QuoteUlysses61 I've never encountered an aggresive bear, not even when with cubs. Almost every time in Yosemite I have bumped into them on the trail while hiking, they run away (VERY fast, some of them!) It breaks my heart that people erroneously think bears are violent or ferocious. They are generally shy and timid when in the presence of people, unless they're foolishly being fed. This is trby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotemichaelrosso Do you folks have other suggestions for other parks besides Yosemite that is wheelchair accessible friendly? On the other side of the Sierras off of Hwy 395, there's Bodie State Historic Park that preserves the ghost town of Bodie in arrested decay. It's pretty much wheelchair accessible, IIRC, if you don't mind pushing the wheelchair along some well maintained gravel and dirby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotey_p_w Quoteplawrence If you are flying into the Bay Area and want to take Amtrak from the Bay Area to Yosemite, the way to do it would be to fly into either Oakland (OAK) or San Francisco (SFO) and then take BART to the Richmond BART Station, which is adjacent to the Richmond Amtrak Station. At the Richmond Amtrak station board the Amtrak San Joaquin to Merced, where a connecting AMTRAK Tby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteeeek Ah, the view of the Tunnel View vista point before its "landscaping" makeover.by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
For reasonable nightly rates, on the westside, probably Mariposa or Oakhurst, on the eastside, possibly Lee Vining, but more likely June Lake or Mammoth Lakes. But if you are willing to pay through your nose, you might find a nearby room in El Portal at the Yosemite View Lodge or the Cedar Lodge, or south of the park in Fish Camp at the Tenaya Lodge.by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteitchbay It's my understanding that there was a lot of "artificial" activity going on until as recent as about 20 years ago. For example, all those great vistas around the valley were created by trimming back trees that might block the view. And didn't they used to dredge Mirror lake to keep it a lake? I'm sure there are several on this board who know more about the current poliby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotey_p_w YARTS and Amtrak bus service. However - Amtrak bus service apparently requires that one actually take a train leg and use the bus as a connector. I know one can fly into Oakland and then take the shuttle to the Coliseum BART station, then walk along the ramp to the Coliseum. The Amtrak station is halfway along that ramp. I don't know what trains go from there to Merced. Franklby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
What I read, it was mainly the ranchers and sheep herders that killed off the grizzlies because the bears attacked and killed their livestock. The California grizzlies natural habitat wasn't the mid and higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada where the black bears live, but it was the Central Valley and the Sierra foothills (and also in the Coastal Valleys and Coastal Range of California). Agaby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Just a quick note about the Ahwahnee Dining Room: they do have a dress code for dinner. If you don't want to deal with their dress code, just go there for either breakfast, brunch, or lunch. (And if you want to have an upscale fine dining dinner in Yosemite Valley without having to dress up, the Mountain Room at the Yosemite Lodge would be your option.)by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
By an off chance, you're a pilot (or might want to charter a private flight), the two closest general aviation airports would be Mariposa-Yosemite Airport, just north of Mariposa on CA Hwy 49, and Pine Mountain Lake Airport, east of Groveland off of Ferretti Road (which connects to CA Hwy 120). Again, these are general aviation airports with no commercial flights, but air charters can fly in andby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotekatie Can you guys recommend places to eat in the valley? Recommended: the Ahwahnee Dining Room (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Sunday Brunch), Degnan's Deli in Yosemite Village (Breakfast, Lunch), Degnan's Loft (Pizzas, Soups & Salads) (Dinner only), the Pizza Deck at Curry Village (Lunch, Dinner), the Mountain Room at the Yosemite Lodge (Dinner only). Avoid the Curry Village Pavilionby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotequmqats Sunday brunch at the Ahwahnee is supposed to be really nice, but expensive! Sunday brunch at the Ahwahnee is great, but unless you bring along a big appetite, it's quite pricey. On the other hand, I enjoy having lunch (Monday - Saturday) at the Ahwahnee Dining Room -- hands down the best tasting lunch option available in the valley (and the prices are pretty reasonable for the qby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteoakroscoe As for the snowmobiles, come on chick-on, you know the rules only apply to us. They're above the rules! By the looks of it, about 10 feet above the rules in that photo.by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotedqniel I saw next to no wildlife my entire trip. Not a single deer, elk, etc. You