Our family loves Yosemite and although there are a lot of different areas of the park to explore, Yosemite Valley is a personal and crowd favorite. My husband and I recently visited Yosemite Valley in winter to view the famous Yosemite Firefalls phenomenon. Yosemite is on a reservation system on weekends during this time to control crowd levels and reservations were already gone for the weekend we were going. So, I booked us a room at Yosemite Valley Lodge instead of outside the park. We had a great time and I’m excited to share this Yosemite Valley Lodge review with you! As an Expedia Group partner some links contain affiliates, all opinions are my own.

Yosemite Valley Lodge review: our thoughts

where is Yosemite Valley Lodge?

Yosemite Valley Lodge is one of several traditional lodging accommodations on the valley floor of Yosemite. The price point is between the high-end historic Ahwahnee Hotel, and the more moderately priced Camp Curry motel rooms. For our purpose of hiking Yosemite Falls and seeing the firefalls, the location of the Yosemite Valley Lodge was perfect. It is located at a valley-wide shuttle stop, and as close as you can get to the trailhead of Yosemite Falls without roughing it at Camp 4.

Yosemite Valley Lodge review: dining options

One of the great things about Yosemite Valley Lodge is all the amenities you have access to on site. Those amenities include a gift shop, which alongside souvenirs offers simple groceries and several grab and go options. There’s also a cafeteria style dining option for meals called Base Camp Eatery. Base Camp Eatery at Yosemite Valley Lodge is open all day, with a variety of cuisines including Italian, American, and Asian. It’s a great place to grab a quick meal, or sip on a cold soda or hot tea from the onsite Starbucks after a long hike. I imagine it often gets crowded, but during the lower winter season we often found no lines and waited a very short time for food.

Pro tip: The best bang for the buck is the “personal” pizza. Although it only comes in cheese or pepperoni, it’s big enough for two people to share. As of February 2025, the price only came to $12.

| Read: Seeing the Firefall in Yosemite National Park |

Yosemite Valley Lodge also offers two other dining options if you want a quieter meal or a more traditional sit down. The Mountain Room is a steakhouse with incredible views of Yosemite Falls during the day. The Mountain Room is only open for dinner and the dress code is “resort casual.” You can make reservations ahead of time here. For an incredible meal in a more relaxed atmosphere, you can head right next door to the the Mountain Room Lounge. Mike and I had dinner here and everything from the braised beef to the s’mores bread pudding was absolutely incredible. There’s also plenty of televisions showing sports of various types, and a large open fireplace in the middle of the space that’s quite the focal point.

the rooms at Yosemite Valley Lodge

The rooms at Yosemite Valley Lodge are spread across several two-story buildings. We were in a room in the Alder building, which was right across from the lobby and main buildings hub. This was a very convenient location and made grabbing our food super easy! However, I will say that our room did not look quite as good as the pictures online did. Maybe some rooms have been updated more recently than others, but I was surprised by the signs of wear in the room.

Good to know: Rooms have a mini fridge and drip coffee maker. We always bring our own hot cocoa since most hotels only offer complimentary coffee, which we don’t drink.

However, our King room was clean, plenty spacious enough, and the shower was hot with excellent water pressure. Since we were on the second floor, we had vaulted ceilings, which were nice. Although, I have heard these rooms can get toasty in the summer, as there is no AC. Don’t be too concerned though, there are ceiling fans and tabletop fans in each room. All rooms also have heaters for winter that work really well! Another nice thing was that it was also incredibly quiet! We never heard a peep from other guests, even though we know our building was pretty full.

| Read: Staying at Camp Curry in Yosemite Valley |

There are a variety of room options at Yosemite Valley Lodge, including bunk rooms and family rooms. Bunk rooms have a Queen bed and a large bunk (full size mattress on the bottom, twin on top). The family rooms have a King bed, a large bunk, and a large couch. These rooms are extra large but there are only four total so they can get snatched up quickly!

Yosemite Valley Lodge review: final thoughts

Overall, we would definitely stay here again! Since we were staying in winter to view the Yosemite Firefalls, it was the perfect location. In the summer there’s also a pool and bike rentals available, which adds to the vacation fun as well. Just keep in mind, you’re paying for the location. So if you don’t mind driving a bit and maybe getting a little “more” for your money, you could book a stay at resort we love located just outside the park–Rush Creek Lodge. Read our review of Rush Creek here!

Have you ever stayed in Yosemite Valley before?

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