Tuolumne Meadows Lodge — Hotel in Mammoth Lakes

As someone who has stayed at true "glamping" resorts it's important to understand this place is just a notch up from camping, and is not "glamping". As long as you have the right expectations (no electricity, no wifi, no cell service in tents, bare bones furnishings, shared bathrooms, etc), this is a great spot. It is ideally located for accessing hikes/activities along the Tioga Pass and exploring the east side of the park. I wanted to stay here so I could get an early start on some day hikes in the area and acclimate to the altitude for tougher hikes.

The staff were friendly and helpful, my tent was clean, and I especially appreciated the wood burning stove before bed (my tend actually felt hot enough to just use a sheet when I first went to sleep). It got very cold as the night went on and although wool blankets were provided, I used my own sleeping bag and was warm. The beds are basic (metal frame standard issue type of stuff that reminded me of going to camp as a kid) and there was a table with chairs in my tent, and 2 solar lanterns to use in the tent and while walking around camp at night. Seeing all my stuff could be a bit of a challenge after dark even with the lanterns, so I recommend getting organized while it is light outside and/or bringing additional sources of light.

My tent was probably as far as you can get from the communal bathrooms (separate for men and women) so I peed outside behind my tent during the night as there was no way I was going to trek that far in the dark. That said, the showers had warm water and had conveniently located bear lockers just outside of them to keep toiletries. Be sure you arrive with all of your food and toiletries well organized/consolidated for easy storage as you cannot have anything that could attract bears in your tent or car (a general rule you should follow whenever leaving your car somewhere in Yosemite or while camping there in any kind of tent).

It was quite the haul to get my stuff to my tent but they provide good wheelbarrows (although I still found carrying my things was easier). It took a little while to orient myself to where everything was around camp (water spigots to fill water bottles, bathrooms, etc) so again, it's ideal to arrive before dark to help find your way around.

The main lodge was simple but had a small cell phone charging station, displayed weather reports, and a restaurant. I didn't eat dinner there (I went a little bit outside of the park to Lee Vining) but enjoyed my breakfast burrito. They have communal style eating at the tables and I enjoyed talking to other guests while dining. I also appreciated that they had hot water out before...

Do not make a reservation at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge! We have been making reservations here every summer for the past 5 years (2020 - 2024.) Each summer, Aramark, the outside company who manages the lodge, opens reservations and takes deposits for reservations a year in advance. These sell out immediately, so you have to make your reservations a year in advance. Aramark collects nearly $1million in deposits. They keep this money for a year while it earns interest, and then they cancel the reservations the following summer at the last minute, leaving guests without any vacation options during the busiest time of the summer. Guests cannot even go stay in Yosemite Valley because all lodging in Yosemite is sold out by the time guests are notified of the cancellation at Tuolumne Lodge. Aramark could notify guests in the spring that they will not be opening, but they don't do this so they can keep the deposits longer and not take a big hit to their financial bottom line at one time. So, they notify guests only 1 - 2 weeks in advance all summer long that their reservations have been canceled.||||Aramark took over the Yosemite lodging and food service concession contract in 2016. Since then, it has been all downhill. Aramark opened Tuolumne Meadows Lodge for the first few years of their contract and have not opened it since 2019. I do not believe they have any intention of opening Tuolumne Meadows Lodge ever again. They pretend they will open it each year so they don't violate the terms of their contract with Yosemite, but then they come up with lame excuses as to why they can't open it. These have included "too much snow", "Covid-19", "staffing shortages," and this year it is "logistical issues." In the years where they claimed, "too much snow," we found that the main road, Tioga Pass Road, had been cleared of snow by early June, so the snow was not the reason they did not open.||||Unfortunately, Aramark has the lodging and food service concession contract with Yosemite through 2031, so it doesn't look like Tuolumne Meadows will open during the next 7 years. It is heartbreaking that Aramark has destroyed such a great Yosemite experience. If you make a reservation at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, be prepared for a cancellation notice the week before you arrive. There will be no warning, no apology, and no offer of alternate lodging. If you read online reviews, you will see that many people who planned to stay in Tuolumne Meadows are very angry about receiving last minute cancellation notices...

I felt very lucky to score three nights here, since everything is normally fully booked a year in advance. But that said, these tent cabins are less than ideal. It was absolutely freezing outside in the middle of the night (literally around 32), and while there are wood stoves in each cabin that do help keep the cabins warm (and they do provide the wood for you), they create a ton of wood smoke in the area. I found it actually hard to breathe at night. And warm is a relative thing – I still slept in my long underwear, socks, gloves, and a warm cap, and chose to sleep in my warm sleeping bag rather than in the bedding that they provide. Also, depending on the location of your tent, it could be a bit of a hike to get up to the shared bathroom building, and this can feel excruciating in the middle of the night. There was a long wait for seating in the dining room, but there honestly isn’t much of anything else to do there in the evening when the sun goes down (although they did build a campfire, which was cheerful, but unfortunately also added to the heavy wood smoke in the area). Everybody is seated family style in the dining room, and it was fun to meet friendly other people and compare notes on good trails and other places to visit. Would I return again? Probably yes, but I’m also seriously considering the alternative of staying just outside of the park on the eastern end of Tioga, and just driving down to that area for day trips (thus enjoying warmer sleep, a convenient bathroom, and easier breathing at night). But it’s honestly wonderful to get away from TV and internet for a while. Even electricity—the only place to charge your cell phones is in a shared charging area near the reception desk. Just be sure you bring a lot of warm layers with you if...