Hi, my wife and I are going to do our first Yosemite trip next month. We have all our hotels set (Wawona!), and got our toes wet in National Parks last year at Yellowstone. Here's my questions:

1) What do you all think are the best/funnest/awe-inducing activities (by which I mean things you have to plan & pay for - not hiking): Horseback riding? River rafting? Other?

2) If we bring a cooler with food (my wife has food allergies) will we be able to leave it in the car, or would bears be breaking the windows and such?

Thanks so much! Peter

When I was in Yosemite I was told that the bears are such good smellers they can smell a coke in a cooler in the trunk. NO FOOD OR COOLERS IN THE TRUNK

We did a tour of the Valley Floor that was interesting - open air vehicle with guide that we enjoyed

Absolutely NO FOOD OR COOLERS in the car. Each trail head or accomodation site is equiped with steel plate bear boxes. You must put your food and drinks in there. The bears look into cars and can recognized coolers, grocery bags, etc. Don't even put clothes in grocery bags. They easily rip open door panels. Do not leave anything remotely suggestive of food or cosmetics in the car.

Bears can be very active in Yosemite, both in the campgrounds and out on the trails. I have had encounters with them in both instances.

Keeping any edible material how ever well packed or sealed in the car is a bad idea. Bears tend to be very active in Yosemite and are known to break into cars and cause general havoc.

In my opinion the best activity in Yosemite is hiking - free and unplanned

We really enjoyed renting bikes at the lodge and riding on the bike trails that go around the valley floor. They're easy, mostly flat trails with spectacular scenery. It's a good way to cover a lot of territory, but you can stop to gawk or take pictures whenever you want (which we did frequently).

If we'd had another day, we'd have liked to rent a raft and float down the river - the folks who were doing that looked like they were having a lot of fun. But the water levels in August might be too low for rafting.

I hope you get a chance to go up to Tuolumne Meadows - we enjoyed going for a swim in Tenaya Lake after hiking in the meadows (the water is cold!).

We also enjoyed hiking around part of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. It's quite magnificent, and very uncrowded - unlike the mobs elsewhere in the park, we pretty much had the trail to ourselves.

Bike riding in Yosemite Valley is my favorite activity next to hiking.

Utahtea

I understand that the rafting in the park is already over for the season due to the low water level.

http://www.yosemitepark.com/Activiti...s_Rafting.aspx

You might contact raft companies to see about rafting outside the park.

The Ansel Adams Gallery sponsored free photography classes when I went last year. You need to sign up in advance.

1. Rock climbing. There are climbing classes both in the valley and at Toulumne Meadows (Toulumne probably the better choice). But picking a good hike up in the high country is probably my favorite.