Yosemite photo holiday advice

oskanoears

oskanoears

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Andy
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Has anyone been to yosemite that can advise on a) how to get there I.e. Fly to San fran and hire a car etc from uk
B) how long do I need there ?
C) what month is best to go so as to avoid amercan school holidays but still obtain great imagery without freezing my ass off
D) where to stay and what cost... I don't want to spend my life savings... It's a two person trip btw
E) I'm reasonably restricted diet wise and need to eat organic produce where poss... Is this easy to get here or is it all processed junk?

Any help would be most welcomed... Iv looked at the official sites but it doesn't really give the info I need and could really benefit from someone who's done it before.
Cheers Andy
 
It really depends, we did yosemite as part of our honeymoon, one full day there and it really was no where near enough.

For the best month, google it, we went in May during a heat wave and the pass from one side to the other was completely snowed over and was closed.

There are a few towns outside of the park you could stay and I would imagine local markets etc for food. Various cheap motels/hotels around too. One option would be to hire a mobile home and stay in Yosemite itself, just watch out for the bears ;)

Very jealous of you, I'd love to go back for 1-2 weeks.
 
Harvey_nikon said:
It really depends, we did yosemite as part of our honeymoon, one full day there and it really was no where near enough.

For the best month, google it, we went in May during a heat wave and the pass from one side to the other was completely snowed over and was closed.

There are a few towns outside of the park you could stay and I would imagine local markets etc for food. Various cheap motels/hotels around too. One option would be to hire a mobile home and stay in Yosemite itself, just watch out for the bears ;)

Very jealous of you, I'd love to go back for 1-2 weeks.
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Thanks Harvey any one else been?
 
I had a quick (far too quick) visit to Yosemite 20 odd years ago. I think you'd need a week there to do it justice. It's a stunning place.
 
I went in April this year near Easter. Less bears about (we didn't see any - plenty of school kids).

Stayed in an unheated tent with my wife in Curry village. So cold inside our shoes were frozen to the floor in the morning. Was in more danger from wife killing me than any bears, highly recommend getting some heated accommodation! The village itself is a nice base but not sure it will meet your food requirements.

Waterfalls were plentiful and days were reasonably warm.

We flew into San Fran, and drove from there, I think it took around 7 hours. San Fran is good to spend a few days in.
 
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Just got back from the USA. We had a very brief trip through Yosemite and I would love to go back for a couple of weeks just for photography.

We stayed in Mammoth Lakes on the east side in a great western hotel. Too far away from the park proper - it's a good 2-3 hour drive. However, you must go to Mono Lake which is very atmospheric.

On the way out we stayed in Merced which is a dump - best avoided.

If I were going for a couple of weeks I'd be tempted to stay in the park. Might be a good idea to get an RV actually, or possibly camp. There are a couple of cutesy towns on the exit to the west which are touristy but have bars so ok really.

Make sure you go up to the Tuluemne Meadows which have beautiful streams, rivers and meadows - loads of water- related opportunities. The valley floor of Yosemite Valley itself is pretty cool but i reckon the better stuff is up high.

It's an amazing place make no mistake.
 
One other thing - fly to SF and you've got a decent drive to get there of 6 hours or so. Why not then do the stuff in the park then exit out the east, visit Mono Lake (stay in Mammoth Lakes) and then drive into Death Valley, out the other side and finish off with some well earned r&r in Vegas and fly back from there.

We did 1-way car rental which is quite common. It's a good days drive from Mammoth Lakes to Vegas, more if you st off and take pics in Death Valley.
 
I've never been but it looks like it is going to be a really nice trip. Looking forward to seeing to top pictures :thumbs:
 
Did a road trip in 2006 (flew into LA, did west coast highway, vegas, rand canyon, SF, yosemite and on up to Seattle).

We stayed here (same as Harvey_Nikon!!) for 2 nights and it was fine. It's an 8 mile drive from there to Yosemite itself, and we found Yosemite to be bloody huge, so I'd allow at least 2-3 days.

Looking round the on-site facilities, I was grateful we were a good distance away. Best to have a car and you can explore it fully. There are some jaw dropping landscapes to be had. If you go in the hot season (we were there in September and it was perfect) make sure you've got plenty of water in the car. We found the prices onsite to be a little ridiculous.

If you're there for longer, SF is very photogenic, and so is Highway 1 (North or South, although I seem to remember north out of SF was more scenic (highlights being "Manchester, pop 61" and "Dogtown"...)

Oh. And my experience of the food was that it was processed junk. Even a salad comes slathered with oil and sauce. Just ask for it on the side and hope they remember!

