This first map shows the Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Valley, main building on the left, in relation to the location of the cottages out on the grounds on the right, (swimming pool highlighted in light blue)
24 cottages (bungalows / cabins) are in eight one-story buildings out on the grounds of the hotel, a short or long walk out in the weather accessed by a wide paved pathway over a small bridge over seasonal Royal Arch creek, shown below after one night of heavy snow fall:
and here in July (after many trees were removed to restore views)
In the photo below, the Ahwahnee hotel main building is in the upper left, the cottages are in the wooded area to the right of the main building. The Ahwahnee Bridge crosses the Merced River near the center and Sugarpine Bridge is to the right. The road over these two bridges is now a pedestrians/bikes only route to Mirror Lake / meadow. (It will have occasional park service vehicles).
The main Ahwahnee Hotel six-story building is off to the left (west) side
and the river is off to the right (east) side
of this map of the 8 cottage buildings:
(Originally the Yosemite Park and Curry Company intended to build up to 300 cottage units.)
Bedrooms in the Ahwahnee cottages are various sizes & square footages, including:
16’8” x 15’3”
17’9” x 12’8”
15’5” x 13’8”
and much larger in the “featured” cottages 24’ x 17’
Floor plan drawings below are from the Yosemite National Park webpage document:
Ahwahnee Hotel Cottages, Yosemite Valley, California
bathroom renovations construction documents, December 1, 2006
With advance reservations, and a request to be next to each other,
Ahwahnee cottage rooms with adjoining doors can be booked together.
Two of the Classic Cottages are ADA, with roll-in showers,
see 3D tour of 702.
There are ten classic cottage rooms in five duplex buildings, shown below with the door in red that can be opened to connect 2 adjoining rooms:
700 and 701, 702 and 703, 704 and 705, 706 and 707, 708 and 709.
Adjacent to the bathroom there is a space with a dressing table / mirror (and to the right of it, a closet):
seen in the top of this bathroom floor plan:
The area next to the connecting doorway (between the bath area and the dressing table / closet area) has enough room for your bikes:
In the center of the two five-plex buildings are featured rooms (D below), with four classic cottage rooms, shown below with the doors in red that can be opened to connect some or all of the adjoining rooms:
The one 4-plex building has standard cottage rooms, smaller than other Ahwahnee rooms, shown below with the door in red that can be opened to connect two of them:
Most of the Ahwhahnee cottages bedrooms with a king bed (some have two double beds) look like this:
In 1940 they looked like this:
Bathrooms in the main building look mostly like this, with the shower over tub, sink and toilet in the same room:
such as rooms 110, 109, 108 on the mezzanine level in the main building:
Standard cottage bathrooms 720 and 722 also have the shower over tub, sink and toilet in the same room, but with simpler decor:
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Here, the floor plan for standard cottages 723 on the left and 721 on the right
Note at the upper left and upper right corners of the floor plan above,
small closets that were originally built-in bookcases.
The bookshelves were removed and a pole to hang clothes was added.
The closet interior is 2’ 1” wide x 12 inches deep. The wood hangers supplied by the hotel are are 17 inches long and they do not fit well in the closet.
Here, the sink area in cottages 721 and 723, with the shower-over-tub and toilet area separate:
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Other cottage bathrooms have more spacious floor plans.
Featured rooms 714 and 719 have no tub, but a very large shower:
and this style of sink in a small separate space across from the large closet:
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Accessible rooms have widened doors, grab bars in the bathroom, raised toilet seats, low density carpet. Five have a roll-in shower: main building 116, 206 and 421, cottages 702 and 703.
Here is a photo of an ADA cottage bathroom with a roll-in shower:
Other accessible rooms, with grab bar tubs but no roll-in shower, are 106, 219, 346, 507, 607. Here is the floor plan for the 2 ADA cottage bathrooms:
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Some of the cottage rooms have a second sink in a separate space from the shower-over-tub, sink and toilet,
across from a large closet space:
Cottage rooms 710, 711, 717 & 718:
Cottage rooms 712, 713, 715 & 716:
All the sinks are deep enough to fill a water bottle:
Four rooms, #710, 711, 717 and 718 in the H shaped 5 plex buildings have an alcove between the bedroom and the bathroom with a bed you can fit a child on, and a door between the bedroom and alcove for privacy.
