Hi, I'm sure this question has been asked plenty of times before, but two friends of mine and i are planning to go to Yosemite this July to blow off some stress from College before the Fall semester starts again. We will be spending about 3-5 days there, and I'm just wondering if the crowds there are really that bad. I read some forums, saying crowds are worse during July, and that waterfalls are weak, but we still want to go. Would we be able to see everything in 3-5 days? And with a

I assume with that budget you will be camping. Have you made reservations yet?

As far as crowds go, they will be thick in Yosemite Valley but no issue anywhere else. And a mile or so of hiking from the valley will put you well out of typical tourist range.

How much would we be looking to spend for a hotel if we rent for 2 days somewhere around July 15th? I looked up rates, and it quoted us around $380 for 3 days

if u r planning on staying in July and DO NOT haave reservations, GOOD LUCK. You can call every day to see if there are cancellations and might get lucky or stay outside the park and drive in daily. I presume you are talking about the valley. WTER FALLS will be pretty low especially this year without a lot of snow fall and yes very crowded.

With that budget, I'd buy some basic camping gear and head out. If you can get campsite reservations in Yosemite Valley, then go for it. Otherwise, there are federal campgrounds in the National Forest. Yosemite is an expensive proposition if you aren't camping.

There are a lot of other places to go too - check Sequoia and Kings Canyon - I still don't think your budget will go far for in-the-park lodging, but you might be able to find something.

Just camped two nights in two National Parks - Zion and Bryce.

Aftr setting it up the first night (had only set the tent up once before and my niece helped moi) - it was really pretty easy. A Coleman Denai which is a good design but there are others - and I love my local Big 5 Sporting Goods Store - which I call my Nordstrom's Rack.

Get a couple inflatable mattresses, a battery powered inflater, some sleeping bags - and a couple blankets - to fold up and put under you - between you and the air mattress - and you are good to go.

You could probably buy everything for around $150 - maybe less - and then have it to use in the future also.

You could add some cooking gear - or just buy some charcoal and use that.

Forgot - a good hard plastic cooler is a must - and you can store a week's worth of food in it if need be.