Re: BBQ in Yosemite Valley

I'm staying in a Cabin in Curry Village next week and am aware there are no cooking facilities available there. Are there any places to have a BBQ in the vicinity? Are there bear lockers for storing food near the cabins?
Your recommendations/answers are highly appreciated!
(I am aware of the air quality issues in the valley, and plan on cooking quickly and smothering the coals immediately.)

Curry Village has a series of bear boxes located near the parking lot. Each one is supposed to be for the use of a single tent cabin, and can be padlocked.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/bears.htm

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Food lockers are available at every campsite or unit. (Lockers are available at the parking lot in Curry Village. We hope to provide lockers at each tent cabin in the future.)

If you're staying in a hard-sided cabin (not a tent cabin), you're allowed to store your food inside where it can't be seen when you're away.

The current rules allow barbecue grills in picnic areas with fire grates or campgrounds; there are a few other situation where you could use a grill, but none would apply to normal visitors. There are no online maps, but you can inquire at a visitor center or entrance station. I don't recall any picnic areas near Curry Village.

Thanks for the info. I'm still not clear on where we'd store our food at night, being that we'll be staying in a hard-sided cabin. What are the situations where one could use a grill? We've got dietary restrictions that require us to bring all of our own food, and it would be nice to have some hot food one or two nights.

uncledong1 wrote:

> Thanks for the info. I'm still not clear on where we'd store
> our food at night, being that we'll be staying in a hard-sided
> cabin. What are the situations where one could use a grill?
> We've got dietary restrictions that require us to bring all of
> our own food, and it would be nice to have some hot food one or
> two nights.

If you're in a hard-sided cabin, you simply store your food in the cabin. Bears don't typically break down doors. I guess the usual recommendation is to keep the food out of sight. It was also in the bear info:

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/bears.htm

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In your hotel room or cabin
You must keep all food inside your room; if you are not in the room, the windows and doors must be closed. Bears can easily break into cabins through an open door or open window.

I think they started installing bear boxes outside the tent cabins last summer.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/humbe/1521772252/

Cooking your own meals isn't allowed anywhere in Curry Village.

http://www.yosemitepark.com/CurryVillage_CampEtiquette.aspx

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Cooking is not permitted in or around your accommodations, on top of bear-proof storage lockers and all other areas within Curry Village. Check with the Front Desk for appropriate picnicking locations.

If you can find a picnic area with a fire grate, you might also try something like an inexpensive propane or butane stove. It's a lot easier than lugging around a BBQ grill and waiting for the charcoal to extinguish. A lot easier to clean up too. Just be careful with the bears. The Yosemite bear is notorious for its cunning in obtaining food or items it thinks might contain food. Last summer I was in the Valley backpackers campground when I woke up from the sound of people scaring away a bear. I couldn't sleep, so I got up and talked to an unfortunate high-school age kid who's pack was snatched by a bear. He said he was about to put everything away, put it down for a few seconds, and the bear just darted in an hauled the pack away. I stashed my entire backpack in my site's bear box as soon as I got in. The next morning I smelled cooking, and so did a juvenile bear standing on a rock at the camp's boundary. People started reaching for their cameras when it decided that it wasn't going to be successful with dozens of people staring at it.

If you feel comfortable, could you describe what your restrictions might be? Some of the finer dining locations (Ahwahnee or Yosemite Lodge's Mountain Room) might be able to tailor for special restrictions.

YPW--thanks for the info. Now all I need to find out is if there are any picnic areas with fire grates in the valley, and if so where. . .
Anyone else???

The Swinging Bridge and El Capitan picnic areas have grills.

eeek wrote:

> The Swinging Bridge and El Capitan picnic areas have grills.
>

Thanks eeek. Do you know how long of a drive to each from the curry village hard-wall cabins? Is there parking available by each?
I can see the Swinging bridge picnic area righ off southside drive, but I guess I need to make the loop all the way around via northside drive to get there. Is El Capitan picnic area further west?



Post Edited (03-25-08 13:29)

uncledong1 wrote:

> Do you know how long of a drive to each from the
> curry village hard-wall cabins?

I'd guess that Swinging Bridge is a couple of miles.

> Is there parking available by each?

AFAIK all the picnic areas have parking.

> I can see the Swinging bridge picnic area righ off southside
> drive, but I guess I need to make the loop all the way around
> via northside drive to get there.

You would need to do the loop. It's not a bad drive though.

> Is El Capitan picnic area further west?

Yes

Cathedral picnic is a nice place too (it's along the river not far from El Capitan).