Book Your Best Yosemite Lodging

Yosemite Mariposa County pops with places to stay.  From camping under Sierra stars to room service at a spa resort, there’s a panoramic range of lodging options.  Dialing in that perfect place depends on who you are and what you’re hoping to experience in Yosemite.  No two travelers are alike, and that “dream inn” for one may be just ok for another… and vice versa!  We’ve paired familiar travel personas to properties to get your lodging search started.

Modern Family

Yosemite Mariposa County is one of California’s ultimate family-friendly destinations.  It’s the right mix of activities, amenities, and outdoor recreation to make forever memories, and all the while being easy for parents to navigate.

If the family SUV is revving up for a Yosemite getaway, then look no further than Tenaya at Yosemite.  This Fish Camp property is on the short list of best family-friendly resorts in all of the Sierra Nevada, a AAA Four-Diamond hub for outdoor play.  Tucked into the Sierra National Forest two miles from Yosemite’s South gate, Tenaya offers three distinct guest experiences, including the Lodge, the Cottages, and the Explorer Cabins at Tenaya.

After a day touring Yosemite, guests return to on-property swimming pools, hot tubs, mountain bikes, hiking trails, climbing walls, and more. For fourth-season fun, Tenaya makes a perfect winter family vacation escape with its on-site ice skating rink, toboggan run, and snowshoes available for guests. Plus, Goat Meadow Snowplay Area is just minutes away.

For families looking to stay inside Yosemite Valley, your go-to choice is Yosemite Valley Lodge. The property features a large inventory of rooms with multiple beds including bunk beds. With a “position A” location directly across Northside Drive from Yosemite Falls, the Yosemite View Lodge is a stop for the free and family-friendly hop-on, hop-off Yosemite Valley Shuttle, the ideal way to get the perfect angles on Yosemite Valley’s famed faces, peaks, and falls. Post-tour, guests can splash in the Lodge’s seasonally-open pool, rent a bike, and enjoy ranger-led shows in the outdoor amphitheater. Last but not “eats,” Yosemite Valley Lodge’s onsite dining options hit the spot.

Resort Lovers

Resorts come in different shapes and sizes around Yosemite Mariposa County.  One of the most inviting may be the pod of Airstream trailers reimagined into boutique hotel suites at AutoCamp Yosemite.  Outfitted for resort lovers, AutoCamp’s aluminum cocoons and luxury safari tents are located just off All-Season Highway 140 in Midpines.  Kumbaya vibes infuse indoor and outdoor gathering places such as a multi-level Clubhouse with a rooftop deck made for stargazing, seasonally-open swimming pool, and fire pits. AutoCamp’s Yosemite Experiences offer a curated set of highlight-reel add-ons.

Another primo option is the Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Resort, also in Midpines and just 27 miles from Yosemite Valley.  Tucked into a woodsy hillside, “The Bug” offers a mélange of accommodations including private vacation cabins with forest-view decks and timber-framed tent cabins.  Splurge-worthy amenities too, including the June Bug Café with a from-scratch farm-to-table menu and the Yosemite Health Spa, ahhh-worthy with yoga, massage, hot rocks sauna, supersized stainless steel hot tubs, and aromatherapy soaking baths.

Happy Glampers

Glamping – “glamorous camping” – is a lodging newcomer that has quickly gained a loyal following.  A hybrid of hotel and camping, glamping in Yosemite trades dusty tents and duck-taped sleeping bags for high thread counts and heated mattresses, communal fire pits, and “civilized” touches like heat, A/C, electricity, and running water to elevate comfort and joy.

Opened in 2024, Wildhaven Yosemite offers safari-style tents and cabins with a host of amenities.  Cabins have kitchenettes, private baths, wrap-around decks, heating, and A/C.  Tents offer gas fire pits, memory-foam mattresses and heated mattress pads, with Premium Tents featuring covered front decks as well. The 38-acre hillside property offers hiking trails with sweeping vistas of Gold Country foothills and the snow-capped Sierra in the distance. Guests receive free access to seasonal activities and events including yoga, Sierra Cider tastings, and live music.  Mariposa’s signature small-town charm is just a mile away from shopping, wine-tasting, and nightlife.

El Portal’s Indian Flat RV Campground now offers glamping as well, recently adding new Jupe Tents to its popular, Merced River-adjacent line-up that also features tent and RV sites.  The sleek new Jupes feature 12-ft. tall ceilings, picture windows, queen beds, A/C, electricity and dimmable LED lighting. Yosemite’s Arch Rock entrance is only 30 minutes away, the closest Park portal to Yosemite Valley’s titanic granite monuments and waterfalls.