The door on the right hand wall in the photo above is one that can connect to the featured cottage room.
If you decide to get one of these rooms to be able to park your bike(s) in the alcove, housekeeping would appreciate it if you bring some sort of large towel for under the bikes for the inevitably muddy tires.
(And again, please note, advanced reservations and a request to be next to each other are required for rooms to be connected and can not always be guaranteed.)
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Ahwahnee cottage room 710 had a tree growing next to it that was not cut down until years after it grew into the roof line:
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The two Ahwahnee Featured Cottages are among the largest rooms in the hotel, with open-beam ceilings with “hand chamfered exposed wooden trusses” and each has a stone-faced fireplace:
A handout people get when checking in to the Ahwahnee Hotel has said: “Fireplace Activity
Due to regulations set in place by NPS regarding wood fires in Yosemite National Park, the use of fireplaces in rooms is not allowed between May through September. . . “
Ahwahnee featured cottage room #714 (with a fireplace, and large shower but no tub), has a generous sized patio with a view through the trees up towards Glacier Point. ( See a 3D tour of 714.) In the photos below 714 is in the center, a corner window of Classic cottage 711 is on the left and a corner window of Classic cottage 713 is on the right:
The other featured cottage is room #719 (with a fireplace, and large shower but no tub). The generous sized patio looks out at the forest (the window on the left below is room 718. It and 716 have corner windows that look out at the forest and the patio for 719.
Some featured cottage guests decorate for the holidays:
(In June 2016 President Barack Obama and family stayed in the 715, 716, 717, 718 & 719 cottages. The hotel removed the bed from 719 and the room was re-furnished into a dining room. See a video of Obama’s Yosemite visit.)
Originally Ahwahnee rooms 714 and 719 were living rooms shared by the four bedrooms in the building. A description said: “The fourplex cottages with central living rooms are arranged in an H-shaped floor plan with two rectangular guest rooms (approximately 17’-8” x 24’-6”) on each end and a rectangular living room (approximately 34’ x 17’-9”) in the center… Originally, the central living room connected to a small kitchen; however this was converted into a bathroom when the living rooms were remodeled into guest rooms. . . The two central living room spaces (Rooms #714 and #719) have slightly different doorway configurations. On the front façade, three wide sets of doors extend the full length of the space and open onto a partially enclosed patio. In Room #719, these consist of three sets of French doors that are each glazed with four lites. In Room #714, two sets of French doors flank a single central wood door that has one lite in its upper half and a wood panel below. The central door is flanked by a pair of sidelights with four divided lites each . . . In the central living room, the stone fireplace stands at the center of the rear wall. The fireplace is constructed of irregularly coursed, rough-cut granite, and has a wood mantel that is painted black. The two fireplace doors are constructed of black metal screen surrounded by metal frames accented with flower and swirl designs at the corners. The hearth extends into the room beyond the front façade of the fireplace surround, and is comprised of large slabs of slate. . .”
“These cottages, designed by architect Eldridge “Ted” Spencer in 1928, . . . comprise an integral part of the Ahwahnee Hotel’s historical and architectural significance. The inclusion of cottages (commonly referred to at the time as “bungalows”) in the Ahwahnee Hotel Complex was an essential component of the plan for the hotel to function as a resort hotel for wealthy visitors to Yosemite National Park. . . Differing considerably from the monumental rustic style of the main hotel building, the cottages are also significant for their embodiment of a combination of architectural styles, blending elements of California Bungalow, Colonial Revival, Rustic, and Transitional/Early Ranch styles in a fusion of traditional and modern architectural designs . . . In designing the cottages, Spencer incorporated several aspects of the California Bungalow style, including sleeping porches . . . an architectural phenomenon that emphasized outdoor living and the health benefits of fresh air.”
Originally rooms 721 and 720 were one unit, 723 and 722 were a second unit. The rooms that are now 721 and 723 were sleeping porches (in the upper corners of the floorplan below), attached to bedrooms that are now rooms 720 and 723. When this building was remodeled into four “Standard” units, they became some of the smallest rooms at the Ahwahnee. Two of them have almost no closet space.
