Yosemite - Next family vacation -

[KCmike]

We are planning from driving from KC.

We would like to stay at the Tenaya Lodge in the fish camp. Anyone ever stayed there? We would like to stay around 3 days. Is that enough for a family that doesn't do alot of "nature" stuff?

We are planning to stop off in Monterey for one day and visit the Aquarium and do some sight seeing (17 mile drive).

Is it worth driving 6 hours to go back to disneyland or just stay up north?

So the questions are--------help with any advice on Yosemite in June (bugs, activities, tours) Is monterey worth a side trip? Is Disneyland worth $1000 for just three days?

Should I just give up all this driving and madness and go back to disneyworld?

Any Yosemite advice would be appreciated!!!!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Visit California - It's beautiful here!

You'll find a lot of info on Yosemite on this board, we have a few fans with great information.

Tenaya Lodge is a beautiful lodge located 2 miles from the entrance to Yosemite. The entrance to Yosemite is $20, and is good for 7 days, so be sure to keep your receipt. You'll be wanting to visit the valley, Glacier Point, and the Mariposa Grove. The Mariposa Grove is probably a 5-10 minute drive from the Tenaya Lodge, so that will be an easy visit. You'll also be close to the Wawona Lodge in Yosemite and there is a Pioneer area with a covered bridge you might want to visit.

Monterey is one of my favorite cities ever. We spent hours at the aquarium there, and really enjoyed it, as well as Cannery Row and the 17 mile drive (just beautiful).

You're going to have a great trip!

 

[CPT Tripss]

I can't help with anything but Yosemite. I am a fan of our National Parks . . . I encourage everyone to visit them. The scenery is absolutely beautiful, and being from falt country, I just love it!

Park accommodations book up quickly, so decide soon and make ressies. Have you considered staying in the valley? You will have a bit od a drive from your location to the highlights in the valley, and it is definately worth spending more than one day in the valley.

Get your walking shoes on and get off the roadways and paved sidewalks to explore the some of the park's best features.

We were at Yosemite in September and are returning in May. We have to be in the bay area for a wedding and are making the time to get two nights in the park . . . I'm hoping Glacier Point is open and that the snow melt will have the falls roarin'!

 

[BillyFan]

Love Yosemite. Love Disneyland. Love Monterey. I would do 3 days in Yosemite, 2 days in Monterey and 3-4 days in Disneyland.

 

[KCmike]

My wife just booked the Tenaya Lodge for the first part of our stay. Now we are really struggling with what to do with the second half of the week.

We really want to do Monterey for one day....but then after that do we....

1. Go to Sequoia Natl Park
or
2. Disneyland for a couple of days and stay at HOJO

 

[CPT Tripss]

Sequoia might be a little let down after Yosemite - but if you do it before . Have you thought about Death Valley?

 

[KCmike]

How much does it cost to get in? I saw something on a show called John and Kate plus 8 and it looked pretty amazing.

 

[KCmike]

Are there giant trees in mariposa? I can't seem to find much info on mariposa.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Just my 2 cents...

We loved Yosemite, (at trip time were me, DH, DD 9 and DS 6) and hope to get back there again soon! We did 2 days in the valley, including the incredible Glacier Point! But the highlight had to be our drive up to Tuloumne Meadows. WOW WOW WOW. We went in July and had the place to ourselves, practically. Rarely saw other people. Amazing. My pics from there are still my screensaver! We hiked the John Muir trail for a few miles... right along the river... saw wildlife and the most abundant wildflowers. Totally incredible. Yes, it was a couple hours from the Valley floor- but we drove up early one mornning, then drove back to Bass Lake (a few miles south of where you are staying at Tenaya Lodge) that late afternoon/early evening. I can't say enough about the value of going up to Tuloumne Meadows. The back side view of Half Dome? Wow.

We went to the Smoky Mountains this summer and all any of us could say was, "THIS is a National Park? We want to go back to Yosemite!!"

Whatever you choose to do, it will be great! We followed a trip plan on a Yosemite website (yosemitefun.com) written by this guy with a zillion trips there. It was a good resource.

 

[CPT Tripss]

I just found that Yosemite is spectacular and there were a lot of readily accessible walks. Sequoia is also amazing . . . but you can see the big trees at Mariposa (a part of Yosemite) . . . and there was a lot of driving to get to the various locations which left less out of car time. That said Yosemite was more crowded than Sequoia in late September.
I don't recall each park's admission price . . . I have an AP .
But go here for everything you ever wanted to know about the National Parks www.nps.gov

 

[BillyFan]

It costs $20 to get into Yosemite, but a yearly pass is $40.

 

[CPT Tripss]

It costs $20 to get into Yosemite, but a yearly pass is $40.

The yearly pass for ALL parks is more . . . $20 is for seven days, right?

 

[BillyFan]

The yearly pass for ALL parks is more . . . $20 is for seven days, right?

I'm not sure about that, since we just get the yearly pass.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

$20 is for 7 days, and would be good for Yosemite or Sequoia once you pay. I agree Tuolomne Meadows is fantastic. One of my favorite drives is coming up from LA on the 395 & going over the Tioga Pass, or coming down the 395 from Lake Tahoe & going over the Tioga Pass to the valley.

One year we camped in Tuolomne Meadows & it rained/hailed on us - just beautiful. We had an exchange student from Germany & took her all over. She & I were hiking along the river one day & saw a bird with a broken wing, so we walked to it to see if we could help. The poor little thing limped along and we followed it, and then it took off flying -- we then realized that she was leading us away from her nest. Nature at work. It was so cool.

Right at the end (north end I think) of Tuolomne Meadows is a little lake called Tenaya Lake. It's a nice place for a picnic before going down into the valley.

Mariposa Grove is a grove of sequoia trees inside Yosemite Park, and I think the 3rd or 4th largest thing in the world is there - Grizzly Giant. You can take a tram ride to the end of the grove, and then walk back a nice path through the trees. It's really nice.

Yosemitefun.com is my favorite website on Yosemite. He has great tips on lodging & all kinds of stuff on that site. He once used my photos of Housekeeping & I think he still has one or two.

If you go to Monterey, I don't think it's a good idea to go back to Sequoia - you'll be traversing across California.

You should either go from Yosemite - Sequoia - LA or Yosemite - Monterey - LA.

Although I love Sequoia, too, I think if you're visiting CA for the first time, you should go Yosemite - Monterey - LA so you can see a bit more of our state.

 

[KCmike]

Anyone stayed there/done the aquarium etc....

Which hotel is close and has good prices for families?

 

[KCmike]

Is the Drive time/Money spent worth a side trip to Disneyland? We have been once and it was last year......I personally would love to do it again but is it worth another 1,000 dollars for a family of five to drive down 5 hours for 3 days?