Campground Connoisseurs

If you’re packing a tent, sleeping bag, and camp stove, there’s no better way to immerse in the outdoor splendor of Yosemite National Park than by staying at a local campground.  Camping in Yosemite is one of those things that qualifies as bucket list material for outdoor lovers. That granite dust you’re crunching over between tent and trail could have been carved off the face of Half Dome way back when.  

There are 13 campgrounds in Yosemite National Park to consider.  Choosing which campground is “best” is akin to choosing a favorite work of art in the Louvre!  There’s a range of mountain masterpieces, from the cliff-framed Upper Pines campground in Yosemite Valley to the riverside Wawona campground in Southern Yosemite and the High Sierra Camps in Northern Yosemite – a circuit of five hostel-like hubs in the Yosemite backcountry. The Yosemite National Park reservations page is the authority for campground status, schedules, rules, and regulations.  If lakeside lounging and line-casting is your bailiwick, then the campgrounds that ring the edge of Lake McClure & Lake McSwain are calling.  Lake McClure and Lake McSwain offer five distinct campgrounds, each with its own vibe. Tent campsites as well as RV sites with water/electric provided are tucked into the mixed pine and oak forest along the lakeshores.  Both lakes are renowned for trophy trout and bass fishing, and Lake McSwain is home to the world’s largest inflatable water park, Splash-n-Dash Aqua Park, open seasonally.

Economy Explorers

For many, the primary lodging goal is a good night’s sleep – no bells, whistles or other expensive amenities required.  Such are the journeys of the international traveler trekking through America’s national parks, or the budget-conscious traveler trying to save all they can for experiences.  The priority: take advantage of every daylight hour in the Yosemite Mariposa County realm before collapsing into bed and doing it again tomorrow. 

Mariposa is your mantra.  Familiar flags are here – Quality Inn Yosemite Valley Gateway and Best Western Plus Yosemite Way Station – and independents like the Miners Inn, Monarch Inn, and Yosemite Inn.  Another primo location is the Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Resort in Midpines, just 27 miles from Yosemite Valley on Highway 140.  As a counterpoint to its resort-style accommodations noted above, “The Bug” offers some of Yosemite Mariposa County’s only hostel-style accommodations, recently renovated, and always clean and well-lit. 

Time Travelers

For travelers who like a little backstory before bed, or perchance those fond of classic California history, Yosemite Mariposa County has a clear frontrunners.  The Ahwahnee is Yosemite National Park’s fabled resort lodge, est. 1927 and widely considered among the crown jewels of American national park lodges. Situated in Yosemite Valley under the Royal Arches rock formation, the Ahwahnee is notable for its rustic grandeur as well as picture-perfect views of Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, and Glacier Point.  You’ll be walking in famous footsteps, as the Ahwahnee has hosted the likes of President John F. Kennedy, Queen Elizabeth, and President Barack Obama among former guest luminaries.

Group Gallivanters

Multi-gen, skip-gen, family reunions, weddings, celebrations – any way you bundle it, Yosemite’s better with your squad. If you’re heading to Yosemite with friends or family members in tow, vacation cabin rentals offer the opportunity to bring everyone together. Multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, large gathering spaces, big kitchens for family dining, and plenty of amenities like hot tubs and fire pits for just chillin’ with fam.

Scenic Wonders manages more than 100 properties in Yosemite West and Wawona, and The Redwoods at Yosemite runs a similar number of Wawona cabin rental options, including the Yosemite Luxury Estate, an eight-bedroom palace that sleeps up to 22 guests (perfect for destination weddings). There’s something about having the crew under one or two roofs that forges fast bonds! Yosemite Resorts offers a pair of El Portal hotels that are also group-conducive:   Yosemite View Lodge  and Yosemite Cedar Lodge.  Rooms at the “View” offer kitchenettes, river-view decks and fireplaces, all along the banks of the Wild & Scenic Merced River.  Cedar Lodge checks in multiple hot tubs and pools, a hidden beach and beautiful riverwalk with waterside picnic tables, and an expansive game room with ping pong, billiards, and classic arcade games.  Both properties offer gorgeous new indoor and outdoor venues perfect for any occasion.

Let the Games Begin

Now that your travel persona and lodging choice are perfectly aligned, it’s time to get outside and play! This is a supersized region, and like every national park destination, Yosemite Mariposa County is best navigated with a vacation game plan. Check out Yosemite.com’s Things to Do and Plan Your Trip pages, and for an even deeper dive check out the official Yosemite Vacation Planner.