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In addition to the dining options listed here, you’ll find fast-food grills and cafeterias, plus temporary snack bars, hamburger stands, and pizza joints lining park roads in summer. Many dining facilities in the park are open summer only.
Fodor’s Choice | Ahwahnee Hotel Dining Room.
$$$$ | EUROPEAN | Rave reviews about the dining room’s appearance are fully justified—it features towering windows, a 34-foot-high ceiling with interlaced sugar-pine beams, and massive chandeliers. Although many continue to applaud the food, others have reported that they sense a dip in the quality both in the service and what is being served. Diners must spend a lot of money here, so perhaps that inflates the expectations and amplifies the disappointments. In any event, the lavish $45 Sunday brunch is a popular way to experience the grand room. Reservations are always advised, and the attire is “resort casual.” | Average main: $38 | Ahwahnee Hotel, Ahwahnee Rd., about ¾ mile east of Yosemite Valley Visitor Center | Yosemite Village | 209/372–1489 | www.yosemitepark.com | Reservations essential.
Fodor’s Choice | Mountain Room.
$$$ | AMERICAN | Though good, the food becomes secondary when you see Yosemite Falls through this dining room’s wall of windows—almost every table has a view. The chef makes a point of using locally sourced, organic ingredients whenever possible, so you can be assured of fresh vegetables to accompany the hearty main courses, such as steaks and seafood, as well as vegetarian and even vegan options. The Mountain Room Lounge, a few steps away in the Yosemite Lodge complex, has about 10 beers on tap. Weather permitting, take your drink out onto the small back patio. | Average main: $24 | Yosemite Lodge, Northside Dr. about ¾ mile west of the visitor center | Yosemite Village | 209/372–1403 | www.yosemitepark.com | No lunch.
Tuolumne Meadows Grill.
$ | FAST FOOD | Serving continuously throughout the day until 5 or 6 pm, this fast-food eatery cooks up basic breakfast, lunch, and snacks. It’s possible that ice cream tastes better at this altitude. Stop in for a quick meal before exploring the meadows. | Average main: $8 | Tioga Rd. (Rte. 120), 1½ mile east of Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center | 209/372–8426 | Closed Oct.–Memorial Day. No dinner.
Tuolumne Meadows Lodge.
$$ | AMERICAN | At the back of a small building that contains the lodge’s front desk and small gift shop, this restaurant serves a menu of hearty American fare at breakfast and dinner. The decor is woodsy, with dark-wood walls, red-and-white-checkered tablecloths, and a handful of communal tables, which give it the feeling of an old-fashioned summer camp. The menu is small, often featuring a few meat and seafood dishes and one pasta or other special, including a vegetarian choice. If you have any dietary restrictions, let the front desk know in advance and the cooks will not let you down. Order box lunches from here for before hikes. | Average main: $20 | Tioga Rd. (Rte. 120) | 209/372–8413 | www.yosemitepark.com | Reservations essential | Closed late Sept.–mid-June. No lunch.
Wawona Hotel Dining Room.
$$$ | AMERICAN | Watch deer graze on the meadow while you dine in the romantic, candlelit dining room of the whitewashed Wawona Hotel, which dates from the late 1800s. The American-style cuisine favors fresh ingredients and flavors; trout and flatiron steaks are menu staples. There’s also a brunch on some Sunday holidays, like Mother’s Day and Easter, and a barbecue on the lawn Saturday evening in summer. | Average main: $28 | 8308 Wawona Rd. | Wawona | 209/375–1425 | Closed most of Dec., Jan., Feb., and Mar.
Picnic Areas
Considering how large the park is and how many visitors come here—some 4 million people every year, most of them just for the day—it is somewhat surprising that Yosemite has so few formal picnic areas, though in many places you can find a smooth rock to sit on and enjoy breathtaking views along with your lunch. The convenience stores all sell picnic supplies, and prepackaged sandwiches and salads are widely available. Those options can come in especially handy during the middle of the day, when you might not want to spend precious daylight hours in such a spectacular setting sitting in a restaurant for a formal meal.
Best Campgrounds in Yosemite
If you are going to concentrate solely on valley sites and activities, you should endeavor to stay in one of the “Pines” campgrounds, which are clustered near Curry Village and within an easy stroll from that busy complex’s many facilities. For a more primitive and quiet experience, and to be near many backcountry hikes, try one of the Tioga Road campgrounds.
National Park Service Reservations Office.
Reservations are required at many of Yosemite’s campgrounds, especially in summer. You can book a site up to five months in advance, starting on the 15th of the month. Unless otherwise noted, book your site through the central National Park Service Reservations Office. If you don’t have reservations when you arrive, many sites, especially those outside Yosemite Valley, are available on a first-come, first-served basis. | 877/444–6777 | www.recreation.gov | Daily 10–10.
Bridalveil Creek. This campground sits among lodgepole pines at 7,200 feet, above the valley on Glacier Point Road. From here, you can easily drive to Glacier Point’s magnificent valley views. | From Rte. 41 in Wawona, go north to Glacier Point Rd. and turn right; entrance to campground is 25 miles ahead on right side.
Camp 4. Formerly known as Sunnyside Walk-In, and extremely popular with rock climbers who don’t mind that a total of six are assigned to each campsite, no matter how many are in your group, this is the only valley campground available on a first-come, first-served basis. | Base of Yosemite Falls Trail, just west of Yosemite Lodge on Northside Dr., Yosemite Village.
Housekeeping Camp. Composed of three concrete walls and covered with two layers of canvas, each unit has an open-ended fourth side that can be closed off with a heavy white canvas curtain. You can rent “bedpacks,” consisting of blankets, sheets, and other comforts. | Southside Dr., ½ mile west of Curry Village.
Porcupine Flat. Sixteen miles west of Tuolumne Meadows, this campground sits at 8,100 feet. If you want to be in the high country, this is a good bet. | Rte. 120, 16 miles west of Tuolumne Meadows.
Tuolumne Meadows. In a wooded area at 8,600 feet, just south of its namesake meadow, this is one of the most spectacular and sought-after campgrounds in Yosemite. | Rte. 120, 46 miles east of Big Oak Flat entrance station.
Upper Pines. This is one of the valley’s largest campgrounds and the closest one to the trailheads. Expect large crowds in the summer—and little privacy. | At east end of valley, near Curry Village.
Wawona. Near the Mariposa Grove, just downstream from a popular fishing spot, this year-round campground has larger, less densely packed sites than campgrounds in the valley. | Rte. 41, 1 mile north of Wawona.
White Wolf. Set in the beautiful high country at 8,000 feet, this is a prime spot for hikers from early July to mid-September. | Tioga Rd., 15 miles east of Big Oak Flat entrance.