Yosemite in Winter with Kids

001
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
BAY AREA NEWS GROUP
H3
BAY AREA & BEYOND
Winter Wonderland: Escaping Yosemite crowds
By Deborah Abrams Kaplan
Mountain Room Lounge at
Yosemite Lodge — This was a
great spot for late-afternoon
bar food, even with the kids.
We ordered the s’mores kit
and made the treats in the
four-sided fireplace at the
lounge center.
IF YOU GO
for Bay Area News Group
In the summer, Yosemite
Valley bustles with lines of
cars, campgrounds stuffed
with tents and RVs, kids
chasing each other around
on bicycles and streams of
climbers making their way
up Nevada Falls.
Beautiful? Yes. But not always peaceful.
Two seasons later, the
trees are covered dramatically in snow. Rock climbers
no longer hang from El Capitan. The shuttle is one of the
few vehicles on the road. And
most hiking trails are empty.
Welcome to Yosemite Valley
in winter.
Bear spotting
With snow everywhere,
and no television in our Curry
Village cabin, we wondered
whether our 5- and 7-yearold kids would be bored. The
short answer: no.
In the daytime, we stuck to
a regimen of hiking and sledding. The most popular sledding spot is across the road
from the No. 17 shuttle stop.
It’s not a huge hill, but high
enough for the kids to get a
thrill.
While we were taking a
snack break, I saw a bear
standing a hundred feet behind my family.
“There’s a bear,” I said
casually, pointing. When they
turned to look, it hit me. This
wasn’t the zoo.
“BEAR!” I shouted. We
grabbed the kids and the food
and stood watching it, as it
watched us. Nonchalantly,
it padded off down the hill,
crossing the road into the
woods on the other side.
I thought the bears were
supposed to be hibernating.
I was wrong. “Oh, they come
out every so often,” our shuttle driver said.
Fun and games
Another day we brought
our sleds on a hike to Mirror
Lake (which, for the record, is
not an actual lake, but rather
a natural pool in Tenaya
Creek). The bus dropped us
off at the trailhead, and we
took a leisurely uphill walk
GETTING AROUND: Take
the free shuttle between the
various villages. Two shuttle
loops take you around, with
pickups at shuttle stops every
20 minutes. Lines can sometimes be long, and shuttles
crowded, so plan accordingly.
n WHERE TO STAY: Yosemite offers a range of lodging
options in the park, from
unheated tent cabins to the
AAA 4-diamond Ahwahnee.
Here’s a guide to some peak/
holiday season rates per
night: Ahwahnee from $443,
Yosemite Lodge at the Falls
from $193, Curry Village $92
for unheated canvas tents
and $140 for hard-sided cabins with a bath, Wawona Hotel
from $145-$217, White Wolf
Lodge $84 for heated canvas
tents and $96 for cabins with
bath, and Tuolumne Meadows
Lodge $93. www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations.
aspx.
n WHERE TO EAT: Curry
Village Pizza Patio — The
wait was long, but the menu
was fine. We brought our
own appetizers and games
n
to the water. Surrounded
by mountains, including
Half Dome’s base, I thought,
“What an amazing reflection
of the mountains in the water.”
D’oh! It’s called Mirror
Lake for a reason.
What goes up must come
down. Fortunately, the downhill grade on the Mirror Lake
trail made for our favorite
impromptu sledding hill.
When we tired of traditional sledding, we made
up our own games, such as
bumper sled. That’s when
you grab the rope and whip
the sled (with child on board)
around until it crashes into
another sled, depositing one
kid into the snow. Or sledding
shuffleboard, where you push
one loaded sled down a gentle
slope to see if you can hit another occupied sled — preferably one in your party.
We also played skeeball
snowball, where you stand by
a river and throw snowballs
DO: Yosemite
Guide — Download a list of
activities and schedule of
events for the dates of your
visit at www.nps.gov/yose/
planyourvisit/guide.htm.
n WHAT TO
DEBORAH ABRAMS KAPLAN — FOR BAY
AREA NEWS GROUP
Mirror Lake is one of the
highlights of Yosemite
Valley in winter.
Curry Village Recreation
Center — Get to this newly
renovated center early to
grab tables, and bring some
games.
Curry Village Ice Rink — Open
for day and evening sessions
from November to March
(weather permitting). Cost $8
general, $6 child per session;
$3 skate rental.
to play while we waited in the
recreation area.
Yosemite Lodge Food Court
— Like it sounds, the restaurant had something for
everyone in a seat-yourself
large room.
