Reader Question: What’s it Like After Christmas

Marlynn wrote in to ask:

“My family and I are planning to visit Yosemite between Christmas and New Years, what can I expect? Is it crowded? How is the weather?”

Sorry Marlynn. If you’re looking for solitude to unwind after shopping and the mad Christmas rush you won’t find it in Yosemite. I could not believe the amount of people last year the day after Christmas (biggest return day of the year) in Curry Village. The apple orchard parking lot was full and cars were spilling over onto the roads. The village wasn’t any better. The summer lot was almost completely full.

It seems any time kids aren’t in school for a holiday you can be assured Yosemite will be crowded.

Last year there was some snow and ice on the road but overall there wasn’t much. It was a pretty mild year. This year I really can’t say. It IS raining today and there’s more expected later in this week. The storms coming appear to be coming out of the west and will probably stay pretty warm not leaving much snow.

A lot of the trails and roads are still open right now but any substantial amount of snow and they will close.

Good luck and have a great trip!