Yosemite rooms sold out for summer? Just about — and then there are those overbooked cabins

Still making summer vacation plans?

Don’t cross Yosemite off the list, but for many reasons — a natural disaster last fall, a shortage of cabins and subsequent overbooking and an abundance of natural beauty — rooms are pretty much sold out now through the end of summer.

“We’re not taking reservations for Yosemite Lodge or Curry Village,” said Kenny Karst, public relations manager for DNC Parks & Resorts, which operates lodgings at the park. “We’re all sold out.” There are, however, some rooms left at the landmark Ahwahnee Hotel.

Part of the problem stems from a rock slide last October that forced the closure of 234 cabins in Curry Village. With the loss of those rooms, Karst said, DNC this week decided to ask 750 guests who had reserved “hard-wall cabins” (not tent cabins, whose reservations aren’t affected) at Curry Village between now and June 30 to consider changing the dates or type of lodging they had reserved.

However, e-mails accidentally went to about 3,000 people with reservations and caused an “unexpected call volume” — something his staff was still sorting out Thursday by issuing an 800 number for those affected by the e-mails and the cabin crunch. Right now, Karst said, DNC isn’t canceling reservations and hopes to work with guests to sort out the problem.

Karst also said there’s a request pending with the National Park Service to open 105 cabins currently used by staff.

So where does that leave you if you still want a room?

There’s a bunch of lodgings outside the park (Go to “Yosemite National Park hotel, cabin & camping roundup”).

Or you can check with DNC seven to 10 days (the period you have to cancel to get your money back) before your trip and try to snag a cancellation.

And for those who show up without reservations?

“It’s possible to just walk up to the desk and there may be a room available,” Karst said. “It’s unusual, but it does happen.”

– Mary Forgione, L.A. Times staff writer

[Photographs: Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Saturday, April 4, 2009 at 9:34 am by Mary Forgione and is filed under California, National Parks, Outdoors & Adventure, Sierra Nevada, Yosemite National Park. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.