Brits need advice on Yosemite

[Joyous]

We are a family of 5 from the UK needing some top travel tips!

We are leaving vegas and staying one night in Lone Pine. From there we want to visit the great redwoods and make our way up to Yosemite. We were thinking of staying in mammoth lakes for 2 nights to take in Yosemite but appears ML will be too far from Yosemite and maybe we should be looking to stay around mariposa for 2 nights and visit Yosemite from there.

Any advice greatfully received!

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

When will this trip take place?

The short answer is yes, Mammoth is a poor place to try to use as a base to visit Yosemite, because it is on the wrong side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from the Yosemite Valley.

Mariposa is a much better place to base your trip - although even that is still about a 45 minute drive into the valley - and if you can afford to, staying within the park is an even better choice.

Now, the slightly longer answer is when this trip takes place will also factor into your trip. Tioga Pass, going over the Sierras through Yosemite, is closed seasonally (generally from mid-oct/nov - mid may/june, weather dependent) so that may impact how you have to approach this trip. Also, Mariposa Grove - which is where Giant Sequoia trees are located within Yosemite NP - is currently closed for a restoration project and not scheduled to reopen until sometime in the fall of 2017. If you want to visit "great redwoods" (which I'll assume you mean Sequoias, and not the coastal redwoods of Northern California) this spring or summer, you'll have to look for another spot, which could include Sequoia National Park or a few other places in the Sierras.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Not only is Mammoth Lakes on the wrong side of the mountains to visit Yosemite, Lone Pine is on the wrong side to visit the Giant Sequoia trees as well. You would certainly be better off staying in or around the Mariposa area for Yosemite and Yosemite has it's own grove of Sequoia's you could settle for. If not you would have to go around Lake Isabella into Sequoia NP and then up through Oakhurst to Yosemite. It would actually help if we knew what the rest of your trip looked like and at what time of year it's taking place to make sure all routes are open.

[philbew]

We stayed in the Groveland area, easy access to the park and a nice town. A few good restaurants and take outs in the town. From memory it was 70 mins from Groveland to the park entrance.

If you get the chance drive the Tioga Road (Highway 120) into or out of the park, stunning views.