When my husband and I made the decision to go to California in the spring, we knew that Yosemite would be a priority stop. Although we began to look into lodging in the park at the end of last year, we discovered that people book their rooms there a year or years in advance. All the YouTube videos we watched and articles we read told us you have to stay in the park for the best experience. As we discussed our options, one of them was not taking this particular trip now, instead making reservations for the following year if we could.
Mister Rain and I kept researching though and he proposed we stay at Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal, California, located two miles from the park’s Arch Rock Entrance. This particular entrance is the closest to Yosemite Valley where the most well-known elements of the National Park are found. The Yosemite View Lodge, in turn, is the closest place to stay to that entrance. I will admit I was hesitant, my heart was set on a wonderful National Park lodge. But if we wanted to go this year, this was the place.
As we neared Yosemite on a sunny May morning, the scenery changed from the flat farmlands we had passed through the hours before. My husband slowed the car down, “There’s our hotel,” he said. I couldn’t see it very well but I was able to tell it was a large property, nestled in the valley of the surrounding mountains. He picked up speed again; it was too early to check in.
Later that day, we left Yosemite and drove back to Yosemite View Lodge to settle into our room. We were on the second floor, accessible by steps or an elevator. Entering the spacious room, I was pleasantly surprised. Ok, true confession time. I can be a hotel snob. I am a Marriott girl first and foremost, although I have spent many a night in a Holiday Inn Express or Hampton Inn. Marriott is not the Ritz, of course, but it is my hotel chain of choice. The first thing I noticed about the room was the light coming in the sliding doors that opened to a roomy patio right on the Merced River (“Merced River“). Approaching the door I could hear the low hum of the rushing water, opening the door revealed its full power. There was a small kitchen area, a fireplace and a large Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. It was clean – ALWAYS the main priority – the bed was comfy and my presumptions were proven wrong.
The property consists of five three-story buildings with a total of 345 rooms. We didn’t use them but their amenities include several swimming pools, a fire pit and arcade. The building that houses the office and front desk has a gift shop.
The closest town, Mariposa, is 30 miles away, with nothing in between it and the lodge, it is the same in the opposite direction on the way to the park. However, there are two restaurants at the Yosemite View Lodge, the River Restaurant and Parkside Pizza. Both had very good food and the pizza was some of the best I have ever had.
Do not hesitate to stay at this out-of-the-park lodge. It is convenient, inviting, with everything you could possibly need. Might I suggest, though, that you not eat pizza in the Jacuzzi. Melted cheese in the jets is hard to explain to the front desk. Not that I am speaking from experience. Of course I’m not!
For other Yosemite National Park stories, click on the titles below.
What Do Bears Eat?
Sunrise In Yosemite
Yosemite Tunnel Vision
Galen Clark’s Sequoias
El Capitan
Yosemite Valley Chapel
In The Spring Yosemite Falls
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