Class A camping at Yosemite

Yes I agree. I think march april may is the time to visit. Lesson learned. Oh well.

Cousin_Eddy wrote:
Update: We went to yosemite, stayed at crane flat. I dont think a 33 ft rv is a good idea unless you can get in to upper or lower pines campground in yosemite village. We went down each morning about 7 am. No problem parking in the visitor lots. But let me tell you, there is only room for naybe 10 motorhomes. If you dont get there early, you are screwed. The area is congested, and full of idiot california drivers. For example, to get out of the unpaved parking area, had to manuver thru the lot, with people parking anywhere they can. Missed a car by 1/4 inch, trying to squeek thru, then had to back up, for a two point turn, cant, cause the car behind you is right on your tail. You back up, they start laying on their horn. You back up anyway within inches of causing damage before they back up so you can complete your turn.

I checked my break pads on the left front before the trip. Lots of pad. No problem. Going from crane flat to the valley and the rest of the trip is tough on the brakes. The right front pads were metal to metal by the time we got to Merced on the way out. Had to replace the pads in a Koa.

So, what i am saying is, leave the motorhome at home. Bring your car, stay at a lodge. Also, dont bring your dog. Yosemite is dog unfriendly. It will have to be a service dog if you want to show its face.

Shuttle service? You wait for a bus for 20 min, when the bus shows up, people appear from no where, force their way on, and you are stuck waiting for the next one.

Bring your car, dont stay in a campground, dont bring your dog. Dont ride the shuttles. Go im off season. Its really beautiful. Too many people. Good luck
.

One issue here is that you went during peak tourist season. The bus system is great if you arrive earlier I. The season.

No room for a TOAD if you are staying at Crane Flat. It is barely possible to manuver the RV around without a towed vehicle, that goes for anywhere in the park. And, if you are staying in the valley, you dont really need a TOAD, because the shuttles come to your campground.

We were having lunch in the RV in visitor parking. This family pulled in, they were driving a dodge 3/4 ton crew cab, towing a 25ish foot Sandstorm toy hauler. They pulled in and got stuck. Not stuck in the mud, but they couldnt back up, couldnt go forward. They clogged the parking area. A tow truck came in and dragged it around to open up the exit. We later saw the dodge being towed out of the park, followed by his trailer behind another tow truck. What a disaster. And there is no way to know. You follow the signs that say visitor parking, so you go. You dont know that once you enter, you are never getting out. So, bring a TOAD only if you have a site in the valley, and you dont want to ride the shuttles.

Next time bring a towed vehicle to do your siteseeing.

And one more thing, its great that they allow RVs and travel trailers at Crane Flat. Mighty nice of them. But you will be hard pressed to find a single site within 20 degrees of level. I walked the whole camping area. There were maybe 5 or six sites you could park at where you were level enough for the fridge to work. Just saying. Also, lots of pesky flies. There was 10 feet between our picinic table and the adjacent site. And they stole our firewood. But, it was a beatiful campground. Huge trees. So you got that going for ya. There is a gas station across the street. $4.37 per gallon. Burned over $100 going back and forth to the village. There is a bus that picks up and returns once a day, but its useless. Picks up like at 10 am. Returns at like 2. Its good to be informed!

Update: We went to yosemite, stayed at crane flat. I dont think a 33 ft rv is a good idea unless you can get in to upper or lower pines campground in yosemite village. We went down each morning about 7 am. No problem parking in the visitor lots. But let me tell you, there is only room for naybe 10 motorhomes. If you dont get there early, you are screwed. The area is congested, and full of idiot california drivers. For example, to get out of the unpaved parking area, had to manuver thru the lot, with people parking anywhere they can. Missed a car by 1/4 inch, trying to squeek thru, then had to back up, for a two point turn, cant, cause the car behind you is right on your tail. You back up, they start laying on their horn. You back up anyway within inches of causing damage before they back up so you can complete your turn.

I checked my break pads on the left front before the trip. Lots of pad. No problem. Going from crane flat to the valley and the rest of the trip is tough on the brakes. The right front pads were metal to metal by the time we got to Merced on the way out. Had to replace the pads in a Koa.

So, what i am saying is, leave the motorhome at home. Bring your car, stay at a lodge. Also, dont bring your dog. Yosemite is dog unfriendly. It will have to be a service dog if you want to show its face.

Shuttle service? You wait for a bus for 20 min, when the bus shows up, people appear from no where, force their way on, and you are stuck waiting for the next one.

Bring your car, dont stay in a campground, dont bring your dog. Dont ride the shuttles. Go im off season. Its really beautiful. Too many people. Good luck
.

Thanks yall! This is very useful information that you cant seem to get anywhere else! It is much appreciated.

50cc scooters would be a good choice for those roads. I think most speed limits were 45 mph which is about max speed for those scooters. They would also allow u to do day trips to other great sites like Hetch-Hetchy reservoir.

We camped in Mariposa and drove into the park to visit the valley from there. It was a week day I think. We got up at 6 am and drove in, very little traffic. Parked near the village and there was plenty of parking at that hour as its for day use only. Got there at 7 am, picked up some coffee and goodies from a village shop and then woke up the kids. We used the shuttle for the rest of the day and drove out at about 7 pm that night.

Worked out well for us.

Do you think those Vespa scooters would be good to run back and forth from Crane Flat to Yosemite village and other places in the park?