Why Tenaya Lodge Is One Of The Best Places to Stay near Yosemite With Kids [Review]

Looking for hotels adjacent Yosemite National Park? What astir places to enactment adjacent Yosemite with kids?

I person conscionable the place! The Tenaya Lodge Yosemite Valley was 1 of the champion accommodation choices we made during our roadworthy travel crossed America.

Tenaya Lodge

It had adjacent proximity to Yosemite but without the extortionate prices of really staying successful the park, positive the amenities were family-friendly and a invited tract aft we came backmost from a time of exploring.

With truthful galore Yosemite National Park accommodation lodging options to take from, and considering however fashionable Yosemite is, I cognize that it tin beryllium hard to cognize wherever to enactment erstwhile readying to sojourn Yosemite NP.

Which is wherefore I wrote this reappraisal of Tenaya astatine Yosemite truthful you tin recognize a spot much astir what to expect from a enactment here.

About Tenaya astatine Yosemite

If you haven’t heard of Tenaya astatine Yosemite before, let maine to concisely present them. Tenaya is simply a full-service edifice that’s located conscionable 2 miles extracurricular Yosemite National Park successful the serene backdrop of the Sierra National Forest.

It’s determination is perfect for quality lovers, who are not lone looking to sojourn Yosemite but different nationalist parks and forests successful the portion arsenic well.

Located adjacent is the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, Speckerman Mountain, Hogan Mountain, Wawona Point and Bass Lake.

The edifice offers respective types of accommodation from edifice rooms to lodges and cottages and spacious suites, arsenic good arsenic a full big of edifice amenities.

Our Experience Staying astatine Tenaya Lodge astatine Yosemite

Enjoying the indoor blistery tub with the kids

I loved our 4 nighttime enactment astatine Tenaya Lodge astatine Yosemite during our 5 time travel to Yosemite successful May.

I besides went backmost and stayed different 3 nights connected a abstracted 3 time travel to Yosemite with Globus Journeys.

In fact, it has been 1 of my favourite resorts stays successful the USA truthful acold and is cleanable for those looking for an eventual Yosemite household vacation.

Tenaya Lodge was a warm, comfy and affable acquisition that was a cleanable lucifer for the outstanding quality and outdoor escapade successful the Yosemite area.

I loved coming location to the lodge aft a time connected the Yosemite hiking trails to a blistery tub, a solid of vino by the fire, a delicious repast and conversations with different travelers astir the world.

Drinks by the occurrence successful the lobby

When traveling we typically walk astir of our clip interacting with different Americans successful campgrounds, and usually successful hotels we enactment at. Most hotels are ace engaged and everyone is coming and going connected their ain agendas!

But successful the Tenaya Lodge it felt similar much of a planetary gathering spot and I realized however overmuch I missed that and however isolated we are from it.

Don’t get maine wrong, I emotion Americans and americium ever blessed to chat with them.

But I bash miss interacting with radical from different countries, and Tenaya was similar the aged hostel situation for maine – agelong earlier astute phones took our attraction away.

The diverseness of guests astatine Tenaya Lodge was awesome – young, old, couples, families, and groups of friends!

We had conversations successful the blistery tub, lobby, meal array and astir the s’mores campfire astatine nighttime with radical from England, Ireland, Australia and America. I besides heard accents from Germany, France and Italy.

Oh this is the goodness of question each right.

Communal occurrence pit

No 1 was excessively caught up successful their phones to disregard each other.

This spot was astir sharing your memories of the time exploring Yosemite National Park California and tips and tidbits for aboriginal travel. Just similar the bully ole days!

Tenaya Lodge Yosemite had a unit that matched this jovial, affable atmosphere.

I don’t deliberation I person encountered much genuinely affable and lukewarm unit before. They indispensable each beryllium treated good arsenic you could archer they liked their occupation and they liked people.

And did I notation kid-friendly? They adjacent person a kids check-in conception astatine the lobby.

I paid adjacent attraction to their interactions with different guests arsenic good conscionable to beryllium sure. And I noticed the aforesaid attraction and warmth to everyone. I was truthful precise impressed.

Here are much reasons wherefore staying astatine Tenaya Lodge is simply a fantastic enactment for your Yosemite vacation.

Activities astatine Tenaya Lodge

Kids Adventure course

There are plentifulness of things to bash astatine Tenaya Lodge, for young and old.

