Yosemite...California

wildeone4

Hey guys! My hubby and I are thinking of going to Yosemite for our 1st anniversary. Has anyone been there? What do you think of it? Is it fun? Is it worth it?
We are thinking of staying in the town Madera, California. Is it an alright place?
Thanks in advance

sarad777

We went last summer. Beautiful place. If you can afford it, I'd recommend staying in the Park, at least 1 night. We stayed outside the park in Oakhurst. Great place with large rooms, breakfast, etc.

I'd be happy to share info from our adventure!

DizzieLittleLifter

I love Yosemite! The best time of year to go though is Spring. The waterfalls are still full and flowing beautifully! This year because of the late snow (we had snow in JUNE in the Sierras) the waterfalls were still flowing even two weeks ago. Madera is good there is also another cute little town called Groveland. You can tent camp or cabin camp in Yosemite too. You can hike up to the waterfalls (a few) and 1/2 dome. There is also another hike called the serenity hike which is less challenging and less milage as 1/2 dome, but you get the same views. I absolutely love Yosemite! Well worth it!

wildeone4

Glad to hear such positive things! We would go at the end of this month!

TDGee

Madera is still aways fromt the park itself. Look at Oakhurst, about 20-30 minutes from the park gate. Or Coarsegold has a nice Indian Casino/Hotel about 10 -15 minutes further than Oakhurst. If you have plenty of lead time and $$ Stay in the Ahwahnee Hotel, or even the Wawona Hotel. Actually, Now that I think of it, There is a nice Hotel called the Tenaya Lodge in Fish Camp, which is about 2 miles from the gate. Enjoy Yosemite, I believe it to be the most beautiful place on the planet!! Except for the crowds of tourists at times. PM if I can help you in any way. Happy Anniversary!!

DizzieLittleLifter

Ohh and I wanted to add that it's sometimes more beneficial to rent a cabin or condo just outside the park (like Groveland) sometimes you can find deals for as little as $70/night. It can take 2+ hours to drive in to the park on busy days because of traffic, but the it's breath taking and you can pull over anywhere along the way to picnic or what have you.

wildeone4

Dizzieferg - that could be something to look into! And that is good to know...that would be quite the drive just to get into it!

DizzieLittleLifter

Dizzieferg - that could be something to look into! And that is good to know...that would be quite the drive just to get into it!

Your very welcome! Ohh and if you do end up staying in Groveland they have the oldest saloon in CA called Irondoor saloon. The town is cutesy with shops and restaurants. If I remember correctly there is even a pretty large park for kids. We used to have a vacay house in Twain Harte so we would make the drive down for an all day adventure.

hyenagirl

Just a note, if you camp in the park, the campgrounds have been full. They sold out in minutes this year just from scalpers buying them. The two hotels in the park still have vacancies in October and beyond. Just an FYI. When I visited Yosemite (just a day trip), it was much grander than all the shows you see about it on TV.

kellyscomeback

Just a note, if you camp in the park, the campgrounds have been full. They sold out in minutes this year just from scalpers buying them. The two hotels in the park still have vacancies in October and beyond. Just an FYI. When I visited Yosemite (just a day trip), it was much grander than all the shows you see about it on TV.

They are having limited camping right now due to flooding from all of the rain and now snow melt off isn't making things better.

ajk828

I just went a week ago and the waterfalls were flowing and the river was rushing REALLY fast! We stayed in the lower pines camp ground and after one night of crazy rain, a few of the camp sites were flooded. I have to say though, it was my first time, and I fell in love with it. It is so beautiful there, unreal. There are a lot of good hikes to do there (my favorite one was to the top of Vernal falls but bring a poncho and waterproof clothes/shoes because half way up you WILL get soaked because the falls are flowing so heavy....learned THAT the hard way) and there's a free shuttle that runs through the park from 7am-10pm. Pack clothes for all kinds of weather because one day it was 86 and the next it was pouring rain and mid 70's. The campgrounds did get sold out really fast but i'm not sure the availability of the tent cabins or the lodge or the really (EXPENSIVE!!!!) hotel there. One of the most amazing things we did while there was walk out to the meadow at midnight and watch the thunder and lightning off in the distance for about an hour. I cannot wait to go back there and would recommend the trip to anyone.

meggers123

We went in November 2008, which was cold, but there were only 4 other groups, so that was awesome. We still hiked and had a wonderful time despite the cooler temps.

I definitely recommend it. Have fun!!!

Charger440

It can take 2+ hours to drive in to the park on busy days because of traffic

This place don't sound like it's for me then. My fave place is Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. That place is just awesome and I've been there where I had to wait to get in! Congrats on the anny and have a great trip to Yosemite!

TDGee

Heres a small taste:

sunkisses

Loved it! We went in late Feb/early March 2008. It was still snowing there, pretty heavily too. We went to the Ahwanee for lunch and it was SO amazingly beautiful to sit by this huge window as the snow fell. This group was doing some meeting and they were all dressing in 1920s-30s clothing, and they were dancing to music from that period. So spooky since the hotel reminds me of The Shining. Loved it.