Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (Fodor's) - Fodor's [24]
Tenaya Lodge.
$$$$ | One of the region’s largest hotels, Tenaya Lodge is ideal for people who enjoy wilderness treks by day but prefer creature comforts at night. The hulking prefab buildings and giant parking lot look out of place in the woods, but inside, the rooms have all the amenities of a modern, full-service hotel. The ample regular rooms are decorated in pleasant earth tones; deluxe rooms have minibars and other extras; suites have balconies. Off-season rates can be as low as $100. The Sierra Restaurant ($$$), with its high ceilings and giant fireplace, serves continental cuisine; the more casual Jackalopes Bar & Grill ($–$$) has burgers, salads, and sandwiches. Pros: rustic setting with modern comforts; good off-season deals; concierge. Cons: so big it can seem impersonal; pricey during summer; few dining options. | 1122 Hwy. 41, Fish Camp, CA 93623 | 559/683–6555 or 888/514–2167 | www.tenayalodge.com | 244 rooms, 6 suites | In-room: refrigerator, Internet, Wi-Fi. In-hotel: 2 restaurants, room service, bar, pool, gym, bicycles, children’s programs (ages 5–12), laundry service, some pets allowed | AE, D, DC, MC, V.
Tioga Lodge.
$–$$ | This lodge, across the highway from the lake, centers around a 19th-century building that has been by turns a store, a saloon, a tollbooth, and a boardinghouse. Surrounding the rustic lodge are modest, attached, weathered-wooden cottages, tucked beneath towering cottonwoods on a grassy hillside. The simple, country-cute rooms have cozy furnishings that—thank heaven—manage not to be tacky. Pros: nine-table Hammond Station Restaurant is quite pleasant. Cons: close to the road. | 54411 U.S. 395, Lee Vining 93541 | 760/647–6423 or 888/647–6423 | www.tiogalodge.com | 13 rooms | In-room: no a/c, no phone, no TV. In-hotel: restaurant, bar, some pets allowed | AE, D, MC, V.
Yosemite View Lodge.
$$$–$$$$ | This clean, thoroughly modern property—just 2 mi outside the park’s Arch Rock entrance on Route 140—is the most convenient place to spend the night if you are unable to secure lodgings in the Valley. All rooms have good views, but the ones with balconies that overlook the Merced River are the best. You have your choice of four pools here, one of which is indoors. The restaurant cooks up an impressive breakfast buffet, and there also is a pizza joint on-site. The lodge’s gift shop and small grocery store are open until 11 PM. Pros: great location; good views; lots of on-site amenities. Cons: can be pricey for what you get. | 11136 Hwy. 140, El Portal 95318 | 209/379–2681 or 888/742–4371 | www.yosemite-motels.com | 279 rooms | In-room: kitchen (some). In-hotel: restaurant, bar, pools, laundry facilities, some pets allowed | MC, V.
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FEATURES
Previous Chapter | Contents | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
FLORA AND FAUNA
Dense stands of incense cedar and Douglas fir—as well as ponderosa, Jeffrey, lodgepole, and sugar pines—cover much of the park, but the stellar standout, quite literally, is the Sequoia sempervirens, the giant sequoia. Sequoias grow only along the west slope of the Sierra Nevada between 4,500 and 7,000 feet in elevation. Starting from a seed the size of a rolled-oat flake, each of these ancient monuments assumes remarkable proportions in adulthood; you can see them in the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. In late May the Valley’s dogwood trees bloom with white, starlike flowers. Wildflowers, such as black-eyed Susan, bull thistle, cow parsnip, lupine, and meadow goldenrod, peak in June in the Valley and in July at higher elevations.
The most visible animals in the park—aside from the omnipresent western gray squirrel—are the mule deer. Though sightings of bighorn sheep are infrequent in the park itself, you can sometimes see them