Dave

What is the best way/time/method etc., for learning about and reserving lodging inside Sequoia or Yosemite? How much should a family of 4 expect to pay? We're travelling in August 2001. Thanks in advance.

howard

The first of advice: Call for reservations now in Yosemite now!
As for a price range, rooms can run from about $40 for a tent cabin to over $250 for the Ahwahnee Hotel.
Check out this webiste for info on all in-park accommodations: www.yosemitepark.com/lodging/restips.html
You'll pretty get all the information you'll need about making your selection and making reservations.
Again, I urge you to make reservations right away!
And be prepared for an incredible experience!

howard

Forgive the typos in the above message! Blame it on a phone call interruption! If the type of accommodations you want are not available now, keep trying in the coming weeks and months. There are always cancellations.

Caitlin

I was typing the same advice Howard gave as his posts came up. For Sequoia, use this URL to find out about lodging: www.sequoia-kingscanyon.com/lodging.htm

gg

For anyone interested in making reservations - we thought we should pass on our advice for making late reservations at Yosemite. It is possible to check their website a few times in a day over a couple of days and find what you need. We decided to go at the last minute and just waited for cancellations. Because our case was kind of extreme ( decided to go less than a week before ) I just narrowed our search to one night at a time and got bookings that were other people's cancellations. We DO have to change rooms but with 4 days notice we aren't going to knock it- afterall, we got the hotel we wanted.

tom

i have been to yosemite many many times. i would recommend to you that you make your reservations now if you want to stay at a particular place or in a certain type of room (tent cabin, cabin w/bath or motel room etc). if you don't care at all, then you really dont NEED reservations. there have been plenty of times when my family decided on a friday morning to leave within a couple of hours and even tho we called before leaving and them saying they are booked..we always ended up with a place to stay. if you do this tho, you better be there early to put your name in for canelations. curry is they best place for cancelations, but i prefer the rooms at yosemite lodge. the awahnee hotel is nice, if you don't mind the high price. there is also a nice hotel if you take the south entrance. the name escapes me at the moment, but it too is nice. check online and call yosemite lodge and or curry asap tho if you want to stay in the valley with confirmed rooms.

tom

as for sequoia...there aren't as many ppl there so it shouldn't be too much trouble finding a room. keep i mind that things close somewhat early there, so it will be hard for you to find an open restraunt late at night so keep that in mind when you are there. i also believe that the have close the roads to cars in the park so you need use the bus system they have. i had heard they were going to do this, but haven't been there in a while to see if it was implemented. you may want to find this out if it affects your plans at all.

Patty

Stayed in Yosemite last week and was able to find quite a variety of available accomodations by booking at the last minute (within one week). Almost every property was available including the Ahwahnee. So even if you weren't able to reserve early, odds are you can still find last minute cancellations within the park.

gg

Stayed with the family in Yosemite this summer and wanted to alert others of the distances between some hotels and sites in the park. First off, the roads are reallly curvy so what is only 25 miles away might very well take you an hour or more to drive especially with a lumbering RV in front of you. The most popular sites are in Yosemite Valley which is where the Curry and Yosemite Lodge and Ahwahnee are. The Wawona looked pretty from the outside and was set in a big open meadow but was at the southern entrance and was an hour from the valley. As for the lodge, having stayed in two different rooms, we actually found the cheaper standard room to be better than the more expensive lodge room. For one thing most lodge rooms have balconies but trying to get one that did not look out on a parking lot would not be easy. They have a good tour set-up office and talks/slide shows at night. The restaurants are mediocre. We actually found the canteen at the Curry to be pretty good for families because there's a huge serve yourself variety for 1/2 the price of the lodge res't. With kids it's a lot easier. It is also really noisy and crowded but the setting of the Curry is prettier than the lodge. We also checked out the tent/cabins and the motel rooms there and found the motel rooms ( WITH bath ) to be small but okay because of convenience and would probably opt for that next time if not the Ahwahnee which is stunning and a lot more expensive. There is also the White Wolf further north away from it all. Also, renting a bike for the whole day or bringing your own is a great idea because there are so many places to ride and who wants to have to drive everywhere when you're in such a beautiful place, anyway. The bike paths are easy and flat and perfect for kids. Also lots of places to stop and picnic or just relax. If you go on the moonlight tour ( full moons only ) bring a blanket and sweater or evven a hat!!!. The tour starts at 10 p.m. and goes 'til midnight and even if it's hot out, once you start driving it gets collld and the blankets they supply are thin.