Planning a trip to Sequoia/King's Canyon and Yosemite

[PrincessDeb]

OMG-I can't believe the Disboards added this section just when I am planning my first trip to CA!
We are planning on going to CA with our three teenagers next year at about this time. We're thinking about flying into SF, staying 2 nights at King's Canyon and 3 nights at Yosemite, then heading to SF for 2 days before flying home. (Thanks Kevin Stringer for the trip report!)
Anyway, I hope to stay in the valley at Curry Village in a cabin with bathroom while at Yosemite but other than that, I have no idea what is the best place for basically 5 adults, etc.
Any must do's or don'ts? Does our plan sound alright? I will check back on this thread periodically as I can't stay logged in while at work .

Thank you so much for your help! I'm thinking I need to call now for reservations at this time next year?

Deb

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Hi Deb,

You would do well to reserve a hard-walled cabin in Curry Village a year in advance - they do go quickly. I've camped at Yosemite (the campground I stayed in was washed away in Jan '97), I've stayed at Housekeeping, and I've stayed at Curry Village in a hard-walled cabin with no bathroom and in a tent cabin. Lately, when we go we stay in full cabins - kitchen, living room, etc. - that are located just inside the south entrance to the park at Wawona. That is because sometimes we don't plan until March & by that time the valley floor is pretty booked for the summer except for the tent cabins.

Excursions I highly recommend:

Glacier Point - stands 3,000 feet above the valley floor. The views are spectacular.
Mariposa Grove - although you will be going to Kings Canyon and Sequoia, I still recommend going to the Mariposa Grove - take the tram to the end of the grove & walk back - it's a very nice walk among the big trees.

Valley floor - there are a lot of things to see there, and I recommend taking the free tram to Yosemite Village & check out the Visitor's Center, go to the base of Yosemite Falls. If you feel like walking, you can "hike/walk" from Yosemite Falls, stop at Yosemite Village, and continue to the Awahnee Hotel -- it's a walk along the valley floor with small ups & downs. You can also go to the base of Bridalveil Falls. The glacial moraine is here if you know what to look for -- After the glaciers carved out Yosemite, they pushed to the area about where Bridalveil Falls is, leaving a dam of sorts called a moraine. As the glaciers melted, a lake was formed, and then filled with silt, forming the floor of Yosemite Valley -- when you look down on the valley you can imagine the lake thousands of years ago. You can also go to Happy Isles & hike about a 1/4 mile up a steep trail to a bridge where you will be able to see Vernal Falls & the power of water coming down. Or, you can go down by the river (it's pretty wide as mountain rivers go), and swim. The river by Stoneman Bridge is nice.

When you stay in Kings Canyon, you'll probably be staying at Grants Grove. I highly recommend that on one of the days you are there, drive to Sequoia (same mountain range & right next to Grant's Grove). In an hour you will be at Giant Forest, where you can see the General Sherman - the largest living thing on Earth - visit Crescent Meadow, and climb the stairs to the top of Moro Rock. You will also be able to drive under the tunnel tree (a tree that fell and is so large that they cut a tunnel through it where cars can drive through), and see the auto tree. At one time you could drive on the tree, but time has taken its toll, and they've blocked it now so you cannot drive on there. You can also visit Grants Grove & walk among those giants. You can also take a drive (maybe 15 minutes?) from Grants Grove to Hume Lake & relax on the beach, or go kayaking/canoeing there. There is also a gas station there, so you can take care of business and also have some fun.

I have two photo trip reports of Yosemite & Sequoia that you might want to take a look at. The links are in my signature.

This year we are going back (yeaaa). We'll be spending 6 nights camping in Sequoia and 3 nights in a cabin in Yosemite. I can hardly wait.


I recommend going to www.yosemitefun.com. He has put together a wonderful & informative website on Yosemite.