While I loved the inclusion of these activities, I loved however they weren’t the absorption of your enactment arsenic different household resorts are. They’re additions to the main lawsuit – visiting Yosemite National Park.

We planned our Tenaya Lodge activities for our down time we had astatine the lodge, which is thing I urge you bash erstwhile you visit Yosemite.

There are truthful galore amazing things to bash successful Yosemite with kids (or adjacent arsenic a couple) that everyone tin get bushed beauteous quickly. It’s a bully thought to soak up the warmth and relaxation of Tenaya for a afloat day!

Sadly our time of remainder (although good timed) was erstwhile it rained each day. And adjacent hailed!

Kalyra braving the rainfall earlier the escapade course

Our kids (aged 11 and 7) decided they wanted to spell extracurricular and bash the activities anyway. What’s a small rainfall for these fearless adventurers?

Although astatine the extremity of archery they did inquire to cancel stone climbing arsenic their limbs were freezing and they thought it mightiness beryllium a small excessively slippery.

Kids Adventure Course

Kids escapade course

Our daughters, Kalyra and Savannah, truly enjoyed the kids escapade course!

It is kid sized and they typically bash overmuch higher and much challenging escapade courses.

But adjacent though this 1 was overmuch easier, they utilized it arsenic an accidental to signifier immoderate analyzable skills similar walking backward, doing it with eyes closed and nary hands, and timing however accelerated they could zip around.

They did each of this successful the rainfall excessively with smiles connected their faces.

Archery Lessons

Savannah the crisp shooter

The different enactment they loved was archery.

They were some precise bully astatine it, landing lone millimeters from the bulls eye, and they played unreal bow and arrow hunting games done the lodge halls for the remainder of the afternoon.

Guided Flashlight Hike

On our archetypal evening we joined an hr agelong guided flashlight hike, which was a chill summation to our Yosemite trip.

Everything is truthful antithetic erstwhile viewed successful the acheronian nether the airy of a flashlight. Savannah stayed beauteous adjacent to my side, particularly erstwhile learning astir the nonmigratory achromatic Bear, Booboo.

We learned a batch astir the wood – the flora and fauna of this area. It was truthful absorbing and made maine autumn successful emotion with trees each implicit again.

We adjacent had the accidental to snack connected a fewer ants, though passed.

Our usher was precise knowledgeable and passionate astir the country and the forest. He was a uncommon autochthonal of the section town, Fish Camp, the precise tiny municipality wherever Tenaya Lodge is located.

You tin signifier these activities (for a fee) with the edifice concierge, which I recovered incredibly helpful. Once again, I truly liked the unit astatine Tenaya.

Campfire S’mores

What’s a Yosemite National Park lodging acquisition without s’mores?

We were truthful grateful connected our past nighttime for the rainfall and snowfall to halt truthful we could spell extracurricular to the firepit and roast s’mores. It doesn’t substance however often we bash this, the girls ne'er get bushed of it.

It’s a precise communal happening for them to acquisition connected our 1 twelvemonth USA roadworthy trip!

You tin acquisition kits from the lodge and they person a circumstantial occurrence pit for s’mores. If you privation to skip the s’mores and person serenity by the fire, extracurricular the main edifice is simply a immense occurrence pit to beryllium astir with a solid of wine, oregon beer.

Again, some occurrence pits were buzzing with conversation. The Tenaya Lodge is precise social.

Nearby Waterfall Hike

It’s not conscionable Yosemite National Park California that you tin research whilst staying astatine the lodge. There are hiking trails from the lodge into the Sierra wood surrounding Tenaya. 

We took the 5.5 mile instrumentality hike to a adjacent waterfall and swimming hole. I deliberation the h2o was moving excessively furiously to bask swimming successful this area, and excessively cold, but seemingly it’s a section hidden gem.

It was an casual level locomotion done the wood and was truthful peaceful and quiescent with lone america connected the trail. We saw cervid on the mode arsenic well!

I loved the past mile of the hike that took you on a constrictive histrion lined way beside the creek. It was beauteous and offered a antithetic acquisition to different Yosemite National Park trails.

The lodge besides offers guided hikes to this waterfall connected Saturdays.

List of Tenaya Lodge activities connected offer:

• Mountain biking successful the Sierra National Forest
• Wine and overgarment night
• Archery lessons
• Daily greeting guided hikes
• Guided flashlight hikes
• Nightly outdoor s’mores
• Ranger talks
• Climbing wall
• Kids escapade course
• Horse backmost riding
• Kids camp
• Fishing rod rentals

Amenities astatine Tenaya Lodge

Indoor and /Outdoor Pools and Hot Tubs

I deliberation I mentioned the connection blistery tub a fewer times!

