My sis is staying a week in Tuolumne in September. She is also working towards her masters degree and needs to turn in some assignments during her stay.

Does anyone know where the closest internet service to Tuolumne is?

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hikerchick395
My sis is staying a week in Tuolumne in September. She is also working towards her masters degree and needs to turn in some assignments during her stay.

Does anyone know where the closest internet service to Tuolumne is?

Speedy or slow?

And I presume she'll be trying to connect with a computer (versus a smartphone or iPod touch).

The AT&T Wireless EDGE data network is usually available around Tuolumne Meadows itself -- so if she has a AT&T mobile or smartphone, she'll have internet access via that phone, though it will be a bit slow. With the right mobile phone (or smartphone) one can even connect their computer (via their mobile phone) to the AT&T EDGE data network – but it WILL be a slow connection (somewhere between 28 - 128 Kps – think dial-up speeds). But that's still fast enough to send and receive text only emails.

For a faster connection, probably the closest location will be in Lee Vining. But I'm not sure where there is PUBLIC internet access in that town. The motels I've stayed at in Lee Vining usually had broadband internet access, but that internet access was reserved for the motel's guests. If Lee Vining has a public library, I would try that.

The Mono Lake Committee has pay as you go internet access, not sure if you can hook to their wifi or not. There is also a pay for use service in town that several of the motels and RV parks use. You connect, open your browser, enter a credit card and buy some time.

As was said, there is limited access in TM if you have a smart phone or ATT air card. I was able to check email and browse facebook on my ATT phone. I seem to remember seeing the 3G symbol, not the edge, but I could be wrong. That being said, it wasn't fast by any stretch of the word.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2011 07:27PM by hotrod4x5.

Mono Lake Visitor Center has Wifi access, I just used it today. You have to take your laptop inside (or your Blackberry, whatever you're using), and piggyback on their service. The drive time from Touloumne to the Mono Lake Visitors Center is about 40 mins. during a time without high traffic. I have tried sitting in the parking lots of various Lee Vining motels over the years and all of them have codes you must type in to use their servive. IOW, only guests can use their WiFi.

I keep seeing 40 mins from TM to Lee Vining. I guess we were haulin' ass because we made it in 20 mins.

For myself, from the TM Campground it usually takes about 25-30 minutes traveling close to the posted Speed Limits (within 5 MPH) to get to Lee Vining. If one speeds through Yosemite from Tuolumne Meadows along Tioga Road (10 MPH or higher than the posted speed limit), one can save about five or six minutes more. But to go to Tuolumne Meadows from Lee Vining (the reverse direction) usually takes a bit more time simply because there's often a backup at the entrance station on Tioga Road.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2011 12:37AM by plawrence.

The wifi at Curry Village is free. And you can even sit in a nice lounge cushy chair and have free electricity if she needs charging.

Yes, I assume she will have to use her lap top.

She could have access to slow dial up at my house but that is 73 miles away from Tuolumne...I was looking for something closer.

I will pass on the info...her hubby has an iPhone...which carrier, I don't know. Thanks all!




(Oh yeah, I didn't even think there was phone service in Tuolumne, but I just remembered...I made a call from Lembert Dome a couple of weeks ago... )

An other option for your sister would be when she needs to turn in some assignments online, to put Yosemite Valley on the itinerary for that day.

Then while visiting Yosemite Valley, drop by the Yosemite Lodge and use their WiFi for a small fee (I think it's now $5 for a 24-hour passcode). You purchase the passcode at the Yosemite Lodge registration desk. (And don't worry about the sign on the registration desk that states that that their WiFi is for use of their guests only. Anyone can purchase a 24-hour passcode to access the Yosemite Lodge's WiFi.) The WiFi is accessible throughout the Yosemite Lodge complex, so she can set up her PC in the Lodge's lobby, food court (including the tables set outside of the food court), or even in the Mountain Room Lounge during the Lounge's business hours.

She will be in Yosemite Valley the week before Tuolumne and is already familiar with turning in her assignments from there...this spring, and the past few years...

When she first was connecting to WiFi at Yosemite Lodge, it cost $5 a WEEK. (I remember using her laptop to make camping reservations one morning.)

I was camping in the valley when the Lodge first got their wifi in 2006. The guy at the desk gave me the code for free.

When the Yosemite Lodge first installed their WiFi, they had only one WiFi access point, in the Cliff Room next to the Mountain Room Lounge. The bright side: no access code was needed!