Staying outside the park - eastern side

Unable to get any accommodation inside the park (obviously left it far too late) - we will be approaching Yosemite from Las Vegas direction, so has anyone any advice on where to stay please that doesn%26#39;t involve too much driving in and out of the park each day. We are planning to be there end of July,beginning of August. Thanks.

Staying outside the park - eastern side

You can stay in Lee Vining for your first night and then explore the north and eastern part of the park but keep trying for a place in the park. There are always cancellations. Check everyday

www.yosemitepark.com

If not the valley itself then on subsequent nights try El Portal which is only about 30 minutes to the valley from the west entrance.

Staying outside the park - eastern side

Thanks for both suggestions. Will investigate.

Good morning Polo,

Suzie is right about your first night in Lee Vining, that will make for a convenient start for your next day. You probably don%26#39;t want to stay there for subsequent nights as that distance is fairly far for a daily communte. El Portal, Groveland, and Fish Camp are the closest Gateway towns from the other three entrances, ranging from the shortest, El Portal to an hour-ish for the other two entrances.

Have a wonderful visit

Be sure to make a reservation in Lee Vining. We%26#39;ve been there at the visitor center (run by the Mono Lake Committee) in early evening (August) as the staff called around trying to find lodging for tourists who arrived without reservations. Lee Vining was completely booked up, as was the June Lake area. People were looking at driving up to Bridgeport to find a room, or back to Mammoth Lakes.

Lee Vining is the place to stay, and as others said, it gets busy because it is right at the east end of the Tioga Pass Road.

When you stay there, you have the wonderful opportunity for leisurely exploring of Mono Lake. This is a unique natural wonder--not just any old lake. The best places to get up close to the lake and the tufa (mineral formations) are Navy Beach (Hwy 120 east from 395 a few miles south of town, and a few miles to a turnoff on the left) and County Park (Cemetery Road turnoff from Hwy 395 north of town).

Lee Vining has maybe a dozen motels. I have stayed in several and they are pretty ordinary, not much to either rave or rant about. There is also the Tioga Lodge north of town on 395 (a historic inn with cottages and rooms all individually furnished) and Tioga Pass Resort (in the mountains just east of Tioga summit).

http://www.tiogalodgeatmonolake.com/

http://www.tiogapassresort.com/index.html

Aside from the quality of the accommodations themselves, the best views in town are from the Yosemite Gateway Motel on the east side of 395, All rooms have windows facing out over the lake and some have decks; the motel also has an outdoor hot tub.

Frisco Roadrunner--- do you know if Tioga Pass Resort will be open this summer? I know they were closed for the winter, and the website gives no indication of re-opening. The summer information was last updated in 2006.

If they are open, Polodriver, that is as close as you can get to the eastern park entrance. It might be worth sending an e-mail to ask. In the summer, we prefer staying up in that area (Tuolumne) to staying in the Valley. It is a lovely 90-minute drive down to the Valley from Tuolumne.

If you end up in Lee Vining, be sure to eat at the Whoa Nellie Deli; it%26#39;s in the gas station at the 395/120 intersection. Some awesome food, probably the best you%26#39;ll ever eat at a gas station!

I sent an e-mail to the Tioga Pass Lodge to see if they will be open, when summer hours start, and what the rates are now. I%26#39;ll let you know when and if I get a reply.

The Whoa Nellie Deli is not only the best ';gas station food'; you%26#39;ll ever find; it would also put many restaurants in San Francisco or Los Angeles to shame.

www.thesierraweb.com/tiogagasmart/deli.html

You can enjoy your gourmet lunch outside in the picnic area which has a stupendous view of Mono Lake.

There is also a gift shop that is way above the average gas station assortment of key chains, thermal cup holders, and caps or shirts with dumb slogan above the place you%26#39;re visiting. I don%26#39;t know if this is still the case, but they used to have community activities, things like music in the evenings or knitting classes.

They still have music twice a week in the Summer. I%26#39;ve already had dinner there a couple times since the re-opened a week ago.