You person your prime of 2 indoor blistery tubs (one is adults only) and an outdoor blistery tub. While immoderate radical were spotted braving the chill temperatures successful the outdoor blistery tub, we stuck to easing our bushed muscles successful the indoor one.

The girls enjoyed swimming successful the indoor excavation portion we watched from the blistery tub.

The outdoor excavation is successful a beauteous mounting surrounded by the wood and has a mates of antithetic pools and blistery tubs. There is besides an extracurricular barroom – Barefoot bar, opened during warmer times.

On immoderate evenings they person a dive-in poolside movies – which is simply a movie playing supra the Tenaya lodge pool. You tin interval and aquatics portion watching it.

We didn’t get clip to bash that.

Arcade Games Room

The girls loved the Arcade Room, which was different spot radical gathered to sprout excavation oregon play backgammon, checkers and chess.

There was 2 gaming stations, which is what the girls spent a batch of their clip doing.

Since I watched a peculiar connected the antagonistic effects of the crippled Fortnight connected a child’s encephalon portion moving retired successful the fittingness halfway that morning, I ensured I constricted their clip playing that game!!

Ascent Spa

What would marque the eventual Yosemite vacation?

Amongst the physically demanding hikes you tin equilibrium it retired with a heavy insubstantial massage.

That whitethorn not beryllium everyone’s thought of relaxation, but you’ll find different massage options to suit your mood. Or possibly a facial instead, oregon spell afloat retired and bash them all.

After months of hiking successful the Southwest, my assemblage was begging for a heavy insubstantial massage. It was awesome and gave immoderate alleviation to a persistent enarthrosis contented I have.

It’s important for parents to person their clip retired moments connected a household vacation, and the Ascent Spa Tenaya Lodge is the champion spot for you to find it.

You tin get everything you request astatine the on-site Spa. Be definite to decorativeness your massage with a steam bath to assistance those muscles adjacent more!

The Ascent Spa was a beauteous relaxing abstraction and each guests person entree to the steam country and sauna and almighty showers. Craig and I liked ducking down determination to person a steam country aft a time of hiking successful Yosemite.

Next doorway to the spa is besides a fittingness center/gym. It’s a small connected the tiny side, but has plentifulness of instrumentality to springiness you that workout you need.

Restaurants astatine Tenaya Lodge

Jackalope’s Bar & Grill

Tenaya Lodge has three restaurants: Jackalopes Bar & Grill, Embers and Timberloft Pizzeria. We wanted to effort the pizza astatine Timberloft but it lone opens during the precocious season.

We didn’t devour astatine the fancier of the two, Embers. It is said to beryllium family-friendly with large food, though the ambiance felt much intimate and quiescent truthful we  decided to enactment distant with our younger kids.

Jackalope’s Bar & Grill

We loved Jackalope’s Bar & Grill though, and ate determination for meal and meal each day!

Jackalope’s was buzzing with blessed speech implicit bully nutrient and drinks. Our prime was the curried cauliflower and chickpea stew, the caramelized brussel sprouts, and the burgers.

Our kids enjoyed their mac & food and strawberry shortcake dessert.

Tenaya Lodge Breakfast

For breakfast, you tin take from the ala carte menu, oregon dive into the buffet. The girls loved the buffet, whereas the ala carte worked amended for Craig and I with our dietary restrictions.

Although we did person the buffet the archetypal morning, and the prime of the nutrient options was precocious compared to different resorts we person stayed at.

yummy omelette from the ala carte paper by the fire

There is besides the Harvest & Grounds Deli (like a tiny wide store/parkside deli) which offers snacks, picnic lunch, and amazingly bully coffee.

In the summer, they person Timberloft Pizzeria and outdoor Summerdale BBQ with unrecorded entertainment.

Rooms astatine Tenaya Lodge

The accommodation astatine Tenaya Lodge suits each types of travelers, which is different crushed I loved it. All lodge rooms were renovated successful 2019 and person a High Sierra plan touch.

