Yosemite Help

[AzScorpion]

I wandered around the Lake Tahoe area in October of 2020, so the crowds were a little thinner and a lot of things were closed.
From Reno I drove 431 up the mountain to Incline village, 28 to Tahoe City, 89 up and back to Truckee. That section traffic wasn't bad.
Rt 89 was nearly bumper to bumper traffic along side the lake, I think it was a saturday though.

A co-worker had recommended Emerald Bay State Park but was closed for camping, but was able to enjoy a very scenic view.
Fallen Leaf Lake was absolutely beautiful.
South Lake Tahoe is the tourist town. plenty of places to stay and eat.
.
Truckee is an interesting very high priced town. Actually all the towns around the lake seemed to have the higher than normal prices. There is a Donner Memorial State Museum to the west of Truckee, not sure if it has a restaurant, probably wouldn't eat there anyway.

I drove from South Lake Tahoe to Yosemite, and looking at the map I think it was 89 to 395 to 120. And there were several small forest fires at the time in Yosemite, some they set, some others caused.

Since you will be headed north from Yosemite, somewhere I read there is a shortcut to Lake Tahoe, seems like you take a right turn at Georgetown, CA and end up in Tahoma, which is on 89 about the half way point of Lake Tahoe.

Thanks for the info Charley. But I think I'll skip your shortcut. lol I don't want MP2 going the way of MP1 just yet.

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[canyonslicker]

?

Thanks Jon that would be great if you could. We're not to picky and like to check out different areas. Of course she's a shopoholic but anything from scenic drives, hiking, National/state parks and any cool/different attractions that's in the area.

Bishop is a nice town to walk around with plenty of shops. Bishop creek has great scenery up in the mountains.

 

[SFB]

Thanks Wes. We're not going to camp but will check out the other areas.

Thanks Daniel. We always try and go on a train ride and the old stream trains are the best. The Durango - Silverton is one of our favorites so far and will check this one out if we end up going there. By the looks of it there's quite a bit to do there so I was thinking 5-7 days in Lake Tahoe giving us a day or two to just relax.

All I can say is I’m jealous and have a grand time

 

[Wes Siler]

Thanks Wes. We're not going to camp but will check out the other areas.

Thanks Daniel. We always try and go on a train ride and the old stream trains are the best. The Durango - Silverton is one of our favorites so far and will check this one out if we end up going there. By the looks of it there's quite a bit to do there so I was thinking 5-7 days in Lake Tahoe giving us a day or two to just relax.

My buddy Chris runs E Bike tours in and around the park. Great dude. I'm sure he could provide some accomodation suggestions too.

Edit for link: https://www.yosemiteebiking.com/about

 

[1pt21gw]

Ok...

The Oregon Coast is the BEST on the planet. DON'T EVEN TRY TO ARGUE WITH ME! I grew up in that area and still visit it. You can disappear and blend in Oregon.

I would skip Yosemite, the Village is packed with ID 10 T 's . In Yosemite, everyone is a tourist and doesn't care about the surroundings. The King Sequoias East of Fresno would be better IMHO. The first picture spot coming in to Yosemite might be worth it, but it takes a long time to get back out if you go down into the valley. I would suggest a quick stop at Yosemite, to say you did it, then go to Lake Tahoe. Stop there on your way to the Oregon Coast !!

The Oregon Coast Plan!

- Great ocean views, lots of stops to make, - especially the Tillamook Cheese Factory, get lunch there too!

- Florence to Lincoln City is Sand Dunes
- Newport is cool, Depot Bay is quick sweet stop.
- Cannon Beach for Haystack Rock and Kites
- Seaside is the fun stop - stay the night HERE.
- Astoria and go up the Column - if you are a Goonies fan you'll know this place.

If you are an Aeroplane fan, https://www.evergreenmuseum.org/exhibit/the-spruce-goose/

Avoid Portland, and stay in Sunriver or Bend, OR on the way back south. The people are weird, but you just can't beat Oregon and it Natural Outdoors.

Sorry had to thro my .02 in on this one Dave.

 

[AzScorpion]

Ok...

The Oregon Coast is the BEST on the planet. DON'T EVEN TRY TO ARGUE WITH ME! I grew up in that area and still visit it. You can disappear and blend in Oregon.

