Yosemite Lakes Country Store — Local services in Sonora

Do not go unless you just have to. Employees are the rudest of any place I’ve ever been! My family was on a 22 day cross country trip from the east coast to the west coast and back. After spending part of the day in Yosemite we were headed to Lake Tahoe. Mind you, we are following a downloaded area on Google maps and driving in completely unfamiliar territory. Knowing that we had a long drive ahead of us, we knew we needed to get gas and take a restroom break. We pulled into the gas station that was lit up, with the open sign on and customers inside at 8:59pm. As I got out of my vehicle a man opened the door and said, “We are closing now. These customers are finishing up.” As I continued approaching him to ask if we could still get gas, if we paid at the pump since the pumps were still on, the employee literally shut the door in my face mid sentence and locked it! We had 6 people in our truck. Two children and two senior citizens. We could have had an emergency or anything but it wouldn’t have mattered. I understand wanting to close up at the end of a shift and go home but what about basic human decency?! They didn’t have it here. Thankfully my gas tank held out for another hour until we found the next open gas station. Cruisers at 1036 Feather Drive, Copperopolis, CA were open and extremely friendly. After I told them what had happened, they couldn’t believe someone would be so rude. Anyways, I guess it made me appreciate them that much more. This Valero/ little country store (Thousand Trails) needs to be more selective with...

I can not say enough about how kind the people working at the country store were. As we finished pumping our gas, our ignition cylinder busted and we were unable to start our van. I went inside to let Terry (the woman working inside) know that we were stuck and we’re going to have to get towed out. She was so kind, and let me know we could use the phone as we didn’t have service. She provided us with a tow company’s number and also called Levi who works at the campground and he came up to see if he could help out with the van.

They were all so patient while I reached out to get a tow. The tow company told us we should try to stay and get a tow in the morning and the staff here went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable staying over night. Levi and Brian helped us push the van into a parking spot and Terry offered again and again to provide us with a meal or anything we need.

We did some research and we’re able to get out van started but weren’t comfortable driving at night and they still let us stay, totally understanding that we aren’t comfortable driving long distance at night in our old van. They were so supportive and cheered us on as we kept them posted on our progress trying to fix the van ourselves.

On top of all this, they even offered us lodging and the campsite bathrooms and showers. We stayed in the van because we live in it and feel comfortable in our tiny home, but we could not believe the kindness...

After reading through all reviews and noticing how old many of them are, I thought a current update is due. After spending the better part of a month in this area of Yosemite, Thousand Trails, to be exact, we don't have any local stores within general walking or bike riding convenience. This country store is the closest for 30min-1 hour minimum drive time. On every occasion, whether to ask questions or make purchases, all staff members to date have been courteous and very informative without any negative attitudes or tones of inconvenience during opperation hours. I've also witnessed most staff members helping multitudes of people, even those who are not US citizens using broken english, and were most professional and courteous likewise. Just today, I had to purchase propane for my 5th wheel RV, and apparently, I mistook this county store as the location to get my tanks refilled. They quickly used the phone and called the park ranger station to verify that I was to go there instead for my propane needs. That doesn't normally happen unless some semblance of professional or empathetic demeanor exists. So, to date, Yosemite Lakes Country Store has made my stay more than comfortable by going beyond the norm...