Lodge Rooms

For solo travelers, couples, and tiny families, you’ll beryllium blessed with the Tenaya Lodge rooms ranging from:

• Premium Room
  • Two queen beds oregon 1 king bed
  • 350 quadrate feet
  • Individual country clime control
  • Work table with machine information port
• Extended Two Queen

Our room

Perfect for families and what we slept in.

We recovered this country to beryllium spacious and comfy and loved the sitting country which came successful useful for moving astatine the table and playing Clue connected the java table.

And the girls were precise excited by the crippled options you could cheque retired from the beforehand desk.

• Two queen beds
• 450 quadrate feet
• Sitting country with pull-out sofa bed
• Private balcony oregon patio
• Work table with machine information port

For those who privation a small much luxury and romance, opt for the Spa Room.

• Spa Room (spacious bath making it cleanable for romanticist getaways)

• 550 quadrate feet
• One King bed
• Sitting country with pull-out sofa bed
• Soaking tub
• Separate shower
• Private balcony
• Wet bar

The Deluxe Suite offers a abstracted chamber and surviving abstraction area. And the Luxury Suite offers the aforesaid but astatine a bigger level and upland lodge décor.

• Deluxe Suite
  • 650 quadrate feet
  • King furniture successful bedroom
  • Pull-out queen-size sofa furniture successful surviving room
  • Two armoires each with cablegram flat-screen TV (one successful bedroom, 1 successful surviving room)
  • Coffee table, bedewed barroom and refrigerator
  • Work table with machine information port
• Luxury Suite
  • 800 quadrate feet
  • King furniture successful bedroom
  • Pull-out queen-size sofa bed
  • Two armoires each with cablegram flat-screen TV
  • Coffee table, bedewed barroom and refrigerator

Cottages

For ample groups traveling together, similar aggregate families or multi generational families, you’ll emotion the Tenaya Lodge Cottages.

They are portion of a duplex oregon triplex cottage gathering nestled into the Sugar Pine and Incense Cedar wood offering a much secluded upland getaway, but conscionable a abbreviated locomotion from the main lodge.

It feels similar a cozy neighborhood, and you inactive person entree to each the lodge amenities.

The duplex (cottage room) oregon triplex (cottage suits) connection you your ain abstraction wrong a radical question experience.

Your radical could rent retired the full cottage, but inactive person 2 oregon 3 abstracted sleeping areas. It’s a clever accommodation offering from Tenaya Lodge.

Explorer Cabins

For self-sufficient travelers you volition emotion the two-bedroom explorer cabins, which travel with a spacious surviving and eating area, a fireplace, and a room country with full-sized fridge and java makers.

There are communal Explorer Clubhouses and s’more occurrence pits.

You tin besides entree everything successful the main lodge. They travel with a refrigerator and a microwave and a covered porch.

Other Things to Love astir Tenaya Lodge Yosemite

Stylish décor with warm, calm ambiance

Lobby

There was a lukewarm calm ambiance passim the lodge.

I’ve stayed astatine galore places similar this earlier wherever the vigor has been rather frantic and loud. You didn’t acquisition that here.

It had a lovely, astir meditative energy.

You astir thought determination was nary 1 around, but past astatine nighttime and successful the greeting the eating areas were packed and a buzz appeared but it wasn’t excessively overmuch to annoy you. It was conscionable the cleanable magnitude of blessed energy.

You could archer this was a spot wherever peculiar memories were created.

With Yosemite National Park on your doorstep, you had overmuch to speech astir implicit a solid of vino and a delicious meal.

Tours of Yosemite National Park

luxury circuit autobus with a roll-back roof

If you don’t privation to research Yosemite by yourself, and would consciousness much comfy successful a tiny radical circuit with an adept section guide, Tenaya Lodge offers full-day oregon half-day Yosemite tours.

There is besides a Glacier Point sunset and starry skies circuit (seasonally).

If you person lone 1 day, a circuit tin beryllium an fantabulous mode to marque definite you spot the highlights.

And you’ll beryllium exploring Yosemite successful the comfortableness of a luxury circuit autobus with a roll-back roof.

Free laundry

This whitethorn not beryllium of involvement to immoderate travelers, but it decidedly was to us.

Finding places to bash our laundry connected a agelong roadworthy travel is simply a play task for us.

Having entree to the washer and dryers successful Tenaya, and for free, was truthful helpful. And if you’re retired doing tons of Yosemite activities, you’d astir apt request your closed washed astatine immoderate signifier too!

On the time we checked retired we were capable to bash our laundry truthful we were acceptable for San Francisco.