I would skip Yosemite, the Village is packed with ID 10 T 's . In Yosemite, everyone is a tourist and doesn't care about the surroundings. The King Sequoias East of Fresno would be better IMHO. The first picture spot coming in to Yosemite might be worth it, but it takes a long time to get back out if you go down into the valley. I would suggest a quick stop at Yosemite, to say you did it, then go to Lake Tahoe. Stop there on your way to the Oregon Coast !!

The Oregon Coast Plan!

- Great ocean views, lots of stops to make, - especially the Tillamook Cheese Factory, get lunch there too!

- Florence to Lincoln City is Sand Dunes
- Newport is cool, Depot Bay is quick sweet stop.
- Cannon Beach for Haystack Rock and Kites
- Seaside is the fun stop - stay the night HERE.
- Astoria and go up the Column - if you are a Goonies fan you'll know this place.

If you are an Aeroplane fan, https://www.evergreenmuseum.org/exhibit/the-spruce-goose/

Avoid Portland, and stay in Sunriver or Bend, OR on the way back south. The people are weird, but you just can't beat Oregon and it Natural Outdoors.

Sorry had to thro my .02 in on this one Dave.

Thanks Jason! I appreciate you throwing your .02 in and it all helps. I'll have to look all these areas over good this weekend and come up with some type of plan. We were hoping Yosemite wouldn't be to crazy the first week of June (most kids are still in school) and make that our first stop. I was also trying not to bounce around as much and stay longer (1 week) at each place if possible. We have a lot of stuff when we're gone for a month and it get tiring taking everything in/out of hotels every 2-3 days but I don't mind doing it for a portion of the trip.

 

[RDJTX]

Thanks Scott. I've always heard a lot about Lake Tahoe but never really looked into it. I saw it that it was only 3.5 hours away from Yosemite on Google Maps which got me thinking of there.

Which area would be best? I see you can go to either the CA or NV side to the north or the south of the lake.

I've heard the Oregon coast was really nice so that might be an option to kill some time too. I'd rather not drive all over like the past 2 years, it gets tiring especially since Annie won't drive my truck in unfamiliar areas.

Stay off of the 5 as much as you can. While Central Oregon is gorgeous, the coast is better. One of the best spots in Yosemite is no longer there. The tree you could drive through suffered catastrophic damage in a storm IIRC. I have a pic of our escape driving through it shortly before it was taken out

 

[thorn726]

We're trying to plan next Junes trip and we're thinking of heading to Yosemite for our first stop. You all have always been helpful with great suggestions especially finding things off the beaten path to do. It looks like there's not a lot of places to stay close by that aren't super expensive and on Airbnb there's several really nice places in Groveland, CA reasonably priced. They all say 30 minutes to the park entrance and another 30 minutes to the main attractions inside.
Is this a decent area to stay in?
What are some of the things we should look into doing while there?
Also, how much time should we allow while there?

I'm trying to limit the amount of places (and driving) this trip so we'd like to start off here on Friday May 31st and I was thinking 2 weeks. Several of the places are on Pine Mountain Lake which gives you access to all the amenities there like the beach, kayaking, etc...

Now after leaving there I need some help planning places to go for the next 3 weeks, we're taking 5 weeks next year. I see Lake Tahoe is North East of Yosemite so would that be a good stop and for how long? We obviously want to be in areas that are cooler (the reason we're getting out of AZ is to escape the heat) I know there are nice areas in Eastern OR and Eastern WA but have no idea where and what there is to do. Or we could spend more time in CA and skip going all the way up to OR & WA if there's enough to do there. I see on Google maps there's a lot of National Forest NW of Lake Tahoe.

We don't want to be on the go all the time but like to checkout National Parks, State parks, scenic drives and any other cool sights in those areas. Annie can only hike so much without having a day (or two) off so that's something we can fill in doing too, besides shopping. ?‍ Help! lol

just got back from one of many many many trips to Yosemite. looks like you got tons of info in the thread but i can not stress this enough : STAY IN THE PARK. having to get up at dawn and drive at least an hour every day to get in before the lines and parking is a real pain. pay whatever it costs and stay in the park. we backpack which is a whole other world but maybe you can get lucky and get a campsite. if you must stay outside the Park, wawona area will be an easier entry to the Park. plan on getting up at 5am to get in and find parking. We went in at 6am last saturday and the lines were already building. exited the east side at 1pm on monday and the in bound line was over an hour long. oh ps: tailgating is a great waste of safety people will slam on their brakes for deer and bears. wildlife runs into the road constantly/ you're probably used to that in AZ//

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