Curry Village

The location is everything here and seeing the sunset on Half Dome as I was unpacking my car was a great welcome. The showers and restrooms were much less busy than I expected - I never queued - and the main restaurant complex had everything I needed although it was a good 10 min walk away. I enjoyed the free nighty wildlife lectures at 8pm. I got lucky and picked up a heated tent 8 days before my stay. Keep a look out just before the cancellation cut off.

The need to use bear boxes. Food and toiletries in - great, got it! But it's getting used to emptying rucksacks of suncream etc every day and restocking next day, that grinds and things like lip balm by the bedside is therefore a No No. Day 2 and 3 I got it down, by day 4 I'd had enough. The tent just didn't feel clean, bedding etc great, but the floors and wooden structure were dirty and dusty, maybe not helped by the Dome Fire that was active, but it looked like weeks of build up in the corners.

Location location location!

The location inside the valley.

The dirt and dust, the shared toilets

Can’t beat the location, grateful for food options and coffee.

Understaffed, insane lines (I’m talking 1+ hours just to order), ordering and receiving food on Sunday took about 2 hours from standing in line to order, and then waiting for food. Room wasn’t available until 5:30 (check in time was 4pm), waited in 3 lines just to try to check in multiple times with wait times around 20 minutes every time. Staff seemed to be doing their best and often just said they were understaffed. So I understand that. But we had been up since 4am getting there, and our kids (and myself) were exhausted with no where to go. Our tent cabin was next to a very LOUD group who ignored quiet hours rules, speaking and shouting loudly in another language so perhaps there was a language barrier which rendered the quiet hours instructions ineffective. The bathrooms were not kept up (probably due to staffing shortages). I saw people washing their feet in the sink when there were showers available in the room next door. It was actually pretty disgusting. People were actively camping and sleeping in their cars in the parking lot too, which I thought was prohibited. It was Labor Day Weekend, so I knew it would be crowded. Just didn’t think it would be THIS crowded. But it’s Yosemite and it’s gorgeous. If you just look UP, you can kind of tune out the crowds and it’s still worth it.