On the south side near 41 I would highy reccomend the wawona inside the park. It has comfortable beds, lots of charm, beautiful porchs for sitting, a lovely dining room. the pioneer village is a short walk down the path and the riding stables and store are also in walking distance. There are free shuttles to the mariposa sequoia grove and to the valley. We found it much quieter than the valley locations and very relaxing. A complimentary breakfast was included in our stay.

I would second the recommendation for the Wawona on your way in, even though it may be a bit over your budget. IN some ways, a night there IS a "don't you dare miss" off the beaten path sort of place. And if you want friendly wildlife, there is a family of deer that live around it that are in abundance at dusk and in the morning.

On your way out, look at the motels in El Portal on 140: The Yosemite View Lodge or the Cedar. They are very close to the Arch Rock entrance to the park. If you would prefer to leave for SF on 120, you could check into one of the places in or near Groveland by checking out staynearyosemite.com. However, I would also recommend staying in the valley itself at the Yosemite Lodge if you can afford it and there is availability. A hard-sided cabin at Curry Village would be OK, too, but the tent cabins are hardly known for a quiet environment!

Groveland is right on your way out of the park for points west (San Francsico area) and points North, (Sacramento...)and there are properties as close as 2 miles from the Big Oak Flat (120) exit to 24 miles from the exit. You will find some really neat places to stay at www.StayNearYosemite.com.

Off the beaten path: Rainbow Pools a locals hangout for a swimming hole on the Tuolumne River just off Highway 120.

Have a fantastic holiday!

Wow; really appreciate all the good advice and tips. Will try and consolidate everything here, along with my do-it-yourself stuff, and review with my Wife tonight.

I did a quick check on the Wawona and it isn't available, but the Lodge at the Falls is; OK...or should we look elsewhere?

Thanks to all of you!!!

Hi, we've just returned from a 4 night stay in yosemite (as part of travelling around california for 3 weeks) and it is the most amazing place ever, you'll love it for sure. There were nine of us and we stayed in a cabin with redwoods, (www.redwoodsinyosemite.com/) and it was fantastic, ive left a review on tripadvisor with a few pictures. Its in the wawona area which is what your looking for i think. in regards to wildlife we had deer in our 'garden' one morning, and there was a gorgeous river which was great for swimming in about 3 mins walk from our lodge. I believe that they do condiminiums for the price you are looking for. The area is about a 45 mins drive from the valley floor, where a lot of activites occur. It's also about 50mins from glacier point (view over the whole valley).

The river near us was definately one of those not to miss views that you're looking for.

Any other questions feel free to ask.

Kamaaiana-

Yes Yes Yes if it's still available (sometimes you gotta act fast) take the Lodge at the Falls.

BTW, I grew up in Hawaii and I would love to be a kamaaina again, too!

First of all, want to say THANKS to HotelCharlotte and Hefferz for the advice and very informative links; so much exciting content that we've decided to extend our stay to three nights. Only downside is that now have to start over on finding a place to stay.

The reviews are far from AAA (but forum comments much more positive) on the Yosemite View Lodge; and they have availability. We especially like the river front location. Unless hearing a better idea, am planning on reserving this weekend.

Say Mac, checked your profile and didn't see any Hawaii participation, but seem to remember you from several years ago; am I right or just in my normal state of confusion? Don't know if you're keeping up on current events, but gather that Island tourism is really being impacted by the recession and increases in airline ticket prices.

Yes, I do remember you from over there. I have only been back to Oahu 3 years ago, since my mom now lives here in assisted living. I have a hard time reading the Oahu forums now as I get homesick!

As for the Lodge at the Falls, it has the best location of any accommodation in Yosemite. It is not what could be called a full service hotel, but it is a very comfortable National Park lodge and we have always enjoyed our stays there. The cabin near Wawona is also a good choice if you want to save some money and do your own cooking; it will still be about an hour to the valley from there, but it will also be a less "busy" location, since you aren't in the center of things.

Hi Mac,

Did some more checking and Yosemite View Lodge appears to be the only place indicating space available for all three nights. We could split, but not worth the effort (in my lazy opinion) for less than two nights each place. Sure hope this doesn't mean we'll just be adding to over-crowding.

Have hard copied several of your posts, along with others, and assembled a very good notebook; far better than anything I saw during 30 minutes at Border's last night...Trip Advisor has to be among the 10 most useful inventions of this decade.

Thanks again everyone!

If you want somewhere secluded you may want to have a look into staying somewhere in Yosemite West. This may be a good starting point for you to see what's available:

http://www.yosemitewest.com/