AutoCamp Yosemite and AutoCamp Sequoia Trip

AutoCamp Yosemite and AutoCamp Sequoia Trip

It’s on! AutoCamp Reviews has found a window in the calendar, so we’re going to be heading to AutoCamp Yosemite AND AutoCamp Sequoia in late October!

AutoCamp Yosemite and AutoCamp Sequoia Trip: The Weather

Weather in the Parks

One of the biggest impediments to this trip has been weather and our calendar. As many of you know, Yosemite and Sequoia can get epic amounts of snow. Tire chains are a must November through March. Areas of Yosemite sometimes don’t open until late June! By then, the weather is getting too hot for comfortable hiking for me. Same for Sequoia. The other piece of the puzzle is that we spend summers on Cape Cod. That’s why we call AutoCamp Cape Cod our “home AutoCamp”! We do take trips in September, but we’ve been booked out since AutoCamp Sequoia opened. In fact, we’re going on an African Safari this late September/early October.

We’re super eager to get to AutoCamp Yosemite and AutoCamp Sequoia, so, just two weeks after returning from South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, where we’ll be doing some epic glamping!, we are going to get out to AutoCamp Yosemite and AutoCamp Sequoia!

Oh yeah – we’ll be documenting our Safari glamping!

Weather at the AutoCamp Locations

The actual AutoCamp locations have very different weather than the national parks due to the elevation in the parks.

AutoCamp Yosemite is located in Mid Pines, CA. AutoCamp Sequoia is in Three Rivers, CA

AutoCamp Location	Park Oct Temps, Precip	AutoCamp Oct	Park Nov Temps, Precip	AutoCamp Nov
Yosemite	72/42 3 days rain	78/53 2 days rain	57/33 5 days rain	65/45 4 days rain
Sequoia	54/31 3 days	81/49 2 days	43/23 5 days	67/40 4 days

We will be going the last week of October, so we expect – on average – the temps to be right between the October and November averages. As you can see, October temps are still very high at the two AutoCamp locations, so we’ll be lucky if we split the difference. These temps matter not just to hiking comfort, but also as to which type of accommodation we book for this trip. See below about that.

AutoCamp Yosemite and AutoCamp Sequoia Trip: The Route

First things first – how many nights do I need? And how many nights can I fit in? I started with mapping the trip. Great news – AutoCamp Yosemite and AutoCamp Sequoia are only 2 1/2 hours apart, AND they are only about 90 minutes from Fresno Yosemite International Airport!

As you can see, we’re choosing to head to AutoCamp Yosemite first. It’s just 15 minutes farther from Fresno Yosemite International Airport, but we’ll have an early flight on our day of departure, so being 15 minutes closer to the Airport will be helpful. However, we’ll spend the last night at the airport since we’ll have a super early flight. We like the looks of this route. We won’t have to double back entirely, allowing us to see more of this area of California, so we’ll visit Yosemite first.

AutoCamp Yosemite and AutoCamp Sequoia Trip: The Logistics

We will spend 3 nights at AutoCamp Yosemite. We’ll arrive mid-afternoon on Day 1, giving us 3 full days and 3 nights before moving on to AutoCamp Sequoia. I know, I know, it’s not enough time, but remember, we’re shoe-horning this trip in! We will also have only a 2 1/2 hour ride the day we move from AutoCamp Yosemite to AutoCamp Sequoia, so we’ll have almost all of that day, as well. We’ll check out and decide what to do in Yosemite before the drive to Sequoia. We’ll arrive early evening. Likewise, we’ll then have 3 full days and 3 nights before our departure, which will be late on the final day. We’ll then head to the airport to sleep for an early morning flight.

• Day 1 – fly; arrive at AutoCamp Yosemite mid-afternoon; sleep at AutoCamp Yosemite
• Day 2 – Yosemite National Park; sleep at AutoCamp Yosemite
• Day 3 – Yosemite National Park; sleep at AutoCamp Yosemite
• Day 4 – Yosemite National Park; drive to AutoCamp Sequoia late afternoon; sleep at AutoCamp Sequoia
• Day 5 – Sequoia National Park; sleep at AutoCamp Sequoia
• Day 6 – Sequoia National Park; sleep at AutoCamp Sequoia
• Day 7 – Sequoia National Park; sleep at airport
• Day 8 – fly home

AutoCamp Yosemite and AutoCamp Sequoia Trip: Airstream or Cabin?

One of the biggest decisions for any AutoCamp trip is whether to book an Airstream or Cabin, formerly known as X Suites. Anyone who follows this site knows that I was initially not a fan of the AutoCamp Airstream because it’s really nothing like commercial Airstreams. However, we’ve come to love them! They’re designed for short stays, as opposed to typical Airstreams, but they’re fun and cool, BUT there is no way to cook indoors other than in the tiny microwave.

SO…if we are booking a trip when weather is an issue, we book cabins. Not the big traditional cabins but the former X Suites that are now called cabins. We give a breakdown of what is available in terms of accommodations at every AutoCamp here.

AutoCamp Yosemite

This was the configuration several years ago. The number of cabins, family cabins, and tents may have been altered a bit.

• 35 acres
• 80 Airstreams
• 3 former X Suites, now Cabins
• 15 tents
• 2 Traditional Cabins

Given the favorable temperatures and little rain, above, we will opt for an Airstream at AutoCamp Yosemite.

AutoCamp Sequoia

AutoCamp Sequoia has other options not available at the other camps, like Bunk Rooms – hotel style rooms. We’re going to opt for the Premium Cabin – the former X Suite. We really love those tiny homes, and they’re actually more comfortable in case we get those very chilly nights that are possible. We can cook breakfast indoors and watch tv in the living room. That is what is short-changed in the Airstreams.

AutoCamp Yosemite and AutoCamp Sequoia Trip Conclusion: Detailed Plans

Stay tuned for an article that will outline our must-dos for both AutoCamp Yosemite and AutoCamp Sequoia! Again, we’re aware this is a fast trip, but we only have this amount of time, so better to see some of each park than none of either! So, we’ll be hitting the highlights in both parks. We’ll share those plans soon!