yosemite
 

Does anyone know what Yosemite would be like over Memorial Day Weekend? Particularly that Saturday? Is Yosemite not even worth doing in a day? How about good hotels or camp grounds outside the park- the east side.

Memorial Day weekend anywhere in California will be busy!!!! If you are planning on making it just one day trip over Memorial Day weekend my gut tells me to tell you to FORGET IT!<BR><BR>There are national forest campgrounds on the east side of the entrance to Yosmite National Park and they don't fill up during the summer but they might over a holiday weekend. They are first come first serve. <BR><BR>Your big worry will be if Tioga Pass, Hwy 120 will be open by then. It's hard to predict when it will open and the end of May can be iffy.<BR><BR>Utahtea

any other suggestions for that weekend- w/in 6 hours or so of LA?

My advice would be to STAY HOME! <BR><BR>I know what the traffic going into the Bay Area was like 20 years ago on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. It was bumper to bumper on I-80. It took hours to go what should have been a 1/2 hour. I just can't imagine what it's like now and it has to be worse for the L.A. area.<BR><BR>If you are still bound and determined to go some where then what about Joshua Trees National Monument. They have many nice campgrounds in the park. <BR><BR>Utahtea

Hi Andrewb,<BR>I agree with Utahtea that Memorial Day weekend will be busy on the roads. We will be in Yosemite, but reserved our campsites months ago, and they are completely booked, as are all of the outside boundaries of the park. They also limit the number of people coming into the park; unless you have reservations you can show them, you may not get in.<BR><BR>Have you considered Catalina? Both Avalon and Two Harbors have campgrounds as well as hotels (well, Two Harbors has just a few, like the Banning House). Catalina is a neat place to kick back over a holiday weekend.

The campgrounds at lower elevations should be good. Go to www.thehighsierra.com and check out the campgrounds, and elevations at the various towns along 395. The lower campgrounds at Mammoth will be open. There are several beautiful lakes/streams/campgrounds along 395 - just a few miles off the highway.

I agree with Utahtea - the traffic anywhere in CA will be a hassle. We generally don't go anywhere for holiday weekends for that reason. We usually just barbecue with the family or do work around the house.

I have heard that Yosemite gets quite crowded especially during holiday weekends. There is supposed to be traffic and one has to hike quite a bit to reach solitude. I have not been there, though.<BR><BR>For quite a while, I thought it was pronounced &quot;Yose - mite&quot; as in dust mite. Now I know it's pronounced yo-sem-mity or yo-sem-mit-tee.