Things to Keep In Mind

We know nary accommodation is perfect, and we similar to see immoderate negatives oregon challenges we experienced astatine places we stay.

There truly wasn’t overmuch astatine all. We had a beauteous enactment and look guardant to going backmost again.

Limited eating options nearby

I didn’t similar however determination wasn’t galore eating options adjacent to the resort. The nearest municipality was a 20-minute thrust away.

The nutrient astatine Jackalope was delicious, but I bash nevertheless similar assortment and trying antithetic places to devour portion connected vacation.

Given it was a resort, the nutrient was a small pricier truthful eating retired would beryllium easier connected your wallet. You could devour retired portion successful the Yosemite National Park, oregon person a picnic, and conscionable devour astatine the edifice once, oregon connected your down days.

The thrust into Yosemite

Tunnel View place connected the thrust from Tenaya Lodge to Yosemite Valley

Tenaya Lodge is astir an hours thrust from Yosemite Valley, but it’s lone 2 miles from the southbound entranceway to the park, and past a fewer minutes to the Mariposa Grove conception of Yosemite.

You tin work much astir that successful our Yosemite question guide. You decidedly don’t privation to miss it. It’s besides not excessively acold from Wawona which is different colony country successful Yosemite.

To beryllium clear, I didn’t caput it being that acold distant from the valley. The thrust successful and retired was beautiful, particularly the higher sections covered successful present and the spectacular Tunnel View we got toed acquisition each clip we drove backmost to Tenaya Lodge.

Plus, I usage question clip to get enactment done successful the car, truthful it was ace useful for maine to get those 2 hours each day.

driving done snowfall successful May

After seeing Yosemite Lodge successful the Valley (another Yosemite accommodation enactment we were considering) I was truthful gladsome we decided to enactment an other 2 nights astatine Tenaya, contempt the commute in.

Yosemite Lodge has the determination successful Yosemite Valley, but the rooms didn’t look that large (this is aft lone seeing the extracurricular and tiny glimpses done the opened doors).

They were motel benignant buildings truthful had nary cardinal wrong space.

What I didn’t similar astir the thought of staying successful the Valley was it was mode excessively busy.

People were everyplace and determination wasn’t that lukewarm relaxed, communal gathering consciousness that I loved truthful overmuch astir Tenaya.

Noise successful room

There was this unusual tapping/knocking sound successful our room, adjacent the bath walls, which was rather noticeable during the inactive of the night, which we reported to the beforehand desk.

We don’t cognize if it was due to the fact that determination was truthful overmuch rainfall and thing was continually dripping, oregon it was a tube vibrating, oregon what?

I’m a beauteous dense sleeper truthful it didn’t fuss maine excessively much, but it annoyed Craig and Kalyra. I’m definite we conscionable had a atrocious tube oregon something.

FAQs About Tenaya Lodge

Here’s what radical usually inquire america astir staying astatine Tenaya Lodge…

How to Get To Tenaya Lodge

Tenaya Lodge is located successful the municipality of Fish Camp, which is 2 miles (4km) from the Mariposa Grove entranceway (South Gate) to Yosemite National Park.

If you are driving from San Francisco Airport to Tenaya Lodge, it volition instrumentality you approx 4.5 hours astatine a region of 208 miles. From Los Angeles to Tenaya Lodge, it volition instrumentality astir 5 hours to thrust and 277 miles.

Even further afield, Las Vegas to Tenaya Lodge (via Bakersfiled) is 455 miles and takes approx 8.5 hours.

Directions to Tenaya Lodge

Above is simply a representation of Tenaya Lodge astatine Yosemite Fish Camp CA. You tin usage this representation to find directions from your existent destination. Or you tin input the code into your GPS.

The code is: 1122 CA-41, Fish Camp, CA 93623

Final Thoughts connected Staying astatine Tenaya

I anticipation you recovered this Tenaya Lodge reappraisal adjuvant and insightful. We had a fantastic enactment present and I bash deliberation Tenaya Lodge astatine Yosemite tin springiness you a better, much memorable Yosemite household abrogation experience.

Staying successful Yosemite Valley would beryllium purely for the location.

But staying astatine Tenaya Lodge Fish Camp was a item of our Yosemite trip.

Video Review of Tenaya astatine Yosemite

Things to bash successful Yosemite National Park with kids video:

Need much inspiration for Yosemite National Park? Watch our video of our acquisition here…

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