The original building was only two units and had only 2 patios, originally private, now shared.
720 shares a patio with 721.
722 shares a patio with 723, shown in the photo below:
The rest of the Ahwahnee Classic and Featured cottages have their own patios.
Most Yosemite Lodge ground floor rooms have their own individual patios, but not all do.
Each patio usually comes with a table and two chairs. Many guest bring extra chairs (and or playpen, Pack ‘n Play):
There is occasionally water flow, referred to on some maps as an “unnamed seasonal tributary,” at the back of the cottages:
To get to the river from the main building or the cottages,
use the lower loop in this map below rather than the upper loop:
as the lower path has a much more scenic ending:
and the upper path goes out to trailer storage and heavy equipment parking:
(The occupants of cottage 707 would appreciate it if you do not cut across their patio.)
At any of the Yosemite lodgings, you have the possibility of seeing animals.
(Rarely) a raccoon has found its way into the main hotel building. Raccoons and other animals can climb up to hotel room balconies, so guests in the main building can’t store their ice chest or other food on their balcony. Raccoons have torn screens off hotel room windows if you leave your window open when you are not in the room.
NPS photo of a ringtail:
We saw a ringtailed cat jog across one of the large balconies one evening, and a bellman told a tale of convincing one hanging from the drapes in a guest room to leave the room. It was a balcony room and the ringtail had walked in through an open door.
The resident Ravens
will try to take any food you leave unattended on your patio or balcony table, even knocking the room service metal plate covers off the plate.
Staying with your food and keeping food within arm’s reach is a wise idea on your cottage patio and at every National Park restaurant with outside dining, hotel, cabin, campsite, picnic area or where you stop to eat along a trail.
Ravens want to get into your gear, and some have figured out how to get into day packs (they can unzip or unfasten many different kinds of buckles and latches)
or . . . a bag tied onto a motorcycle:
I suggest you stay with gear you tied on to your vehicle or in an open truck bed until it can get stored properly from animals / birds.
Notes on preventing bears from breaking into your vehicle are at bears.
(Ravens are bigger than a Crow you might see at home. Ravens are 24 inches long and have a wingspan of 53 inches, Crows are 17.5 inches long and have a wingspan of 39 inches).
Raven sounds can be heard here and here.
Steller’s Jays are common, and they also want to get into your food. (Recordings of their calls are here.)
Out on the grounds on the paved pathway to the cottages there is a sign:
In December, a mule deer along a path at the cottages:
In May, a mule deer browsed along another cottages pathway:
In July, a quail and one of 9 baby quail at the rear of the cottages area:
and step outside your cottage door in July and watch a buck with velvet on his antlers browsing:
If you are quiet (and when there are not lots of people on the pathways) you may be lucky enough to watch a deer browse for quite some time:
and in the spring a mule deer and fawn outside cottage 716 at the back of the cottages:
You might see other animals not listed on the sign, such as this coyote walking just outside the swimming pool fence,
or this bobcat in the cottages area:
This map shows the main building and grounds near it. (A larger version of this map is at Ahwahnee Hotel Map):
In a photo of the Ahwahnee taken from Glacier Point, the dining room and kitchen take up the left (west) wing you see below. When arriving you enter the hotel from the far side of the right (east) wing of the building:
Below, the view from the free shuttle bus stop looking toward the Ahwahnee Porte-cochere (roofed driveway) with a roofed walkway to the main entrance of the hotel.
Notice the end of the white bus under the roofed driveway / covered entrance towards the right hand side of the photo above. (The YARTS sign you see in the photo is covered up or removed when YARTS does not stop there.)
And here, courtesy of the NPS, the view from the parking lot across the pond to the Porte-cochere:
Detailed DIRECTIONS to get to the Ahwahnee hotel (and the Yosemite Lodge, etc.)
from any/all roads/entrances to Yosemite
are at: driving directions. They include how to get to the Ahwahnee hotel from any/all roads/entrances to Yosemite Valley and include things to do before you leave, gas availability, a map of predicted fog severity, park entrance fees,
and a suggested side tour/stop at Tunnel View that can be quite worthwhile especially if you are coming into the park in daylight.