 

[PrincessDeb]

Thanks for all the info, Mary Jo! I must admit that in the last day, I have read both of your trip reports and looked at the yosemitefun website which was linked through one of your reports. They have all been great fun to read! I called to book our Yosemite trip late this morning and already could only get the hard-walled cabin w/o bath for one night and with bath for one other. The third night was a Friday and we could only get a tent. The woman at the reservation center told me to call back occasionally and check for cancellations. I was reserving for this week next year-it was like reserving the Cinderella breakfast at WDW! After reading your trip reports, I wish that we could camp but there is no way I'm packing all of our camping gear on a plane. My husband, son and I have recently gotten into camping. Not sure what my teenage girls would think of it . I can't wait! I've never been to either park before but I have a feeling that we'll be planning on returning after this trip.

Thanks again alot!!!!
Deb

 

[danacath]

Deb, we just got back from our trip out West. We only had one day at Yosemite and one day at Kings Canyon, so we barely scratched the surface at these amazing parks! I'm already eager to plan a return trip some day, especially to Yosemite. One thing that we really enjoyed at Yosemite was the Valley Floor Tour. You sit in an open-air tram and a Park Ranger conducts a 2-hour tour of the Valley. Great chance for some video footage, pictures, etc. The tram stops several times along the way for extra photo opps. I think that it was about $20/person. In our case it was well worth it, since our time in the park was so limited.

I hope you'll enjoy the parks as much as our group did. The fresh air, waterfalls and "over-the-top" scenery are truly memorable! Happy planning!

 

[PrincessDeb]

Thanks for posting, Danacath! I'll have to look into that tour. I reserved rooms in Yosemite but had to get a different kind of room (in Curry Village) for every night-even though I called a year ahead! The operator told me to call back as the trip gets closer as alot of people call way ahead to book these trips and then cancel. I tried getting cabins/rooms at Kings Canyon but they were already booked up as well. I figured I'd keep trying that, too.
I can't wait for my trip!

Deb

 

[Claire L]

Yes the valley floor tour at Yosemite is well worth it we did it two weeks ago and its $22 for an adult June is a great month to visit and this year was fab due to the heavy snowfall last winter the falls were really running fast and heavy.

Claire

 

[laura&fam]

This new forum is great! We are thinking of a trip to Yosemite next summer and I had no idea we needed to reserve now - thanks for the info.

We have never been before and the advice on this thread is very helpful. Thank you everyone for your tips.

 

[DMRick]

This is great..I just stumbled across it. We are going to CA on our way to Hawaii Sept 18th..thanks so much fo radding this.
Doris

 

[heidimn]

Definitely keep checking reservations - I tried to book the Awahnee for memorial day - and it was gone as soon as it came available - I tried again in late July & was able to book the 2 nights - so keep checking!

 

[Tamarap]

We visited Yosemite for the first time this summer and loved it. You do have to book well in advance. We booked exactly one year in advance and were able to get the Yosemite Lodge which we enjoyed.

We also did the Valley Floor tour and enjoyed that very much.

I would also recommend rafting on the Merced river. You can rent rafts at Curry Village. The water was quite calm and we had a great time.

 

[Carole]

Hi! I need all the help I can get on a potential trip in late April. We plan to arrive in Anaheim on 20 April around noon then drive to Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite, stay three nights, then stay four nights in Anaheim and return home. Is this a good time of the year to visit Yosemite??? Do you recommend the Tenaya Lodge or someplace else? Any help would be appreciated !!

Thanks !!

 

[ScooterL]

Hi! I need all the help I can get on a potential trip in late April. We plan to arrive in Anaheim on 20 April around noon then drive to Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite, stay three nights, then stay four nights in Anaheim and return home. Is this a good time of the year to visit Yosemite??? Do you recommend the Tenaya Lodge or someplace else? Any help would be appreciated !!

Is there ever a BAD time to visit Yosemite?

How "good" it's going to be depends on the snow/weather, and what you want to do while you're there. It'll still be "winter" at higher elevations, so a lot of trails and roads will be closed and you won't be able to get up to Glacier Point or Tuolumne Meadows. There probably won't be any snow in the Valley itself (unless they get a very late snowstorm), but there will be snow up higher. Depending on how warm it has been, and how the snow is melting, the waterfalls could be spectacular, or they could be flowing just so-so.

