charles_twiss1 Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 I'm hoping to travel to Yosemite from UK. Does anyone know any good RV rental firms, the best time of year to visit, is a fortnight long enough in Yosemite and are there any restrictions on where you camp. Any other useful info would be a bonus. Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_lofquist Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 A fortnight might be too long for the tourist, but too short for the serious photographer. Rather than expound on my personal thoughts on this glorious valley, I would suggest the following books, some of which may be purchased at the park headquarters bookstore, should you not be able to acquire them while still in the UK. "PhotoSecrets Yosemite" by Andrew Hudson. I think that this is the single most important book for the first-time photographer there. More info at http://www.photosecrets.com. "Yosemite, the Official National Park Handbook". IBSN 0-912627-37-9.Lots of general information on camping and hiking. It may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents,U.S. Govwernment Printing Office,Washington, DC 20402 National Geographic has a "Destination Map of Yosemite National Park" showing access roads and trails. It is on durable plastic, just right for planning your treks. Go to www.nationalgeographic.com. There are many other good vademecums, but these are the most portable and value for the buck. (Or should I say Quid?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freehueco Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 The best time to go is right now.. I'm going up in the morning( assuming the roads are clear). Failing that, spring is pretty kicking in The Valley. Try to go before Easter, since that is when the crowds start to pick up. The waterfalls will be in full gear, and the weather will be the most consistently nice( although a little rainy at times). Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_gillette Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 Any time of the year is good. Not during the summer would be my recommendation. Camping is a political football (the American pointy kind that bounces funny) because of competing interests that want to tell the government how to manage this American treasure. RV camping would be restricted to established campsites. Except for the heaviest spring flow periods, usually late May where there may be restrictions due to flooding and then the rest of summer through labor Day, I'd expect valley RV camping would be possible without advanced reservations except for the Christmas and Easter vacation periods. With an RV, you should easily be able to camp outside the valley in campgrounds any time of the year. Budget and weather conditions can reduce the number of options but I doubt that you would be closed out entirely. Weekends may be a problem all year but once you are ensconced, I doubt it would be a problem (but you need to verify with the Park, I don't live close enough to do weekends there so only plan longer outings anyways). Significant chunks of the high country are closed to vehicle travel during the winter and that extends perhaps to late spring and maybe early summer depending on snow fall. Basically you can't get over Tioga Pass so all of the high country, Tuolumne Meadows, etc. is not available. However, the sequoia groves and much of the rest of the west side from Wawona to the Valley, the whole valley and out the Merced Canyon, etc. is open all year. Fall can be colorful and still get access to the high country. Spring is wet but combines varying weather, snow, rain and clear days for some beautiful times. Late spring is usually best for the waterfalls. Summer is usually very crowded in the popular road accessible areas but after Tioga opens, it's not that difficult to escape the crowds except in the main valley areas. Winter and early spring may have some weather related travel restrictions, chain requirements and added closures but those usually aren't too long lasting. Two weeks may not be long enough depending on your desires and activity levels. But it's likely to allow you enough time to see everything and spend a lot of time in your favorite spots. I don't claim them to be great but have some shots from last spring, the week after Easter. We missed snow in the valley by chance due to our schedule and couldn't plan for it to always snow at any given time of the winter, the valley is relatively low. It was cold and wet but spectacularly beautiful anyways. http://www.pbase.com/gillettecraig/apr03yosemite The wildflowers are from the Gorman area near Los Angeles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_henderson Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 Look, I know it'll be considered heresy to say anything remotely derogatory about Yosemite, but in my view two weeks is unnecessarily long for a first visit. Sure, it's better when you can get to access the higher country (though these times of year bring more crowds) but still there are locations not far away that would to me at least carry more interest than a second week in Yosemite unless I had a very specific objective there. Mono Lake, Bodie, Kings Canyon/Sequoia, or even Death Valley if you flew into Las Vegas instead of SF. Most of the great shots in Yosemite are very dependent on weather conditions, and the opportunities don't come along every day . People choose to live there, or dedicate their entire photographic efforts to Yosemite, in order to be there when those opportunities occur. At any time of the year you could spend a couple of weeks there without getting the opportunity to produce a masterpiece, and there's no magic formula to tell you when the snow's going to come etc. My own view would be either to go in winter for maybe a week tops, recoginising that you're pretty much restricted to the lower elevations and hoping for snow, or if not then hard frosts and/or evocative mists. Or to visit after the Tioga/ Glacier Point are open for a little longer- seeing more but accepting that there'll be more people too. That also opens up coming in from the east from LV and incorporating some of the locations mentioned above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charles_twiss1 Posted December 27, 2003 Author Share Posted December 27, 2003 MANY THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME AND TROUBLE TO RESPOND. GREAT ADVICE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freehueco Posted December 29, 2003 Share Posted December 29, 2003 I've spent many long vacations in Yosemite, and I've never regretted any of them. My longest trip was 3 weeks over Christmas and New Years, two years ago. It was amazing. Of course, I also climb, so I wasn't only there to make pictures.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charles_stobbs2 Posted January 2, 2004 Share Posted January 2, 2004 My wife and I went several years ago and my main memory is a few minutes of wonderful scenery mixed with hours of driving bumper to bumper on narrow winding roads. Better planning might have allowed us to avoid this problem. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freehueco Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 Charles, TO avoid that problem, go between October and April. The summer is overcrowded there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the lone ranger Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 WHen the valley is snowed in, that's the coolest time. Not only are the big sights still there, there are many "smaller" pictures to be taken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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