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San Fran to Yosemite public trans
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Home › Forums › General Forums › General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion › San Fran to Yosemite public trans
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Jun 15, 2011 at 11:03 am #1275480
What are the options for getting from San Fran to Yosemite without a car?
I've seen the amtrak train/bus for $35
Jun 15, 2011 at 11:37 am #1749596I'm thinking Amtrak to Merced, then YARTS to the park. Mind, I haven't sussed out the connections and how long it actually takes, but the pieces are there. It has to beat riding the dog (Greyhound).
Cheers,
Rick
Jun 15, 2011 at 11:56 am #1749618Amtrak/YARTS is one of the best bargains out there, with the park entry fee included. Remember YARTS is weekend only during June and Sept.
Jun 15, 2011 at 3:33 pm #1749693I just did the train thing this past week. It's not bad at all, quite enjoyed it in fact.
You can buy the ticket online and pick it up at the Ferry building right before you board the bus. The price will vary depending on when you book, just like an airline ticket, but somewhere between $31 and $40 one way fare. There are various discounts including AAA. And yes it includes the $20 Yosemite NP entrance fee.
The bus ride from San Francisco to Emeryville is super quick maybe 15 minutes. Then a 20 minute wait for the train. Three hour train ride to Merced on a nice old double decker train that has a simple restaurant car. Another 20 minute wait for the YARTS bus. Two hour and ten minute bus ride to the visitors center in Yosemite Valley. Total travel time is just over six hours and all quite pleasant.
There are three rides per day in each direction that have train and YARTS times all matching up like this.
Jun 15, 2011 at 3:52 pm #1749697Thanks Kristin, for the great summary and feedback. Just avoiding the joust out of the Bay Area in traffic would be worth it.
Tioga Pass highway is slated to open this Saturday, for anybody interested. No services at the summit, though.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/15/3703478/major-road-into-yosemite-to-open.html
Cheers,
Rick
Jun 15, 2011 at 6:01 pm #1749748Thanks for the info. We will definitely do this
The amtrak $45 looks like it include (7am) bus to emeryville and then train to merced then bus to valley (1:20p)
mmmmm pre-hike hamburger : )
and then 5PM bus to tuolumne meadows (6:45p)
Nice reading about road opening – 4th latest since 1980
Now I will work into my plan – again THANKS very much for your info
Jun 16, 2011 at 9:15 am #1749964We're planning to go to Yosemite in July from San Franciso, and had planned on renting a car, which looks like it will cost us a fortune. I'm very interested in doing the Amtrak/YARTS thing and it will fit well into our plans and schedule.
The only problem, though, is that we'll have a little non-backpacking luggage (a couple changes of clothes, pjs, etc) along for the days before and after the backpacking part of our trip. We can pack light and it won't be more than 1 carryon-size suitcase, but we'll need somewhere to store that while we're out backpacking for a week. We have reservations at Curry Village for two nights near the end of our trip. Does anyone know if we could store our luggage at Curry Village for a week or have any suggestions of where else we could store it? We had planned to leave it in the trunk of the car.
Jun 16, 2011 at 10:45 am #1749993You can leave stuff in the bear boxes that are at every trailhead. Even when I drove to Yosemite, I rarely left things in the car, as I was worried about food scent on stuff and Yosemite bears break into cars. Even if the bear broke into my car just on spec, I didn't want my stuff getting shredded.
I left a large duffel bag in a bear box a Cathedral TH in Tuolumne for 4 days because I was in the process of moving and was going straight from Yosemite to the airport. I just wrote the date of my return on a piece of duct tape and stuck it on so a Ranger wouldn't dispose of it.
In the summer, rock climbers pretty much live out of the bear boxes at Curry Village.
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