Yosemite National Park is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Eastern California. You can drive there by following the Central Valley south from San Francisco or north from Los Angeles. Take Route 99 until you reach the cities of Modesto, Merced or Fresno then turn east into the foothills of the mountains. Yosemite is 50 to 75 miles east of those cities, but it can take two or more hours to drive to the park entrance. The roads are good but they are mountainous secondary roads that require some slower speed driving. In the winter, heavy snowfalls can make them trecherous and you may be required to use tire chains.

There are several small villages in the mountains near the entrances to the park. Most of them offer some limited facilities providing food, fuel, groceries or accommodations. Within Yosemite Valley, the park service offers a good variety of restaurants, groceries and accommodations.

Accommodations in Yosemite Valley
The finest accommodations in or near Yosemite National Park are at the historic Ahwahnee Lodge in Yellowstone Valley. This grand hotel offers beautiful architecture and outstanding service set in the midst of some spectacular scenery. The price for accommodations is about $350 per night but it is a first class luxurious hotel.

Ahwahnee Lodge Reservations
The National Park Service offers a wide selection of other accommodations within Yosemite Valley at more modest prices. Yosemite Lodge is a more traditional motel with nice rooms at a price of $100 to $140 per night. Curry Village has a variety of accommodations ranging from canvas tent cabins at $50 per night and wooden cabins from $75 per night to standard hotel rooms at $100 per night. Additional tent-like accommodations are located at Housekeeping Camp for around $56 per night.

The Park Service also supports some accommodations within the park but outside of Yosemite Valley. Wawona Lodge is a fine old historic inn located within the park near the South Entrance. It offers spacious accommodations for around $100 with shared bath or $150 with private bath. For the more adventuresome, the Tuolome Meadows Lodge and White Wolf Lodge are located in the high country along the road to Tioga Pass. They offer tent cabins for about $55 and some cabins with baths for near $88.

Accommodations fill up early
You can book reservations on-line at the web site of the National Park Service Yosemite Concessioner: Yosemite Lodging. Unfortunately, most of these facilities are fully booked many months in advance and some summer dates are reserved as much as one year ahead. The most popular times for tourists to visit Yosemite are during the months of June, July and August or on weekends throughout the year. If you can avoid these dates, your chances of reserving a choice accommodation will be much better.
Private Accommodation in or near Yosemite Park
Apple Tree Inn is a motel located just outside of the South Entrance to Yosemite Park near the village of Fish Camp. Rooms with private bath and fireplace are in the $100 – $150 per night range. You can book reservations here: Apple Tree Inn Reservations

Tenaya Lodge is a first class mountain resort located just two miles from Yosemite south entrance near the village of Fish Camp. It features three restaurants, two swimming pools, a fitness center any many other amenities. Rooms average $169 to $300 per night. You can book reservations here: Tenaya Lodge Reservations

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Yosemite National Park (Pronounced YO-SEH-MIT-TEA) is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California about 200 miles (300 km) east of San Francisco. From the San Francisco Bay area and the northern part of California, it is a pleasant 4-hour drive eastward over the coastal range, across the Central Valley and through the foothills of the Sierras to Yosemite. From Southern California and the Los Angeles area, it is a six hour drive northward through the fertile farmlands of the Central Valley along interstate 5 and highway 99 to Merced then eastward along route 140 into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Yosemite.
Yosemite Valley offers incredible beauty
Yosemite National Park is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the USA. This is partly because of its proximity to the population centers of Los Angeles and San Francisco but is mostly due to the incredible natural beauty of Yosemite Valley. The glacially eroded alpine valley is just 8 miles long and less than one mile wide with sheer granite walls rising vertically over 3000 feet (1000 meters) on either side. Nine magnificent waterfalls cascade into the valley. Five of them are over 1000 feet (300 meters) high including the 2425 feet (800 meters) Yosemite Falls. Yosemite Park actually encompasses about 1200 square miles (3000 sq. km) and includes many other natural attractions, but most tourists visit only Yosemite Valley or the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia trees near Wawona at the southern entry.

Due to its immense popularity, Yosemite Valley frequently becomes very crowded in the summer months and on weekends throughout the year. The single loop road that circles the valley floor often becomes choked with traffic on popular summer weekends. The National Park Service provides a free shuttle bus around the loop from various parking areas outside of the valley. They are considering a ban on automobile traffic within the valley; but so far, the shuttle bus is just voluntary. It is possible to visit Yosemite by taking the Amtrak train to Merced and then boarding a bus to Yosemite, but automobile travel is the most convenient method of exploring this vast natural wonder.

Facilities and Accommodations in Yosemite National Park
The National Park Service has provided a nice selection of facilities within Yosemite Valley and throughout the park. There are several hotels in the valley ranging in price from the luxurious but rather expensive Ahwahnee and the moderately priced Yosemite Lodge to the budget priced cabins and tents at Curry Village. There are also several camping facilities in the valley. Unfortunately, many of the accommodations are completely booked during the busy summer months, so you must make reservations far in advance. It is often easier to find accommodations outside of the valley. Fortunately, the park service provides accommodations and camping in other parts of the park, and a selection of private motels and campgrounds are located near the park. Within Yosemite Valley, the Park Service aslo maintains a museum, a visitor’s information center, several restaurants and snack bars, a small convenience store, a gift shop, a riding stable and tour guides. For more information about accommodations in Yosemite check our Yosemite Accommodations and Camping page.

Yosemite Valley is situated at about 4000 feet (1300 meters) with some other parts of the park at much higher elevations. The weather can be quite warm and dry during the summer, but nights may be cool. In the winter, it can be quite cold with frequent snowfalls that sometimes create hazardous driving conditions. Tioga Pass and the higher elevations of the park are normally closed from November through May due to heavy snow accummulation. Spring and Fall are transition periods that alternate between nice weather and wet or snowy conditions. Summer offers the warmest weather but is the busiest tourist season. Spring, with its heavy runoff of snow melt, offers the most spectacular waterfall show. Fall, with its multicolored foliage and usually pleasant weather, is a scenic time to visit, although Winter often produces some beautiful snow covered landscapes. Whatever season you choose to visit Yosemite, it is wise to take a variety of clothing that can be layered to match changing weather conditions.

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