For Those that have been to Yosemite national park

[aquaman]

what time of year is best to go?

[alittlelark]

1. A couple of weeks from now, or in late September.

[aquaman]

2. How is the weather there in late September?

[autorank]

6. It's a bit fall like, it's great -- usually sunny 60's plus, colder at

night. When the sheeple leave en mass, the critters come out so if you camp, be sure to learn how to bear-proof you camp. The last time I camped there in September, I left a box of Raisins at the head of my pup tend and had the honor of sitting and watching a bear lie surly eat them for about 15 minutes while I was stuck. Makes for a good story, though.

[aquaman]

10. lol

that is a good story.

[Dookus]

3. mid spring is lovely

[DBoon]

4. Late January

cross country skiing is great then.

[autorank]

5. That's right. You want to check the snow pack. It's intense out there

this year. But April and September are glorious. The summer crowd (aka those with school kids or those insisting on summer weather) are gone, and I mean gone. You can camp out in the valley, just enjoy or climb up to Nevada Falls for 1/2 Dome or a hike on the Muir trail. Countless opportunities. There is no place like it anywhere. It's sacred ground and you can go there! Call the park and check their web site. Good to just ask a ranger at the Park Service. In the spirit of Easter, I envy and resent you (haha). Have fun.

[hecate77]

8. Depends on what you want. Hike? See? Relax?

I've been there many times, including in mid-winter. I've hiked out of Yosemite down to Bishop. I've gone on short trips, passed through, for fun, for photography, for hiking.

If you want to hike into the back country (Muir Trail on out of the park), you need to wait at least until June, and perhaps July, to be sure the high trails are open. Sometimes they never open. If you just want to hike up to the waterfalls, you can do that even in the deep of winter. We hiked up to Vernal Falls with ice axes and crampons around New Years one time.

If you want waterfalls to be big, then you need to go in early spring, when they are at their fullest.

If you want to have nice, clear weather, and want to go up to the high overlooks, you need to wait till summer (better not mind crowds, though, because you will have lots of them). You can see the Giant Sequoias anytime of year, of course.

We were going to go a week ago for a photography trip, but the rains got pretty heavy, so we decided not to go.

[mike_c]

7. it's all good whwnever you can get over the pass...

...but midsummer is VERY crowded. Kind of like going to the Grand Canyon in summer. There are lots of other places in the eastern sierras that are almost as beautiful but damn nearly empty-- you might want to keep that in mind.

My my, remembering my last visit to Yosemite and the east side of the Sierras just made me a little teary-- it was part of the last really good road trip my ex and I did together. Damn, at the time I would have bet things would turn out differently....

[EFerrari]

9. Mid July

Stay in the River campgrounds, take your swimsuits and kick on the river.

Sure, there's a lot of people there at that time. But you can avoid most of them if you're a happy and prepared camper.

Caution: Try hard not to have food in your tent unless you want to have a long conversation with a bear.

Go, just GO! Yosemite is God's catcher's mitt.

[aquaman]

11. "Yosemite is God's catcher's mitt."

That is one of the best lines that I have ever read...

[EFerrari]

12. It's just true.

I took my boys there every summer for about ten years. It's just flat out the most beautiful place on the planet. Whatever your speed is, you can find it there.

We camped every time, and took a raft with us. And settled into cool morning coffee, biking to the river or to Mirror Lake Annex, with bag lunches. Playing in the water and napping on the beach. Then, cooking dinner we were all hungry for as if we'd dug ditches all day.

There are great nature lectures at night if you want that.

It's just great. :)

on edit: There are also hotels, motels, less basic camping arrangements. Just GO!