People who are not guests at the Ahwahnee can dine there. Reservations are often advised well in advance and there is a dress code for some dining room meals.
The bar has a limited menu, but without the dress code for dinner that the main dining room has. It has indoor and (in warm months) outdoor dining:
Menus for the dining room (including the Sunday Brunch) and bar, as well as a link to making dining room reservations, are at: https://www.travelyosemite.com/dining/the-ahwahnee-dining-room/
The Sweet Shop has chocolate truffles as well as many other potential hiking snacks.
The schedule for free one hour tours of the hotel and occasional Ranger programs held at the hotel, can be found in the the Yosemite National Park newspaper Yosemite Guide.
The swimming pool is only open to guests of the hotel.
(Swimming pool highlighted below in light blue.)
Guests in the cottages can take any path(s) towards the main building, cross over a small bridge over seasonal Royal Arch creek and the pool will be on the right before the entrance to the main building.
Guests in the main building can find stairs to the pool at the far end of the mezzanine floor, (floor #1 on the elevator) and use them instead of traipsing around the lobby in a wet swimsuit/robe. Turn left as you exit the elevator, go down a long hall to outside stairs leading directly down to the pool. The stairs are behind the pool in the center in the photo below:
The women’s restroom on the mezzanine level could be a shorter walk than back to your cottage room. Again, instead of traipsing around the lobby in a wet swimsuit/robe, access it up the outside stairs and go down the hall past guest rooms, into the mezzanine lounge, then past the elevators (light blue dot is the guest elevator on the right, dark blue dot is the service elevator, red dot is the women’s restroom, stairs to the ground floor are between these on the floorplan below).
Your room key opens the locked gate to the pool. If there is also a padlock on the gate, the pool is not available for guest use (evening/overnight or due to occasional weather/chemical problems or when a large branch / section of trunk from a nearby tree falls into the pool).
Pool rules on a large sign at the pool
have included (and parents can review the current rules with their kids):
“Please do not sit or hang on the lane line.
Diving, running and horseplay are not permitted.
Glass is not permitted in pool area.
Children under 14 may not be in pool area without a parent or guardian in attendance.
Appropriate swimwear is required. Diapers are not permitted in pool
Pool is for registered Ahwahnee guests only.”
The AED closest to the cottages is attached to the pool-side towels cabinet.
Photos below of two kinds they have had:
There is another in the main hotel building on the corner of a wall of the hallway going from the front desk towards the dining room, next to the side hall to the men’s restroom (see on map):
Pools open to the public for a fee at other Yosemite valley hotels, as well as suggestions for safe river swimming, including thunderstorms, bacteria in the water, safety issues, favorite beaches, are at Swimming in Yosemite National Park
There are fire extinguishers on the outside wall of cottage buildings,
but it might not be next to your room so locating the closest one when you arrive is wise.
All of them are at corners of buildings, facing towards the cottage walkways, not behind buildings.
If you find a strip of wood at the base of your sliding window in a one-story cottage you should leave it there,
as the locking mechanism on the window may be worn out.
All the Ahwahnee hotel rooms have large flatscreen televisions,
including (in the main building),
an in-house TV channel that plays videos from the Yosemite Conservancy Nature Notes series.
If the cottages still do not show the Yosemite Conservancy Nature Notes when you come to stay, you could download them at home and watch them anyway:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL890957589F8403A4
All the rooms have a safe, coffee maker, telephone, ironing board/iron, robes and a small refrigerator.
(If the refrigerator has a freezer compartment, it might be iced over.)
Advice for using an Ahwahnee hotel coffee maker is here.
The hairdryer might be in a bathroom cabinet, or it might be in a bag hanging on the wall behind the bathroom door where you might not see it:
Ahwahnee cottage rooms that have blinds rather than drapes will have a lot of light coming in the windows even with the drapes fully shut.
(this photo taken right after sunrise)
An Ahwahnee Hotel “Frequently Asked Questions” page given out at check-in had this: Due to its (the Ahwahnee Hotel’s) historic status, the existing walls can’t be modified to dampen the sound in the rooms. To keep you comfortable, we observe quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.”
See the concierge for details about in-room massages.
All rooms and public areas are non-smoking.
