Suite-Life at Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite

Looking for a National Park vacation for the late summer or fall season, Explore.Better offers a comprehensive planning guide highlighting state and national parks in the U.S. Clicking on Yosemite, the land of the towering trees, granite rocks and a glacier carved valley, the site recommends staying at Tenaya Lodge as luxury basecamp.

Tenaya Lodge is the most elegant resort within two-miles of the south entrance to Yosemite National. Guests can enjoy the suite-life by staying in mountain-theme guest rooms, spacious suites, cottages, and newer two-bedroom Explorer cabins.

Spa Rooms inside the main hotel offer an extra deep and large whirlpool bathtub to relax and soak after a day of hiking, biking and sightseeing. There is also a private balcony with a sliding glass door to allow the cool mountain air inside in the evening.

Luxury Suites offer a living and dining room, work desk, wet bar, fireplace and two private balconies.  The marble bathroom has a walk-in shower and separate soaking bathtub.

Cottage rooms are built under towering Sugar Pines and Incense Cedar trees. Each cottage has three separate guest room units with a fireplace, work desk area, one king or two queen beds, a full bathroom, and patio or balcony.

The newer Explorer Cabins stand alone providing a modern cabin in the forest experience, yet with the full-service resort amenities. Some of these cabins overlook a stream or lake, while others are near a fire-pit sitting area. Guests may park in front of their cabin that sleeps up to six people. There is a kitchen and living area, two bedrooms, plush sleeper sofa, comfy Pendleton blankets, a fireplace, plank wood flooring, and private deck for alfresco meals, reading or star gazing in the evening.

Since the elevation is 5,288 feet, the summers are spectacular at the resort’s outdoor pool and whirlpools. Complimentary mountain bikes are available to ride to Tenaya Falls. Stables are nearby for a guided horseback ride in the High Sierra forest.

During the winter this resort becomes a winter wonderland with beautiful snow capped trees, an ice-skating rink, and blazing fire pits outside Jackalope’s Bar and Grill for a meal and evening roasting s’mores.

On your first full day, reserve a seat on the open-air Tenaya Lodge Yosemite Tours. The Mercedes-Benz bus features a retractable roof that opens to give guests an unobstructed views of the Yosemite Tunnel View, Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Falls and Glacier Point. This tour starts at 8 a.m. and returns back to Tenaya Lodge at 4:30 p.m.

For those who enjoy seeing the Yosemite Valley by bicycle, this tour offers a two hour lunch break. Walk to the Yosemite Lodge and rent a bicycle for $30 to see more of the Valley than you could by foot.

Be sure to ride to the Post Office at Yosemite Village. The rangers have a post card stand outside where visitors can write a card to a loved one, go into the post office to purchase a stamp and they will mail it that day. For over 150 years visitors have sent postcards from this outpost sharing a fond memory of their visit.

Back at the Tenaya Lodge there is a full service spa to indulge with a massage, facial or body treatment. The spa also offers a gym with strength training equipment and cardio stations.

During the summer months on certain nights, the staff prepare a Gold Rush Barbecue featuring classic fare, picnic tables, open fire for s’mores and live entertainment.

For those with e-cars, there are two different charging stations in the parking lot. There is one EV charger and eight Tesla Superchargers.

Now is the time to getaway to the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite. The crowds thin out after Labor Day, there is less traffic on the road and the temperature cools down. For late summer and Fall specials, go to Explore.Better and click on Yosemite and the Tenaya Lodge.