Yosemite with toddler

I would appreciate any help with plans for taking a 19 month old to Yosemite. This will be our first trip with the young one. We are physically fit and are up to doing moderate hikes with the kid on our back. We would be driving from San Diego and are looking for a medium priced place to stay and like to do lots of activites and would prefer to minimize the driving but are not insistent on staying in the park. We plan to leave on Wednesday! Please help!

Also, has anyone here used hotel childcare to go rafting for the day?

What about renting bikes with a child seat?

Thanks in advance!

Yosemite with toddler

Wow lodging for this Wednesday may be hard to come by but you won%26#39;t know until you try:

www.yosemitepark.com

You can get a bike with a trailer for the 19 mo:

yosemitepark.com/Activities_Biking_BikeRenta鈥?/a>

You may want to hike to Vernal Falls bridge. With a backpack full of baby I don%26#39;t know if I%26#39;d suggest the Mist Trialportion after the bridge since this time of year it is slippery. Trail head is at Happy Isles (shuttle stop #16)

You can also easily hike to Mirror Lake. Here%26#39;s a link to a description of hikes at Yosemite:

nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/valleyhikes.htm

Yosemite with toddler

I don%26#39;t know if you already found your lodging,but Yosemite Lodge at the Falls (which also rents bikes) has a room open for at least Wednesday. This would put you in Yosemite Valley, which is convenient for a lot of sightseeing...and helps to minimize some driving. Make your lodging reservations asap whatever you decide to do.

Alternatively, Cedar Lodge in El Portal has openings. This is a little more than 30 minutes to the central part of Yosemite Valley. I don%26#39;t know how long you%26#39;re staying, but you might consider one night at the south end of the park where you%26#39;ll be coming in (wawona or fish camp area), and then one night in the valley or west of the park.

Not sure if you were thinking about rafting in Yosemite Valley, but Yosemite Valley rafting (floating) won%26#39;t be running this time of year. The more serious white water rafting outside the park will be going on.

Have fun whatever you do.

Wow! Thanks for the help so far. I love this forum.

I just reserved:

5/8 Yo Lodge at the Falls

5/9-10 Yo View Lodge in El Portal

How did I do? I hope I made the right decision since the cancellation fees are steep.

I have no confirmed activites planned yet and I guess I%26#39;ll work on that next...

That%26#39;s great you got reservations!! You%26#39;ll be minimizing your driving time.

Oh, and if you decide you want to try out the more serious white water rafting near the Park (sans toddler=)), here%26#39;s one of the local companies. The trips start very close to where you%26#39;ll be staying the last couple of nights.

http://www.zrafting.com/rivers/merced.htm

Have a great trip!

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