The prices for rooms at the Ahwahnee Hotel can vary, especially when they have a special offer or if you include a Winter Fun package, Vintners’ Holidays, Bracebridge Dinner or Chefs’ Holidays experience.
See room cost notes at Ahwahnee Hotel Map
Reservations, and more details about the hotel are at:
https://www.travelyosemite.com/lodging/the-ahwahnee/
I suggest you book your room(s) directly through the official Ahwahnee reservation webpage at the Travel Yosemite link above. People have searched for Ahwahnee reservations and found a cabin, cottage, homestead cottage, bunkhouse – located in the town of Ahwahnee, California. Some of them thought they were getting a reservation for the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley and have shown up at the front desk, only to be turned away when the hotel is full. (According to CSAA, the town of Ahwahnee is 1 hour and 36 minutes / 53.9 miles from the Ahwahnee Hotel.)
Some third party reservation agencies say they have rooms at hotels in the supposedly named “town” of “Yosemite Valley” but they are actually many miles from the park.
Some third-party reservation agencies have inaccurate webpages. Months after the Ahwahnee swimming pool was renovated, it was still listed as closed. You might find “sale” prices listing the standard rooms at the Ahwahnee as costing $140 more than classic rooms, but at the hotel website Standard rooms are always a lower cost. Classic rooms with two double beds might be listed as having two queen beds, a sure way to frustrate guests who book through that third party, and who cannot switch to a two queen bedroom when they check in because there are none. The official Ahwahnee reservation webpage offers two types of Classic room, either two double beds or one king, and you book specifically the one you want. One third party reservation site tells you to “please note in the comments if you prefer one bed,” but when you get to the hotel it turns out they booked you into whatever was available (and your “note in the comments section” makes no difference).
Some third party booking agencies charge a fee on top of the room cost – and they can’t get you a reservation that is not available at the official Ahwahnee reservation webpage: https://www.travelyosemite.com/lodging/the-ahwahnee/
When you book your room(s) through the hotel website you can request (at the last section of the reservation form), a specific room, specific balcony room, specific adjoining rooms, which the hotel can try to get you (but can’t guarantee they will). Some third party booking agencies will tell you that you have the specific room(s) choices you want, but when you arrive at the hotel, they did not even pass on your request to the hotel.
All the hotels in Yosemite Valley are often solidly booked, especially in warm weather months, up to a year and a day in advance.
To get exactly the view you want at a Yosemite Valley hotel guaranteed, you can book a specific room that there is only one of. Examples include Curry Village Cabin 819, Ahwahnee hotel suites such as the second floor Presidential Suite, Third Floor Suite, Sunroom, Library Suite, or the Mary Curry Tresidder bedroom. This also goes for places like Jenny Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park that has 37 historic cabins, but only one with a jacuzzi tub, that is rented out separately from all the others.
Info about booking a wedding in Yosemite National Park is at:
https://www.travelyosemite.com/group-travel/weddings/
Park Service rules about Weddings & Commitment Ceremonies in Yosemite National Park, including using the Chapel are at:
https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/weddings.htm
Take a 3D tour of the Yosemite Chapel: (click on the small circles to move around and into the building)
https://matterport.com/discover/space/8Lb4uLHidao
A NPS Accessibility Guide said:
“The Ahwahnee, a National Historic Landmark, has two accessible hotel rooms, two accessible junior suites, and two accessible cottages, all with grab-bars and roll up sinks. The ground floor of the hotel has an accessible dining room, bar, gift shop, patio, and drinking fountain. There is an accessible women’s restroom, telephone and unisex/family restroom located on the mezzanine that can be reached by elevator. The accessible men’s restroom in located on the ground floor. Valet parking and six designated accessible parking spaces are available. An accessible path connects the hotel with the cabins.. . .
. . . Free accessibility kits are available for guests to take to their rooms at park lodging and include smoke alarm, light flasher doorbell, and shake-awake alarm.”
Royal Arch Cascade comes down the cliff next to the Ahwahnee.
Here as seen out on the hotel grounds in the cottages area:
and as seen from the hotel:
You can often see climbers on the cliffs above the Ahwahnee,
or working problems on the large (as tall as 15+ feet) boulders, right off the parking lot along the valley loop trail that runs just north of the Ahwahnee. (Yes, one of the boulders is named the Ahwahnee Boulder.)