Ian.
 
I almost did this a couple of years ago as a tag on to a work trip. San Jose is a bit closer than SF but there's not much in it. And there a bunch of guides who can take you around spots where Ansel Adams took his shots.
 
I would say you easily need at least 3 or 4 days to make the most of Yosemite, was there at the beggining of June last year and it was 43 degrees and snowing when we got there, which was a bit of a shock coming from Death Valley at over 100 degrees !!. We stayed at Tenaya Lodge which was fantastic and very well placed http://www.tenayalodge.com/
The weather was much better the next day and there is so much to see and Yosemite Falls and Half Dome make nice photos. Also if you want to visit the big red wood trees under your own steam, get there early the road was shut by 9am when we were there due to the car parks being full and the only way you could get there was on one of the coach tours!. However you will have a great time with plenty of photo opportunities and look forward to seeing your photos when you get back.
 
I flew to San Francisco and hired a car.
Spent 4 days in Yosemite out of a 3 week trip - on reflection we should have spent 7 - 10 days. All depends how much you like hiking, nature and landscape photography.

I camped in a 2 man tent. Snow in the higher areas in June, but no problem in a good tent and sleeping bag.

Like some others here we exited east and went to Mono Lake and Death Valley - both great.

I'm vegetarian (and quite fussy). Food in USA was great. Not many vegetarian options, but at the very least you can get 2 or 3 side orders as a main course. Or a really good salad (puts the UK slice of tomato and lettuce leaf to shame). Even in steak houses their attitude was "no we don't have a vegetarian meal on the menu, but tell us what you want and we'll see what we can do" ! You may find organic vegetarian food to be one step too far - OK in San Francisco, but not in the average town.

Have fun !
 
Andy.

I lived in Nevada City for a few years (Californian Sierras) and used to frequent Yosemite during the warmer times of the year. We used to camp in tents high up from the village to avoid the morning chill during the extreme ends of Spring and Autumn and enjoyed it. With a camping pitch you get a steel bin with a spring loaded bolt lock to put all your food in away from the bears. The rangers manage smoulder pits around camp sites to put bears off entering (like dying BBQ smoke) and although we had a bear enter the camp one night it was funnier than it was scary.

If you're hiring a car and going to Yosemite make sure you're tidy within the car and do not drop any food or sweet wrappings within the vehicle. The last year we were camping there were 88 vehicle break ins from bears accessing food and food wrappers left in vehicles. They don't ask for the keys, they take a door off. By the way that was 88 in the whole of Yosemite and not just the village and upper meadows.

The village to me was just a place to have someone cook for you. A bit of a cash conveyor belt except for some of the lodges already mentioned but when hungry who cares. I found the valley had no romanticism about it except for the obligatory waterfall photo. It looks far better when its snowing but I've only seen that by images because come snow Squaw valley called.

If you want something extreme there's some great guys who will take you abseiling down some of the best faces including half dome. They're not listed in the local guides (although some really boring group ones are) but if you're interested I can get the information.

Lastly and if it were me flying into San Fran I'd take the car North to Lake Tahoe, spend a couple of days there and then head down through gods country and into Yosemite. Once in Yosemite Vernal Fall is a must. Probably the only touristy attraction that I'd take part in. The North dome trail (think that's right, opposite half dome but more West than North) is a good trek. Not many tourists up there or at least no electric chairs. Behind Half dome there are some great smooth rock formations in afternoon light but look at the road maps as you needn't do the half dome heart attack challenge!

Better stop there. Whatever you choose to do have a good one :thumbs:
 
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I beleive Ansel was there for quite a few years ;)
 
I've always fancied taking an RV as the USA campsites all seem to cater for the biggest things available. Drive into your enormous parking space, hook up the electric, sewage, water, satellite tv, extend the sides of your RV and you're there.

You see much more driving on a whim as well.
 
I was there about 30 yrs ago with a group of pals. The locals suggested we go up there to camp out. So we duly gathered camping equipment etc and booked our space.

However the American way of roughing it in a tent was not quite the same as ours.

We arrived and duly booked in and then drove to our pitch.

It was a large raised frame tent complete with steps up to the front door.

Inside was electric lighting and single & double beds!

Luxury!
 
We went 10 odd years ago, as part of a fly drive. And we also stayed in the Cedar Lodge. We were only there for a couple of nights, nowehere near long enough to do the place justice. Fantastic place for photography, photo opportunities abound. We went in mid-June and the snow had just thawed for the main passes to open.
 
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