stayed in San Francisco didn't you? You must have seen hundreds of pigeons around the city. Also, at Ft. Funston you should have run across a good number of seagulls. And I bet a number of other wild birds crossed your path when you visited the Bay Area.by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteDavidK42 I've seen Bridalveil with so little water coming over the edge that gusts of wind will actually blow the water back up. And hence, its name. That's when the fall looks most like a bridal veil.by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Here in California, we can alway use more snow (and water). Enjoy it.by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks for sharing your video. I enjoyed watching it.by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteszalkowski QuoteDavidK42 Katie, if the Tioga Road is still not open (and, as others have said, that looks like a distinct probability given the amount of snow that hit the Park this winter), you could always cross over the Sierra south of the Park.... For all intents and purposes, there is no trans-Sierra highway/road south of the park. You basically need to skirt the southern edge of tby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotekatie The trip is planned for the middle of June. That's a great time to visit the park. This year, because of the heavy snowfall, Tioga Road through the park could very well still be closed when you visit. Still, there will be a lot of other sights to see. Of course visit Yosemite Valley. Nice short hikes there would be to the lower Yosemite Fall, to Mirror Lake, to the base of Bridalby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
On Tioga Road, what will cause the most delays is the snow condition in the avalanche zones. High snow levels elsewhere and downed tree shouldn't cause too much of a delay, but the Park Service will not let the snowplows and other snow removing equipment proceed through the avalanche zones until they deem that it's safe to do so. And I presume Caltrans will have Hwy 120 plowed east of Tioga Pby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteeeek QuotekatieWill the road be open in the middle of June? This year? Probably not. On the other hand, I'm somewhat confident that Caltrans will probably have Hwy 108 open over Sonora Pass barring any unforeseen late season snow storms.by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotetomdisco It is against the rules to sleep in line at the Wilderness office but usually the guilty are up and awake before the ranger arrives so not much happens. There were two sleeping on the deck in bags at TM Wilderness office when I showed up early last August. They had their bags all rolled up by the time the ranger showed up so nothing was said. The ranger is not going to go out ofby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteAlmostThere And don't worry. Take pictures of the bears when they come around to say hi. But don't do something silly, like trying to pose with them.by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Rubbing my crystal ball, my prediction would be it will be more of a trickle of water going down. How it usually looks by the second or third week of August in normal rainfall years. I would be surprised if it was any more than that.by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteszalkowski. 2. If you just park alongside the roadway, in a parking lot, or anywhere else in the park that you can find, you can not sleep there under any circumstances no matter what type of vehicle you are in (or out of). P.S. The question should be: "Why is it ...." The answer to that is pretty simple. If you could, there would be almost zero day-use parking spots availabby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
To what email address to you send your complaints to about people selling their Yosemite Reservations on Craig's List (and other sites)? And have you checked to see if the campsites of the violations that you have reported have become available (at least temporarily) on recreation.gov?by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I also thought that dispersed camping is also allowed (with a campfire permit) in the Stanislaus National Forest and the Sierra National Forest on the west and south sides of Yosemite National Park.by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteOrtega0906 There's a medical center?! Oh wow all these years of going and never saw that! That's good to know though. Thank you! There is, but it's not a free clinic. Expect to pay handsomely (even with insurance) for any service they provide.by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Yup. Anyone who doesn't respect the 10:00 PM noise curfew gets my ire. Babies are usually sound asleep by then.by plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
But until it becomes a federal crime to do so, which it currently is not, telling people not to do so as part of their agreement is pretty toothless. Make it a federal crime with a minimum $500 fine for each campsite listed for resale, and then it's make it practical for 1) the feds to go after these scalpers, and 2) makes it hard, if not impossible, for these scalpers to blatantly resell theby plawrence - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion