For our 15th wedding anniversary, we are thinking of Yosemite. We are coming from Toronto, so I figured we'd fly to San Fran, overnight, pick up car next morning, drive to Chateau du Sureau in Oakhurst for three nights. The back to San Fran for a couple of urban days. It appears this property is about 50 miles from Yosemite Valley, so my questions are: Does this mean we'll be driving an hour each direction each time we go into/out of the park? Is everything in the Valley? Is this location inconvenient to enjoy the bounty of Yosemite? Opinions please.

It's a lot more convenient to stay in the park. 50 miles in Yosemite will probably take more than an hour to drive because national park speed limits are fairly low. However, everything is NOT in the valley, so even if you stay in the park, you do a lot of driving or shuttle riding.

I agree with the other posting--it's a long, slow drive into the park, and sometimes if the winds are high the entrance to the park is shut until the winds change. This happened to us--drove from SF only to find the park entrance closed (no one getting in, no one getting out), with a notice that a decision would be made in the next 3 to 5 hours about reopening! We saw a lot of Oakhurst, and there's not a whole lot to see. They did finally open, but we lost half a day. Staying in the park is wonderful, whether it's the "rustic" (small, spare, cheap) Camp Curry or the somewhat more upscale Yosemite Village. We've never stayed at the fancy hotel.

Most definitely stay in the Valley so that you can get the most out of your trip to Yosemite. The drive down to the Valley will take at least an hour.

I agree with the previous posters. You will end up spending a lot of your time driving to and from the park. We stayed at a lovely B&B called Yoesmite Falls Bed & Breakfast which is located inside the park in Yosemite West. Even there, we spent a good half hour driving to the valley from this B&B. There are places you can stay right in the valley, but you will need to book well in advance. There are some beautiful sights in this park that are not in the valley such as Glacier Point, Mariposa Groves and the Touleme (sp?) Meadows. The park is gigantic (bigger than the state of Rhode Island) so there is tons of candy for your eyes. Enjoy!

Lenore is right on with Glacier Point. I took the Glacier Point bus tour and the scenery was spectacular.

Yes, stay in the park if you really want to enjoy Yosemite. However, Chateau du Sureau and Edna's Elderberry House in Oakhurst are very special too. Could you spend one night there and two in the park? Wawona Hotel is a pretty old hotel inside the park but a bit of a distance from the main part of the valley. Don't know when you're coming, but if you wanted the Ahwanhee, you can book (and should) one year and one day ahead.

Thanks to everyone for the replies and great suggestions. You all seem to be in agreement. The trip is July/August and interestingly enough most of the nicer valley properties are booked, as some of you suggested they would be, yet Chateau is completely empty as of yesetrday. That in itself confirms what I was thinking about distance. We're rethinking other options now. Maybe Nantucket (completely different, I know).

Don't cross Yosemite off your list just because you can't stay in the park. One big advantage of staying in Oakhurst or Fish Camp is that you'll have some restaurant possibilities in the area. Other than the Awahnee, food IN the park is dreadful. Next time we would probably go this route.

Don't give up on Yosemite yet. While I certainly would not recommend staying in Oakhurst if your primary intention is to see Yosemite (the drive in is too long), if you can't find accomodations in the valley, you might want to consider one of the places to stay in El Portal, which is located just 6 miles from the West gate on highway 140 out of Merced. The Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal is quite nice. The drive into the valley from that location is not bad at all. When we stayed there with some friends two years ago, given the scenery, we actually enjoyed the drive.

Tony's advice is good. Try the places at El Portal. The Cedar Lodge is another. Just make sure you rise early to drive those 6 miles, especially on a weekend. If you do this, then I would certainly spend the 3rd night in Oakhurst at Chateau du Sureau and have a great dinner at Edna's.Since it's an anniversary, when you get back to SF consider Sherman House, The Archbishop's Mansion, the White Swan or Petite Auberge if you like smaller and romantic. The other thing to know is that one can cancel 3 days prior at the Ahwanhee (I've done it) without penalty, so start calling three days before your arrival and you might just get a room and can cancel at El Portal. Good luck.

We just spent several nights at the Ahwanhee for our anniversary. It is a destination in itself. The views, the dining room are all gorgeous. Lots of good hikes, etc. It is worth the extra $$$ for something very special and I certainly think a 15th anniversary is. Ours was our 17th.

Trish, I'm betting that the Ahwanhee is fully booked for July. If Gayle really wants to stay there, she should book one year and one day ahead of her anniversary for next year. As I said above, you can cancel 3 days ahead of time without penalty so it's a safe thing.

Gayle, by July, the fantastic waterfalls that you're probably hoping to see will be nothing more than a trickle. The higher elevation snow which feeds the waterfalls will be melted by then. It will also be hot, and NONE of the properties within the valley have air conditioning, not even the Ahwahnee.

If you still want to go, try visiting in April or May instead, and stay IN the park. The drive is long, slow, twisting, and in peak summer season, you'll be on one lane mountain roads behind caravans of motor homes and tour buses going about 25 mph. Much lighter traffic in spring and fall, but you get to see the falls in full splendor during the spring.

Yosemite Lodge is an option, as well as Wawona Hotel, which is outside of Yosemite Valley, but still inside the park itself. If you decide to go to Wawona, ask for Moore Cottage -- it's a separate residence behind the main building, with private bath, private front porch, very much a B&B feeling.

Happy anniversary.

Last year I called in March and we were able to book two rooms for a Friday night in June at the Ahwanhee. If should be able to book a room, reserve the honeymoon table in the dining room for dinner.

A big difference is this year is the Ahwahnee's 75th anniversary and they are doing a lot of special "Diamond celebration" events. So the hotel is booking up much faster than usual.

Thanks Fodorites! You have all been amazing. So I hope this post won't disappoint anyone. After all your suggestions and checking avails, we have found that any property in the park we were interested in is indeed already booked for the summer months, during our time frame. So...as a result, we have decided to postpone Yosemite until next spring (likely late May, early June) and head instead in a completely different direction...Nantucket!!! Yup, I rented a cottage on Sconset and booked a car rental and our flights (on points....yeah!) Thanks again to all. I have cut and pasted all your suggestions into an email and filed it for future reference. G.