Need a relaxing refuge to retreat to after a day of adventuring among the natural wonders of Yosemite National Park? Our warm and inviting home is located inside the park gates equidistant from the celebrated features of Yosemite: the namesake Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point, the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias and 800 miles of hiking trails. Over and over guests tell us that when they come back at the end of the day, they feel like they are coming home.
Finished in 2010, Alpine Escape is an 840 square foot (78 square meter), one-bedroom apartment. You will enjoy a fully-equipped kitchen with full-size, quality appliances, granite countertops and a full complement of cooking equipment (pots, pans, coffee maker, blender, and so on). Knotty alder cabinets in the kitchen, bath and bedroom and knotty alder doors and trim throughout give a warm feel to the home. We live upstairs in our own apartment while you have the ground floor with a completely separate entrance.
For your comfort, we have central heat (propane) and a gas fireplace to keep you warm in winter and air conditioning (Fujitsu mini-splits) to keep you cool on the rare very hot days we have.
The living/dining area has a table for four, a large sofa and a 47" flat-screen television for watching movies from our DVD collection (news junkies beware: we do not receive a broadcast signal). The bedroom features a queen bed with a built-in knotty alder closet. An alcove off the living room provides bedding for up to two additional guests on a daybed and pullout trundle with comfortable memory foam mattresses (no miserable pullout sofa beds!). The trundle is at floor level, so it is great for younger kids, but perhaps not so great for older adults! Alpine Escape is the perfect size for a couple or a family with one or two children. We have even (rarely) hosted a group of 4 adults.
Outside you have a small, covered patio by the entrance that is just enough sit under while grilling on the gas grill, reading a book or breathing in Yosemite.
We are near the end of a quiet street, the perfect starting point for an evening stroll. Some winter mornings, we've woken to the laughter of young kids happily sledding down the road in front of our house (and observant parents keeping their eyes open for the occasional vehicle). There are places nearby to go for walks with excellent birding and wildflowers, including what may be the best display of Evening Primroses in the entire park right in our front yard (in the early 1900s the Evening Primroses were a major attraction in Yosemite Valley and the subject of some of the first hand-tinted color photos ever taken, but there are now only a handful scattered around the Valley). A network of running and hiking trails surrounds the neighborhood.
But of course, you are coming to Yosemite for the soaring granite cliffs, massive sequoia trees and tremendous views. Yosemite West is located inside the park entrance, and sits near an intersection of the roads leading to the park's most famous features: Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point and Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. These popular park destinations are all within 15-18 miles (30-35 minutes) from Yosemite West in three different directions. The Badger Pass ski area is only seven miles away providing access to Yosemite's winter wonders, including XC ski and snowshoe trails, as well as lift-served skiing and snowboarding. If you're looking to eat out, the famous restaurants of Yosemite Valley are about 30 minutes away, while the Wawona Hotel, which welcomed Theodore Roosevelt on his 1903 trip to Yosemite, is about 25 minutes in the opposite direction.
We also pride ourselves on our depth of knowledge of the park and our willingness to share that knowledge. Since 1985, we have been coming to the park for the world-class rock climbing and have been living here full time since April 2003. We're hikers, climbers, backcountry skiers and wildflower enthusiasts and general naturalists. We have worked as Assistant Manager of the Yosemite Mountaineering School running the hiking program (Theresa), a park ranger (Tom), ski instructors (both). Through those experiences, and through helping our guests over the years, we have wealth of information that we are willing to share to help you make the most of your time in Yosemite whether it's a couple of days or a couple of weeks!