“The Royal Arches, Royal Arches Route III 5.6 A1 or 5.9”
is listed as one of the Fifty Classic Climbs of North America, (by Steve Roper and Allan Steck).
Here, in the lower left corner of a photo of the cliff Royal Arches Cascade comes down, you can barely see a climber:
You will not see climbers on all of the cliffs above the Ahwahnee from March 1 until July 15 +/- due to closures to protect nesting Peregrine Falcons, some of whom have successfully hatched young on a cliff above the Ahwahnee meadow. (In 2022 there were “17 confirmed nesting locations and a minimum of 23 successful fledglings.” 2023 had “15 confirmed nests located with 18 breeding pairs and possibly 20 occupied territories. 25 fledglings confirmed.”) There have often been ten or more cliffs closed to visitor use, including climbing activities, to protect nesting Peregrine Falcons, including “Rhombus Wall—Above Ahwahnee Meadow. Closure includes all routes west of “Super Slide” to the Ahwahnee Ramps, including all routes on the Rhombus Wall.”
Download the Yosemite bird checklist. And see a list of special status bird species.
Yosemite Conservancy protecting Peregrines.
“Scenic vista restoration around Ahwahnee Hotel
Scenic vista restoration is occurring to restore historic scenic views around the Ahwahnee Hotel. The hotel was designed to take in the views of half dome, glacier point, Yosemite falls, and eagle peak that were created by regular burning. With the cessation of regular burning at the turn of the century, pines and cedars grew into the meadows and around the hotel and eventually blocked the views. The removal of select trees will restore the historic views, open up meadow and black oak habitat as part of the Merced River Plan. Restoration is planned to be complete by March 1st. (G. Dickman)”
Restoring these views, mostly from the Lounge and Winter Club Room in the main building, requires removing many trees in the cottages area.
See: restoring views
if you see a bear in Yosemite,
no matter where it is or what it is doing.
Since 2003 there has been a note in the Yosemite Guide: “REPORT ALL BEAR SIGHTINGS! To report bear sightings, improper food storage, trash problems, and other bear-related problems, leave a message for the Bear Management team at: 1 (209) 372-0322. Your call can be made anonymously.”
If you can, in all the excitement, try to notice if the bear has a tag (usually on the ear), the color of the tag and if possible, the number on it (the tag is large enough that with a telephoto lens you should be able to read the number).
“It is extremely important to remember to yell at bears that are in and around development, even if they are foraging on natural food. Though it is very tempting to get close for a picture, or just to watch these incredible animals, it is important not to give into this urge. Yelling at them if they are in residential areas or near people is critical to keep bears natural fear of humans. Giving bears plenty of space. When bears become too comfortable around people, they will often start causing damage to structures and vehicles, or will even become too bold around people, creating safety concerns.”
The Yosemite concessionaire warns:
“Even a single, empty chapstick container or candy bar wrapper can result in a bear breaking into your car.”
Where were they when they got that great picture in Yosemite?
Where can I get a photo that looks like the one on a Yosemite postcard I just bought?
Places to take photos of Half Dome, Bridalveil Fall, El Capitan, Yosemite Falls and Staircase Falls.
Other hotel, cabin and tent cabin choices in Yosemite valley are at: Yosemite Valley accommodations
Other restaurants, cafeterias, coffee bars, pizza, grocery stores are at: Yosemite valley restaurants, coffee bars, cafeterias, food service and groceries
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Drivers should note that there have been sections of road in Yosemite Valley, part of the year, with two lanes (usually) in the same direction, with the right lane ONLY for the free shuttle buses, ambulances, ski bus, commercial vehicles with ten or more passengers. The NPS says: “The bus lane ensures emergency vehicles can respond to incidents when traffic is backed up and provides preference for mass transit.”
Parking and traffic jams in Yosemite valley tips and tricks has the above advice, with maps of each of the three major day-use parking lots, with advice to help you NOT get a Yosemite National Park traffic or parking ticket, and not contribute to preventable traffic backups. And some details of where you can’t park in Yosemite, or can’t park without a permit.
