iamq

If I'm not mistaken, Evergreen is out in the Hetch Hetchy area of the park. Very pretty area, but not anywhere near the valley, which is where you want to be. It would be a long drive into the valley from there. If a cabin with bath at Curry is available, snag it. It's right in the park. Not fancy and a bit rustic, but worth it to be IN the valley. Once you have it, you can always check for canelllations at Yosemite Lodge (which is really a motel-like place).

-Bill

don1one

As a timesaver, think about driving down 101 to Prunedale or Salinas and cutting over to Monterey. There's not much to see between Santa Cruz and Monterey and it can be slow at times.

Muir is one of my favoritest places in the world, but get there early for parking. Or take the bus from Mill Valley.

Napa is beautiful, but there are plenty of other good wineries around that would be on your way to Yosemite, like Livermore or Palomares Rd in Pleasanton.

Hwy 9 over the Santa Cruz mountains is a nice drive, and you can take the Roaring Camp train down to Santa Cruz from Felton. Big Basin Redwoods State Park is a nice stopover also.

Michael

There is a motel with cabins in Lucia that might interest you. My parents loved it, but that was 40 years ago. Today they look the same as they did on the photograph taken then, but I am sure that the cabins have been upgraded. Lucia is farther south than the other places mentioned, but you might want to see the elephant seals near Hearst, which is even farther south.

luluk

Yeah Curry Village is booked and so is Yosemite lodge so I need to find another place to stay. We decided on Treebones in Big Sur... seems really authentic and who could resist waking up to the sounds of the ocean. I just hope its not too cold in April! Still more planning to do!

J_Correa

Accomodations in Yosemite fill up fast - but there are frequent cancellations since so many people make reservations a year in advance and then their plans change. I would make alternate reservations and then call Yosemite Lodge frequently as your trip gets nearer to see if you can snag a cancellation.

iamq

Decent alternatives to staying in the Valley:

Check the Wawona Hotel. It's on the southern end of the park (in the park) is about a 30-45 minute drive to the valley

Tenaya Lodge. It is a few minutes out of the southern boundry of the park. 45 minutes to the valley.

The Redwoods in Wawona. These are cabins clustered together in a community near the Wawona.

colombiana

Read all theses postings and now I am wondering if I should change my plans around (Luluk I hope you don’t mind me getting into your posting) I get into S.F. on a Friday planned to spend just one night there pack up head towards Napa for one more night here then spend the night in Manteca (to be closer to Yosemite) I know it was a lot of 1 night here and there but thought it was my best option since I will be going to Yosemite for 2 nights after that head towards Monterey/Carmel for 3 nights and back to S.F. for 4 nights to get to explore the city itself. Is this not a good choice? Should I just stay in S.F and spend the day at Napa and come back for an additional night?

J_Correa

Unless for some reason you cannot drive more than a few hours in one day, I would eliminate the night in Manteca. There is really no reason for it. Yes, you will be closer to Yosemite, but you will spend the night in a non-descript valley town without much to recommend it. I would spend an extra night in the wine country and then go straight from the wine country to Yosemite.

colombiana

Luluk, I recommend that you visit scenicwonders.com you can see all the cabins they have there, I was able to make reservation for end of May, for what I have read from other posters is that it is close to the valley I stayed here once before and loved but, can’t remember how far it was from it all. Hope this can help.

colombiana

Jcorrea:
the reason why I wanted to stay in Manteca as I mentioned is to be closer, I thought I was been wise to stay there and only drive 1 hour in this way we get to enjoy the park that same day we get in? not such a good idea? Thanks for your help, I am looking for someone who knows best, by the way how far is the drive from Napa to Yosemite?

J_Correa

It is about 4 hours from Napa into Yosemite Valley. The route I would probably take is Hwy 12 east to I5 south to 120 east into Yosemite Valley.

If you stay in Napa and get on the road by 8 on the day you go to Yosemite, you can get into Yosemite Valley around noon and have the afternoon to explore.

I guess there are benefits to staying in an interum city to get to Yosemite earlier that morning. You would have some extra time spend unpacking and packing, checking in, and all that though.

luluk

i found a hotel we really like at half moon bay (cypress inn). does anyone know it? I'm deciding if we'd rather go there than carmel. any suggestions? i just can't find a hotel/inn that i like in carmel!

J_Correa

I've never been to the Cypress Inn, but I have friends who have been there and enjoyed it.

Half Moon Bay is a nice town - it isn't as quaint as Carmel, but it has some nice beaches for walking, the downtown area is really walkable and there are some neat shops and restaurants.

The San Mateo coast is much different than the coastline around Monterey and south through Big Sur. The San Mateo coast is more open and windswept, whereas the coast further south is more craggy with little coves and things like that. Both are beautiful.