Yosemite from Illnois

[ChinMusic]

Taking my daughter on a trip in mid July. Flying from probably St Louis.

What airport should use if my intent is to rent a car and leave it at Yosemite Village?

I thought of flying and taking a bus but the logistics look daunting.

Ideas?

[rlown]

Fresno, if you can get a flight there, or Sacramento.

[AlmostThere]

Fresno, Merced, SF or Sacramento. Anything else is just too long. SF or Sac are probably going to add an hour - two hours depending on time of day, but are do-able. From Merced or Fresno it's about 1.5 - 2 hour drive into the park.

Logistics for a bus aren't too bad if you can pack light - YARTS picks up at the airport and the Amtrak station in Merced.

[ChinMusic]

Am I right in thinking renting a car would save a lot of time? I also like the idea of driving my daughter around the day before our hike.

I drove from Illinois last year, but don't have the time this year.

[rlown]

rent..

[ChinMusic]

rent..

That's what I'm thinking too. Flights to Sacramento look reasonable as do the car rental numbers. I just like the idea of being on my own time schedule.

Plan is to:
- fly to Sacramento
- get rental car
- drive to Yosemite Village
- park at Yosemite Village (Curry?)
- camp at backpackers' campground at YV (or if I can catch an afternoon bus, camp at Tuolumne)
- 8am bus to Tuolumne (unless I caught a bus the evening before)
- backpack (several days, taking it easy)
- get to Happy Isle about noon of final hiking day
- meet up with friends at YV and drive them to their car in Tuolumne
- head to Mammoth Lakes area later that day (Reds Meadow Camp Ground?)
- next day get a shuttle to Agnew Meadows and go on a separate trip to the Lake Ediza area and chill for a couple days
- back to Sacramento

[rlown]

if your goal is to head out of Tuolumne, Reno is better.

I know it's a hard choice.. Either works.. bus back up to your car might be a better call.

[ERIC]

You can get from St Louis to Oakland, San Jose and Sacramento via Southwest. Drives are about the same +/- 20 min with Sacramento being the shortest. All are decent options if you're renting a car and want to minimize airfare cost (San Francisco via SW is usually more expensive than the above mentioned). Flying into Fresno is ideal, but pricey.

[ChinMusic]

My son says Southwest is the way to go but they seem more expensive when I look at the websites. I think the baggage is free so that would help.

I agree, Fresno is closer but the travel time to get there more than makes up for it. Sacramento looks good. My buddies flew in to Reno last year but that seems too far.

[rlown]

reno to Tuolumne is a pretty drive.. also, you can acclimatize. As you want to go south of there, it seems better.

You also avoid the infernal heat of the central valley, which I think just sucks.. Either way, just to get out is great..