THE EARNEST TRAVELER
The Wawona Hotel has been closed since December 2, 2024 with no anticipated reopening date, dining room included.
Where you sleep in Yosemite decides how much of the park you actually see, because the only thing that beats the parking problem is already being inside it at six in the morning.
Inside the park
| Option | Season | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| The Ahwahnee | Year-round | The 1927 grand hotel on the Valley floor. The only true luxury tier in the park. |
| Yosemite Valley Lodge | Year-round | A real room on the shuttle line, walking distance to Lower Yosemite Fall. |
| Curry Village | Year-round | Tent cabins, cabins and motel rooms under Glacier Point. |
| Housekeeping Camp | Apr 3 – Oct 12, 2026 | Three-sided concrete shelters with a canvas roof on the Merced. Bed pack rental $15 double / $9 single. |
| Wawona Hotel | Closed | Closed since Dec 2, 2024. No anticipated reopening date. |
| High Sierra Camps | Seasonal | Backcountry camps with beds and meals, reached on foot. Awarded by lottery. |
| 13 campgrounds | Varies | $10–$36. Full table on the Budget page. |
Closed since December 2, 2024, after a roof replacement uncovered the need for a full condition assessment. The concessioner: "At this time, there is no anticipated reopening date." The dining room is closed too. Any guide still listing Wawona as an option is out of date.
Two booking systems, not one
This trips people constantly:
- Hotels and cabins — through the park concessioner at travelyosemite.com. Reservations open 366 days ahead.
- Campgrounds — through Recreation.gov, on entirely different windows: five months for the Valley sites, two weeks for the high country, one week for Camp 4.
On prices
Neither the National Park Service nor the concessioner publishes nightly rates for any in-park property. Pricing is dynamic and only appears once you run a dated availability search. Check the live rate at travelyosemite.com — the only official booking channel — rather than trusting a number in any guide, including this one.
Gateway towns
El Portal, Mariposa, Midpines, Fish Camp, Oakhurst, Groveland
Cheaper than in-park lodging and often the only thing available at short notice. The trade-off is real: you drive in each morning, straight into the entrance queue and the parking problem. El Portal and Fish Camp are closest.
Regional information from Yosemite Mariposa County and Visit Tuolumne County.
The honest recommendation
If you can get anything inside the park — a tent cabin at Curry Village, a Housekeeping Camp shelter, a $36 campsite — take it over a nicer room in a gateway town. Being on the Valley floor before 8 a.m. is the single highest-leverage thing in a Yosemite trip, and no gateway hotel can give you that.
Cold Valley mornings, bear boxes, and early starts.