Planning for this trip began Fall of ’23, knowing that accommodations in the National Parks often require booking a year in advance. Early in the process we learned that Yosemite does not allow pets in any of the hotels inside the park – for the safety of the pets. Many pet owners chose to board their pets outside the park during their stay but that wasn’t an option that we were interested in. That meant we needed to choose a hotel near either the western or the southern entrance to the park. For when to go, we selected late May in the hopes that most of the roads would be open by then as many of them are closed for the winter while the waterfalls from the snow melt were still flowing strong. On our arrival, the valley and access roads were open, Glacier point road opened the week before our arrival and only the Tioga road was still closed. Important to note that between April 13 and June 30 no reservation is required to enter the Park between 5 AM and 4 PM on weekdays, and from July 1 to August 16 reservations are required daily.
For this trip the best option was the southern entrance and we chose the Best Western Plus Yosemite Gateway Inn in Oakhurst – about twenty minutes south of the entrance, The Best Western is a pet friendly hotel with a nice restaurant right on the property and had nice rooms with plenty of space and exterior access for ease of loading and unloading gear.
We chose the northern route traveling on Rt 80 all the way to Sacremento and then South to Oakhurst. There’s no direct route across the Sierra Nevada mountains as you’ll see further on. The trip was 44 hours and we broke it up into six days and five nights to get there.
We packed most of the gear the night before except for the precious cargo - the kitties and the camera gear - and at 5AM we were ready to roll. From previous road trips we learned to pack two separate small bags; one for the “overnights” containing jammies, a sweater for the early morning and toiletries, and one with shoes to keep in the car for hiking and other terrain changes.
With the third seat removed the “Jet” - as we affectionately call our 2011 Suburban which I completely refurbished a few years back - holds everything we need for the longer road trips while still leaving visibility out the back window.
The trip out was fairly uneventful, the farms – many of them owned by the Amish and Mennonites- were beautiful in the morning light.
Sunrise behind us in the rear view mirror.
During the planning process, we were pleased to find that Red Roof Inns checked the boxes for exterior access, pet friendly, and allows kitties. They’re only available east of the Mississippi but that was good for our first two stops.
We arrived at the Red Roof Inn Toledo and although Trip Advisor listed as a “good place to stay overnight” our experience was different.
The room was dirty, the bedspreads had holes in them, fixtures were hanging out of the walls by the wires, and refrigerator’s freezer section was literally a big block of dirty ice….you get the picture. We were tired and just wanted to rest so I called for some takeout Pizza from a little place nearby and we called it a night.
The next day however I changed the reservation for DesMoines to the Hampton INN.
We ran into some weather as we went through Ohio, Illinois and Indiana and with all the news of Tornadoes lately and this being prime Tornado season we were on watch as we headed across.
Before too long we were headed into some of the storms. They look serious on a weather map and even more so in person.
As we progressed, we found ourselves in the thick of it but fortunately not for very long and and no Tornadoes to deal with.
Ohio, Illinois and Indiana were somewhat unremarkable from a scenic viewpoint and our next stop was DesMoines Iowa. The boys were amazing travelers resting quietly in their Kennel on this and all the legs of the journey. They were happy though to settle in to a nice room on their second night
This western leg took us across western Iowa, Nebraska and on to our next stop – Laramie Wyoming. Through Iowa and Nebraska the number of giant wind turbines was a surprise. There’s something majestic and calming about these sentinels in the fields. Despite all the negatives from the red states – they sure don’t mind them as much as they’d have you believe. Despite a thorough search we could not locate the eagle graveyards so widely reported.
Following the disappointment with Red Roof Inn in Toledo, we were apprehensive about Motel 8 Laramie but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. What a great little Hotel and bonus – the Mexican restaurant across the parking lot Corona Village was excellent! This is apparently the ultimate pet friendly hotel in and around Laramie – there must have been 20 dog owners in our section of the hotel.
From Laramie you drive across the prairies and hills of Western Wyoming, and the foothills of the Wasatch mountains of Utah.
Down from the Wasatch into Nevada and across the Salt Flats to our next stop – Elko Nevada and Thunderbird Hotel. This is a boutique hotel and a not so great part of town but the room was clean, and the owner was very attentive.
Bird on a wire outside my hotel room, but he ain’t singin……….🎵
From there it was into the Sierra Nevadas and the our next stop – the Best Western Golden Key in Auburn. The elevation as you pass through the mountains and Donner’s Pass gets up to around 8,000 ft, and this was the only time the boys complained as we suspect their ears were popping like ours. The hotel was excellent, the staff were great and friendly, and we ventured down to the Black Bear diner for some excellent takeout.
We headed out early the next morning for Yosemite and the Best Western Plus Yosemite Gateway Inn in Oakhurst. This is another excellent, pet friendly hotel with good access to the park and an excellent restaurant right on site.
Since this was our first trip to Yosemite and despite a lot of research, videos, books, and maps we didn’t have a good idea of the terrain and the time to get into the park. Google Maps lists it as 20 minutes to the entrance and 45 minutes from the entrance to tunnel view – the first stop in the Park. Since in order to be in the Park for a 05:30 sunrise It means you’re heading out at 04:00 in the dark on unfamiliar roads, the actual drive time is more like 90 minutes. The park is located in a Valley surrounded by the Sierra foothills to the west and south and the Sierra mountains in the east, so getting there requires a long climb up and then a descent into the valley.
Once down the other side, you pass through the valley Tunnel and open up to “Tunnel View”.
From there as you travel through the park this amazing place opens up with wonders at every turn.
Click here to See the Yosemite 2024 Gallery
There were two “moderate” (if you’re 22 years old with 3% body fat) that we wanted to tackle on this trip, the “Mist Trail” up to Vernal Falls with the return trip on the John Muir trail past “Clark Point” , and the hike to Artists Point. With the falls flowing at full volume, the Mist Trail hike was everything it was reported to be (or warned about). The 900 + narrow steps carved into the granite walls on the way up are not for the faint of heart, but worth every hard fought step.
The reason it's called the Mist Trail, with my intrepid bride climbing the steps ahead.
At the end of the Mist Trail you can travel back down the steps to the starting point or take the John Muir trail up and over the hill and back down the other side, we chose the latter passing through Clark Point - a pretty amazing sight on its own.
Next we tackled Artists Point, another “moderate” trail but this time we brought the trekking poles which we had bought specifically for these hikes but due to misplacing the rubber tips, didn’t use on the Mist Trail hike - big mistake!
The view from Artists point is similar to the tunnel view but but from 400 ft higher elevation and we were there by ourselves… a real treat in a busy park.
Part of the plan for this hike was to reproduce an image that was part of our 30th anniversary gifts so I had brought along a tripod and remote release. The result…..
*Note: No kitties were harmed in the filming of this image, they were resting safely back at the hotel and only their photos were used in post production.
“Jet” waiting for us after the hike.
Our last stop before heading home was Glacier Point. The road had just opened the week before our arrival and we were glad to be able to take advantage.
There was a good deal of snow along the roadside on the approximately 45 minute trip to the point and a short walk to the view….again well worth the trip.
We spent four days in the park and could have easily doubled that but we headed for home on Sunday morning, this time taking the southern route through Fresno, Bakersfield, Las Vegas and on to our first stop – Provo Utah.
Since the boys had done so well on the trip out we did the marathon approach on the trip home and cut the trip down to three nights and four days arriving back home on Wednesday.