re: Any of y’all ever been to Yosemite ?

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If you have an extra day I would suggest driving to sequoias and kings canyon too. Can be done as a day trip if you start early. There are several fruit stands that you will pass just east of Fresno and I highly suggest stopping in and buying whatever is in season. We picked up some of the best peaches and nectarines I’ve ever had.

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Yeah, I live in Fresno and if you have time definitely try and get over to Kings Canyon NP. You can see the giant sequoias and visit Hume Lake. Pictures can't really do them justice. Hume runs a huge summer camp and I believe you can access the grounds for refreshments, just check beforehand. If you do decide to go there after finishing with Yosemite you'll be passing through a town called Oakhurst where you can get anything you need and Bass Lake is also very close by. They filmed The Great Outdoors there. .
While the areas are still beautiful around here we have had many forest fires in recent years and well, you'll see the damage as it's hundreds of thousands of acres that have been destroyed and the new growth is just barely popping out of the ground. Here's a link to a fantastic documentary detailing the Creek Fire which devastated the areas around here. It burned from August 4th to December 22nd. I'd also recommend going to Shaver Lake & Huntington Lake if you have even more free time. They're in the wrong direction but still. The communities up there can use all of the support they can get. Shaver is a popular stop sitting a little over 5,000ft and has lodging, recreational rentals and fishing guides. Huntington is much of the same but at 7,000ft.

Creek Fire Documentary

Yes, our produce is that good so be sure to grab some.

I think the Yosemite part has been covered pretty well.

Fresno County Visitor Bureau

There are also family friendly train rides and activities that you can schedule coming south out of Yosemite. Horseback riding too, but I'm not sure your youngest would be eligible. He'd need to be seven years old for the ride.
Train Rides!
Horses too!

Have a great trip whatever you end up doing and thank you for supporting the communities.

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Thanks for the good info. Trip is a ways off but I’ll be looking forward to it big time. I’ve never been to California other than just a layover. So far the best national park I’ve visited has prob been Olympic. Yosemite has its work cut out for it to top that one .

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You're very welcome. It's nice up there and you should enjoy it. Temps in Yosemite & Shaver shouldn't get any higher than the mid 90s in the event of a heatwave. Huntington doesn't really get higher than 80 because of the elevation. I should mention that there are plenty of hiking trails around up around the lakes and in Oakhurst too.

I really wish for any of you that haven't been here that you could've see these areas in their full glory before all of the fires. It was surreal. Here in town everything smelled of a campfire. There was ash all over and smoke enveloped the city for a few months. There were even warnings that the north end of the city might need to be evacuated. The fire crews fought their butts off. Real heroes.

For your trip SFO will have the best choice of flights, but do check San Jose, its served by United and is much closer to Monterrey.

Main attraction in Cannery Row is the aquarium which is a hit for every age. A deep-sea exhibit recently opened.

In San Francisco do not park a rental car on the street even for short periods and seemingly nice places like Golden Gate Park. Window smashers prey on rentals.

I believe there are 2 hotels, (one that is very nice and the other that is just ok), curry village which has the cabins and canvas yurts that are right on top of one another, and the most primitive is called housekeeping camp. Those are outdoor beds under an open tarp area with a a little cooking facility and a fire ring. You have to be a true camper to enjoy housekeeping camp.

Thank you so much for the recs and info. Very much appreciated

Ended up booking that cabin in mariposa county for 3 nights(185/nt)and a huge condo on Monterey bay a little north of Monterey (about 15 miles) for 5 nights.(375/nt) It’s oceanfront and has a pretty quiet beach right there. I think it’ll be an awesome trip. Never really been to California other than just for a layover so I’m eager to check it out. Thanks again .

Sharing my experience from yesterday.

I called the Yosemite lodging number last week because I knew that they opened up reservations exactly 366 days in advance, and we are planning a Yosemite trip for next summer. The rep told me that my dates would open sometime between 12 AM and 6 AM Mountain time on Sunday the 19th, depending on when their system cleared the previous night’s reservations and that I would just need to refresh until I saw availability. I set my alarm for 1:55 AM Eastern yesterday morning, and started refreshing.

*SIX* hours of constantly refreshing later, at 8:13 AM Eastern, I finally saw the availability pop up on my phone and went flying into my home office to reserve. I got a room at Yosemite Valley Lodge, but not the exact room I wanted. (I live way out in the country, and that sold out to people with faster internet.) Out of curiosity, before FINALLY heading back to bed, I kept refreshing and watched until all Lodge availability was completely sold out, at 8:24 AM, eleven minutes after it opened.

Why can't they just open it at a fixed time when they're sure they will have had time to clear the previous reservations?!?! That's how it worked when I made El Tovar (Grand Canyon) reservations in April 2021 for our stay in April 2022.

Also, I think their cancellation policy is too liberal and that a nominal non-refundable charge of even $10-20 dollars per night (or reservation) may make a difference in what I know is a phenomenon of making a bunch of tentative reservations and cancelling at the last minute. That makes it difficult for others to plan. (Even a measly quarter makes people return their buggies at Aldi!)

Almost always stay in the NPs, if possible. We loved Treebones resort in Big Sur.

Agree with others, Sequoia NP is amazing.