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Hey_cool_username t1_j8kdkgl wrote

Note that reservations are required to enter Yosemite Valley right now to deal with the crowds during this event. This is only the case for a few weeks a year when the sun is in just the right spot to get this picture. You can typically enter without reservations.

Edit: seems reservations are only required Fr-Sun for the next 2 weekends in Feb.

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rbrutonIII t1_j8knm5i wrote

Only the weekends. Weekdays are still fine afaik. Yosemite is the best on a Tuesday.

It's still crazy that so many people show up for this. Every time I've stayed in the valley in winter it feels like it's just me, the rangers, and the quintessential random old man with the RV. Then I go in summer and it feels like I'm at the mall right when school ends.

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OkMeringue2249 t1_j8ksyop wrote

Where do you like to stay in the valley?

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rbrutonIII t1_j8l3rhn wrote

Depends more on who I'm with and what I want to do than anything else.

If you have multiple families - housekeeping all the way. Otherwise the back of North pines is great for camping. If that's not your vibe the lodge is probably the best.

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jopeters4 t1_j8la6g4 wrote

This comment makes it sound like you can easily get permits to camp in the valley during winter. Is that true? I've never been to Yosemite but it's on my bucket list...and after doing some reading I've just been conditioned to believe it's a pain in the ass unless you're planning 6 months out. It's a bit intimidating trying to figure out the logistics.

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rbrutonIII t1_j8lj3ak wrote

Yeah, I haven't gone up in the winter the past few years, but it is night and day from Yosemite in the summer. Apart from a situation like this, there's no big crowds to fight. But, half the "amenities" are closed, and it's cold af.

Even in the summer, there's walk-in camping you can get day of. It'll be crowded but you'll be able to throw a tent down somewhere. There are motels and hotels littered up and down the highway before you get into Yosemite as well. Getting the spot you want in the middle of summer might take 6 months, but don't let that keep you away.

I just checked and you can get a campsite for next month in lower pines

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BraxJohnson t1_j8lqiku wrote

I had to book my campsite a month and a half in advance

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mulrats412 t1_j8l8an4 wrote

Happy to see this comment. Ill be going on Tuesday now. Not a camera person so hopefully it's cool with the naked eye.

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rbrutonIII t1_j8ljrw8 wrote

Take lots of pictures, not just of the landscape but of yourself there. They have a way of turning into your favorite photos

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Thnik t1_j8kwifv wrote

Even with reservations it might take a while to get in. I was at Yosemite right after Christmas for a few days and when I was leaving at 1pm on a Wednesday there was a massive line of cars about 10 miles long trying to get into the park through the south entrance. There was no way even half of them were going to get in before dark. It was the one nice sunny day between storms and the main entrance to the valley had been closed by a rock slide.

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trophylies t1_j8kyt4n wrote

You need a reservation to go to Yosemite if you go after the park "opens." If you plan on getting there before then you're good, but otherwise, you have to get a 2 or 3-day (I think) pass. Had to do it last year.

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imnotsoho t1_j8ldd7a wrote

Last couple of years they have run reservations much of the summer. Always best to check recreation.gov

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