Snowshoeing — Rent snowshoes from Cross-Country
Center at Badger Pass or
Curry Village Ice Rink when
the weather permits. www.
yosemitepark.com/BadgerPass_Snowshoeing.aspx.
Ahwahnee Dining Room — It
features stunning floor-toceiling views and is famous
for Sunday brunch and
dinners.
at target rocks in the water.
Hitting distant rocks scores
the most points. Another favorite was giant splash, in
which we dropped big rocks
and massive snowballs from
a bridge into the river to see
which one made the biggest
splash.
Indoors and out
After sledding and games,
we hiked through the woods
to the Ahwahnee, pulling the
kids behind us on the sleds.
Opened in 1927, the lodge is
the grand dame of national
park hotels, built to bring
influential and wealthy patrons to the park so Yosemite
would thrive.
It worked. The Arts and
Crafts style, high ceilings and
massive fireplaces bring a
feeling of warmth and grandeur. Even guests staying at
Curry Village are welcome
inside.
We treated ourselves to
$4 instant hot chocolate while
warming up by the fireplace.
Although we didn’t catch
the presentation, the Ranger
Service offers year-round
Wee Wild Ones talks for kids
6 and under at the hotel. The
lodge also has daily pre-dinner storytelling. Both events
are free.
Later we went ice skating.
This wasn’t a new treat for
our kids, but they had never
tried it outdoors. Since 1930,
Curry Village has sported an
ice rink in the shadow of Half
Dome. We joined in for a session, relaxing by the fire pit
and roasting marshmallows
when we were too cold and
tired to continue.
On our last day, we went
to the visitor’s center (take
the shuttle, because it’s a hike
from the parking lot). The
visitor’s center is large, with
great displays on the history
and geology making up Yosemite. For the kids, the free
movie, “Spirit of Yosemite,”
was a highlight. It explained
STAYCATION SPECIALS
Cruise Bay for $5
Spend a half-hour on the
Bay without having to pay
charter cruise prices.
Owner Maggie McDonogh is offering the
“Captain Maggie Special”
on the Tiburon-Angel
Island ferry through April.
Those who stay aboard the
ferry when it gets to Angel
Island pay only $5 for
the round trip (children
younger than 5 sail free).
Regular cost for those who
disembark is $13.50 for
adults, $11.50 for ages 6-12
and $3.50 for ages 3-5.
Ask for the “Captain
Maggie Special” when you
purchase your ticket. Details:
www.angelislandferry.com;
415-435-2131.
Hotel giveaway
Win a free two-night stay
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Visit Larkspur’s Facebook page, become a fan
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clude Casa Munras in Monterey, Hotel Abri and Villa
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Details: www.facebook.
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Big opening for rink
Check out former and
future ice skating champions
when the Holiday Ice Rink
in Union Square opens Nov.
11. The champions will make
an appearance noon-1 p.m.
and perform at 5. The rink is
open to the public 10 a.m.-10
p.m.
LARKSPUR COLLECTION
For a $20.10 donation, the
Win a two-night stay at one
general
public will receive a
of the Larkspur Collection
2010 Commemorative U.S.
hotels, including the Toll
Figure Skating wristband,
House Hotel in Los Gatos.
“Olympic Moment” photo opportunity and 90-minute ice
Airlines gift card and dinskating session with skate
ner for two at the hotel’s
rental.
restaurant.
The ice rink remains open
The Larkspur hotels in- through Jan. 18. For a list of
other events, times and general ticket prices, visit www.
unionsquareicerink.com or
415-781-2688.
Get third night free
Stay three nights at one
of Joie de Vivre’s 35 boutique
hotels and get the third night
free.
Part of the “Joie of Life”
promotion, the deal is available for stays through June
15 and can be booked using
the promotional code JOKE.
Reservations must be made
by May 31.
For a list of hotels and
package details: www.joieoflife.com.
— Ann Tatko-Peterson
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DEBORAH ABRAMS KAPLAN — FOR BAY AREA NEWS GROUP
Hiking in Yosemite during winter usually means plenty of
chances for impromptu sledding.
some of the same concepts,
but with gorgeous photography and an engaging narrative.
The four days passed so
quickly, we never made it to
Badger Pass, the park’s alpine ski center. And while we
planned to see the waterfalls,
still flowing in the cold of winter, we had to put that on the
list for a future visit.
Even in the winter, Yosemite keeps its visitors, of all
ages, entertained from morning to night.
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