yosmite
 

In late Sept.my husband and I are flying into SanFrancisco and spending two nights there(Sat. and Sun.) and then for Mon. thru Thurs. we are staying in Yosmite Nat'l Park and then on Friday we are heading back to San Francisco to fly out on Sat. We could cut our stay in the park short. Does anyone have any suggestions for us as to sights or routes we may want to take travelling to and from the park.

Three days in Yosemite is a great length of time - you will be able to relax and explore more than the highlights.

If you want to cut a day from Yosemite and have more time in SF, that would be good too. You really can't go wrong with either.

As for places enroute to visit, the Gold Country would be nice - it is basically along Hwy 49, which winds its way through the Sierra foothills. From SF to Yosemite, if you take the Hwy 120 route, you will cross Hwy 49. You can detour a bit and see some of the towns.

To tell you the truth, the terrain between San Francisco and Yosemite is not very pretty. If a local were to make this trip they would probably take the fastest route which is from SF, go east on 80 to 580 to 205 to 120 all the way into the park and reverse returning to SF. However, entering the park on 140 through El Portal is the way I always advise first-timers. It is a more scenic approach than 120 and after you pass through a tunnel after entry you come across Inspiration Point. This is a turnout on the road down to the valley. Stop here and take in the awesome scenery. There is no other place like it.

Your itinerary is perfect. Concentrate on just SF and Yosemite since you only have 7 nights.

Three days is still a short time to see all of this park and there is plenty to do. You don't mention where in the park you are staying. I'll assume Yosemite Valley because that's the best place to stay. The waterfalls will be almost dried up but still the valley is a beautiful place. There's plenty of hiking, but if you're not into that, then you can tour the valley on one day.

If you get tired of spending time in the Valley, then Tioga Pass will be open in September so you can take a drive to the high country and see Tuolumne Meadows.

Another day trip from the Yosemite Valley would be to Wawona & Mariposa Grove where there is a Pioneer Yosemite History Center & a grove of giant sequoia. I also recommend a side trip to Glacier Point on the way back.

So you see, there's plenty to do in Yosemite. For more information:

http://www.nps.gov/yose/trip/inyose.htm

Utahtea

Just a small correction, the Hwy which enters the valley through the tunnel and passes the incredible vista point is 41 - through the south entrance. Hwy 140 goes along the river through Mariposa and El Portal and enters Yosemite through the Arch Rock entrance.

Have you thought about driving through Yosemite to Mono Lake outside the east side of the park? You could then drive north a ways and head back to SF that way, spending a night in the Gold Country.

We did Yosmite & San Fran last year.
3 days in Yosmite is great. The Gold country area is nice but not compared to heaven----I mean Yosmite!
You can rent bikes in the valley and that is a lot of fun. It's about 7 miles of bike paths and they are all flat. We would even leave our bikes at trail heads and take hikes. No one ever touched them. Have a blast!
pete

Three days in Yosemite (don't forget the "e") is a decent length of time to see the highlights.

One day for the valley itself, just relax and find some quiet spots wherever with a nice view and hang out for a few hours, then take advantage of the infrastructure to get a nice meal or even have a formal dinner at the Ahwahnee (formal dress required) without worrying about what you should see.

Leave another day for the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias and up the road to Glacier Point. Hike to one of the views to the west of the point itself

Another day for the high country and across Tioga Pass to Mono Lake. This should really have two days, with one day you won't really have time for any hiking, but hey, you're just hitting the highlights.

With such a relatively short time to spend in Yosemite and San Francisco, I wouldn't bother with any stops along the way. Better to spend the time in those two wonderful destinations.

The Ahwahnee Dining Room dress code is now business casual according the person I spoke with when I made a reservation recently. Jackets are no longer required.