The Valley itself will be open, so you'll be able to get to Lower Yosemite Falls, Mirror Lake, Happy Isles, the El Capitan Meadow and other scenic places. Make sure to go to the Visitor Center - in addition to learning about Yosemite, they'll also have the most current information on what is/isn't open.

For Valley trails, you'll probably be able to go up the Vernal Falls Trail to at least the bridge, and possibly all the way to the top of the falls via the Mist Trail (take raingear!!!). I don't think you'll be able to get up to Nevada Fall, though you may be able to take the trail high enough to where you will have a view of it. You should be able to do the Yosemite Falls trail up to Columbia Rock (great view of the Valley!) and possibly all the way around the corner to where there's a view of the upper Fall. The Four-Mile Trail will probably be closed at the bottom - in any case you won't be able to take it all the way up to Glacier Point since that will be closed.

If you're staying at Tenaya Lodge you'll have about a one-hour drive to the Valley from there. But there are things to do up in that area - like the Mariposa Sequoia Grove. There will probably be some snow there, but you should be able to drive to the grove and hike the trails. I don't think the tour bus will be running at that time of year, though. In Wawona there's the Pioneer History Center - that's interesting to look around for an hour or so. If you go up the road to the Chilnualna Falls trail you can hike just about 1/4 mile and get a great view of the lower cascade of Chilnualna Creek - I would guess that the trail to the Falls would be open, but that's about 4 miles, and if you don't want to go that far, the lower part of the trail still gives a nice view! (Actually there's a nice view of the river from the bridge, if you take the road beyond the Chilnualna Falls trailhead.)

I've not stayed at Tenaya Lodge but have wandered through there and it seems really nice - just pricey! If you want to stay a little closer to the Valley you could look into staying somewhere in El Portal, off of highway 140. If you want to stay in the Valley you might keep checking availability at Yosemite Lodge - there are cancellations, especially within the 2-4 week period.

If you haven't been to Yosemite before I recommend the "Valley Tour" - it's an additional cost but you'll learn a lot!

Hope that helps!

 

[Carole]

Thanks - it helps a bunch! I really have no clue what to expect - I have lots of surfing to do over the next several months. I haven't been to California for over 20 years and have never been to Yosemite. We like to walk, take pictures, see the sites, etc. Any places you might recommend in El Portal?

 

[ScooterL]

I haven't stayed in El Portal myself, but my brother and his wife stayed at Cedar Lodge back in February, and it was fine. I don't think it's anything fancy, but they didn't have any complaints about it.

If you stay in El Portal rather than Tenaya Lodge, there is another grove of sequoia trees that will be closer - the Merced grove is off of highway 120. It's not as heavily visited as the Mariposa grove.

There's a book on hiking in Yosemite that I like - Hiking in Yosemite National Park, by Suzanne Swedo. It has some easy hikes as well as some strenuous hikes, but most of the trails that are in the Valley itself are described there. I like the West Valley Loop trail - it's quite easy, though it's about 6 miles long. Takes you into the forest, then across the river and along the river for a while, then past a meadow, and onto the lower slopes of the canyon. We've rarely seen *anyone* else on the trail, except when it gets near El Capitan and Bridalveil Fall.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Another place you might want to consider when staying in Yosemite is the Redwoods in Yosemite. These are privately owned cabins that are rented out to the public, and are fully equipped. www.redwoodsinyosemite.com I've stayed there a couple of times, and we really enjoyed it. They are located near the Wawona Hotel, and you can hike to the base of Chilnualna Falls from there. Yosemite Valley is about 35-45 minutes from there. (Depending on the drive)

If you want small hikes, you can also hike from the base of Yosemite Falls to the Ahwahnee Hotel, Mirror Lake, and Happy Isles, passing the Indian Caves at the base of the Washington Monument.