Yosemite/Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Parks

We stayed in El Portal CA to visit Yosemite, and in Three Rivers CA to visit Sequoia/Kings Canyon. Also did a couple days in/near Santa Cruz to visit the coean. One of our favorite trips to date!

Both NP areas were perfect for visiting the parks! Probably 10-15 minutes max away from the park entrances in both places.

We stayed at the Yosemite Cedar Lodge for Yosemite NP. Nice hotel, a little run down but there are only a few options close to Yosemite, and it worked well for us. I'd suggest getting the family suite w/ balcony. It was great to sit out there in the morning and evening looking right at the mountains! Note : Mariposa CA is about 20-25 minutes away, and has a grocery store and restaurants that are WAAAAAY better priced than anything near Yosemite. There are no grocery stores (the hotel has some groceries but the prices are insane) and only 2 restaurants (at hotels) in El Portal and near Yosemite, and the prices are insane. Do yourself a favor and drive to Mariposa and buy whatever groceries you need, and there are a lot of restaurant options at better prices as well. Also gas is way cheaper in Mariposa than the 1 station btwn El Portal and Yosemite.

We stayed at Comfort Inn & Suites in Three Rivers and loved it. Great pool and hot tub, free hot breakfast, and has quite a few restaurants close. We also went on a "family fun float" whitewater rafting trip while there w/ Mountain Descents are highly recommend that too! You can also rent a house boat on the Lake in Three Rivers, tho we didn't get to do that because they were already all booked.

Yosemite required 2-3 days to see everything and do some hikes, you could do Sequoia and KC in 1 day each if needed, which is what we did.

We then did 2 days in Santa Cruz CA which I HIGHLY recommend as well. There's an amusement park right on the ocean that the kids really enjoyed, as well as the pier and awesome shopping. We stayed in the Watsonville Holiday Inn here, since is way WAY cheaper than staying in Santa Cruz. 15-20 minute drive to Santa Cruz but saved quite a bit. Another very nice and clean hotel.

Best of luck planning, we had a blast!

Jerry -- what did you end up doing/staying?

I am planning for next year!

alesis wrote:
Hey y'all-
I already asked for some input on our big summer trip, but plans have changed with the wife's new job.

We now have about 10 days (late June/early July) and want to visit the parks above. My initial checking seems there isn't really one place to make a home base to day trip to these parks.

We're going to fly and either get cabins/hotel so we have 7 full days to check out the area.

Is there somewhere that's a good base to see at least 2 of the parks as day trips, or better to stay near each for a couple nights?

We're just trying to figure out the best way to visit all 3. Thanks in advance!

I go up several times each year, and generally avoid Jun/Jul/Aug in the valley.

Yosemite will be hot and crowded for those dates, however, due to exceptionally high snow pack this year, the falls will still have some water that late.

My advice, find a place in the valley if possible, for two nights, to minimize the impact of crowds. Ideally a tent cabin or housekeeping camp. If nothing is available, keep checking every day, cancellations do happen.

If you must stay outside the park, plan your day to arrive in the valley by 7am. Park, then walk/shuttle around the whole day.

Do consider a day along Tioga pass, the high country of Yosemite. Cooler and less crowded. Glacier Point is worthwhile as well, but treat it like the valley, arrive there at 7am. Skip the sequoia groves of Yosemite if you are doing Sequoia NP.

San Francisco to Yosemite Valley is a 4 hour trip[each way] by car. Leaves enough time to see a # of things in summer [forget most of the falls] BUT not much time this time of year [good for falls]

We often take day trips to Yosemite from Bakersfield in same time frame [4hrs].

JM2¢ ~~ YMMV

You might think about renting a condo or Air BnB near Fresno. An hour or so commute to Kings and Sequoia a couple hours to Yosemite. Would save a lot on meals etc. We are headed to San Francisco next week and planning a day trip to Yosemite.

So guys, I've been checking and it looks like there aren't many options below $500/night cabin rentals.

I'm looking for a hotel or camper rental, probably one near Yosemite and another near Sequoia. Sound right? Any good options y'all know of?

maddog348 wrote:
If you are flying in (to where??) ~~ Will you be renting a car OR an RV..

JM2¢ ~~ YMMV

Flying into wherever makes sense and renting car. We love camping but its not realistic w/ the short time frame we have. The drive would be about 3 days each way so it doesn't make sense in a 10 day trip.

I grew up in Visalia. If I wanted to get a good feel for Sequoia National Park, I'd stay in Silver City in Mineral King. The drive there kind of stinks because it's very windy and narrow, but it's so beautiful up there. Silver City is a resort "town" with various types of cabins you can rent, from basic hiker's cabins, to "lodge style". https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g143050-d674142-Reviews-Silver_City_Mountain_Resort-Sequoia_and_Kings_Canyon_National_Park_California.html

For Kings Canyon, there are some lodges near Wilsonia and Grant Grove Village, or you can also look up near Hume Lake. Keep in mind Hume Lake is a busy Christian summer camp during the summer though, so while the homes you would rent are private, there's lots of kids running around (I was one of them 25-30 years ago ha ha).

If you want somewhere quiet to just relax, I enjoy Huntington Lake. You can't really get to the tourist destinations from there but it's beautiful and quiet and cool.

As for Yosemite, well, like others have said, it's hot and crowded in the summer, but if you're on a "one in a life time" type of trip, it's worth going. You can stay outside of the park in some of the smaller towns like Oakhurst or Fish Camp to get away from the crowds a bit. Or, if you want to go all out for a night or two, you can stay at The Majestic aka The Ahwahnee Hotel. It's beautiful and historic and right in the middle of it all... but get ready to get out your wallet for that one.

profdant139 wrote:
If you are flying in, and not camping, check out Montecito Sequoia Lodge -- it is in between Kings and Sequoia. Lots to do. But not at all fancy. Very rustic.

If you want fancy, try the Wuksachi Lodge near Sequoia.

Personally, I would avoid Yosemite at that time of year -- hot and crowded. But opinions may differ. Kings/Sequoia is higher and cooler, with great groves of huge trees, great hiking, etc.

^^^^^^ GOOD ADVICE^^^^^^

If you are flying in, and not camping, check out Montecito Sequoia Lodge -- it is in between Kings and Sequoia. Lots to do. But not at all fancy. Very rustic.

If you want fancy, try the Wuksachi Lodge near Sequoia.

Personally, I would avoid Yosemite at that time of year -- hot and crowded. But opinions may differ. Kings/Sequoia is higher and cooler, with great groves of huge trees, great hiking, etc.