Earlier this week the kids, wife and I ventured to a hotel called the Tenaya Lodge which is located a couple miles outside the south entrance of Yosemite National park.  We had a wonderful time and our middle (3) and oldest (5) children really had a ball. 

As my wife and I become more experienced as parents and as our kids are able to do and experience more activities in life, a greater appreciation for certain amenities takes hold. The indoor pool is fabulous. For one the area is huge, it has an adjoining game room, and at nights the pool area features a kids movie playing against the projection screen. Our kids loved the time spent there and it didn’t feel overwhelming with noise or other stimulation that often time accompanies a kids play area.

I couldn’t help to think about the balance the Tenaya Lodge has grasped. What I mean is that the hotel has the look, feel, and history built into itself, which one would come to expect from a mountain luxury hotel. Concurrently, the hotel has the amenities you’d want as a family. From my understanding of lodging around Yosemite, I know this mix doesn’t exist elsewhere.

Outside of talking about where we stayed, we had a fun time going to Badger Pass ski area. This area was perfect for our older two son’s to play in the snow.  Plus, it looked like a winter wonderland with the trees covered with snow and snow for days on the ground. When speaking with one of the employees, he said it doesn’t get all too busy at the ski area, given that it’s a ski location within a National Park. Typically, your National Park visitor isn’t coming into the park to ski. Good information to have for future ski excursions when the boys get older.

That night my wife’s parents came up for the night and we had dinner together at the main restaurant at the hotel. The hotel provides supplies for smores, which was a hit with the kids. It did start raining while we cooked them, but that really didn’t dappen the mood or anyone’s ability to eat their roasted treat. We then ventured to the game rooms the hotel had setup. More eating of popcorn and other snack stuff while playing games. After all that, you’d thought the kids would crash into bed…not so much. 

We also ventured to Yosemite Valley, which sits at around 4,000 feet in elevation. It’s not terribly high, so no snow is on the ground in the Valley. Not a big deal, especially, since the day before the kids were snow-zone central at Bagger. We drove over to the Ahwahnee hotel where we had lunch, grabbed an ice cream (kids), and then went for a walk outside. Given the age of our kids, this level of activity was perfect. We spent somewhere short of 3 hours in the area and then headed back to Tenaya Lodge.

Outside of bad sleep on the first night and okay sleep on the second night, I think everything went very smooth. In terms of short trips we’ve done, and what I can remember, this one is probably up there at the top. 

The Tenaya Lodge was opened in 1990 and I still recall staying at the lodge soon after it first opened. My aunt had a travel agency at the time, and we were able to take advantage of some type of special promotion to go there. Going there now still reminds me of what I remember as a 7 year old; the pool, the elevators and the grandeur of the lobby area. The hotel has 242 rooms plus other arrangements like cottages and what they refer to as ‘explorer cabins’.