San Francisco to Yosemite
 

WE are travelling from SF to Yosemite on the 5th of October. Which is the best route & where do we enter the park from this route. When we leave we're going to Death Valley so where should we look for accommodation if we can't find anything within the park itself.

When we where in Yosemite we always stayed in Mariposa not far from the entrance to the park. In Death valley try to book a room in Stovepipe Wells.Paul

There are a couple of routes from SF and where you find lodging may determine which one you take.

The most direct route is over the Bay Bridge, east on Hwy 580 towards Tracy, east on Hwy 205 and east on Hwy 120 until you get to Yosemite. In this case you will enter Yosemite at the Oak Flat entrance, which is on the west side of the park.

Another route, which takes a bit longer, but goes through El Portal and Mariposa where you might have some luck finding lodging enters the park through the Arch Rock entrance on Hwy 140. This is also on the west side of the park, a little south of the Oak Flat entrance. You can take roughly the same route as the first option, but when you get to Hwy 99, head south to Merced and then take Hwy 140 east to Yosemite.

I have done some research now & think we might visit the park (We should arrive quite early as we're leaving SF at around 6.30 am.)all day & drive out the East exit & stay the night in Lee Vining or go on to June lake or Mammoth lakes. Do you think this is a good idea?

There are a few websites devoted entirely to Yosemite info, including maps and driving times. Have you found them, Clark55?

Well, if you stay someplace in the Eastern Sierra, you'll be cutting your time short in Yosemite. Even if you leave at 6:30 a.m., you'll be at Yosemite Valley at around 10:00 a.m. You'll have enough time to do a tour of the Valley Floor, and maybe even time to drive up to Glacier Point (if it's still open), but not much time to do any dayhiking. The drive out to Lee Vining from the Valley Floor takes about 3 hours or so, if I remember correctly.

One advantage to staying in Lee Vining is that you'll have an opportunity to get up early and see sunrise over Mono Lake near the Tufas.

We don't plan on doing any hiking bcoz we have already been to Yosemite & this time my in-laws are with us & are unable to walk for any long legnth of time.

Since your in-laws can't walk much and you will have such a short time in Yosemite, I definitely recommend taking the open air tram that goes around the valley. The tour makes a circuit around the valley, hitting the highlights, and is narrated by a park ranger - very informative and a good way to see a lot of the valley in a short time.

Thanks J_Correa, that sounds like a great idea.

I agree with j_correa, she definitely knows her stuff, and is the resident expert of the area. Try to take the last valley floor tour of the day (in the summer it was 6pm) because you'll have a better chance of seeing wildwife at dusk.

Do keep trying to stay in the park, maybe you can get in on a last minute cancellation.

But if not, Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal is super close to the park entrance and a very nice motel. Request a room by the bubbling Merced River, very soothing and peaceful.

We also stayed in Lee Vining several years ago at the Best Western Lake View Lodge at Mono Lake. While it was your basic BW, it had a great view of Mono Lake, which is truly beautiful.

Since you're driving down the Eastern Sierra in October, you might want to do the June Lake loop even if you're not staying there. Fall colors should be out, and given all the rainfall and snowpack we got earlier this year, fall colors have a chance of being really good that time of the year.

Thanks ellen - you make me blush :">

Last time we were in Yosemite, we took the tram tour in the late afternoon and saw a coyote catching his dinner in a meadow - he played it up for his "audience" throwing a small snake up in the air, rolling around, the whole bit. It was terrific.