with a couple of miles they should be fine. depending on the walkies you have, the range could be more.

ok : pay phone to call home if the cellular service is spotty. 2-way motorolas to keep in contact with each other while in the valley.

Any updates? Anyone try t-mobile recently?