Oakhurst, California

Location:  15 miles (24 km) from Yosemite entrance; 45 miles (72 km) from Yosemite Valley; via Highway 41 (map)

population 13,300; elevation 2,300 feet (700 meters)

Oakhurst is the largest of the towns in the mountains surrounding Yosemite. It's home to a handful of midrange motels and the Château du Sureau, a luxury hotel with an attached five-star restaurant, Erna's Elderberry House.

Pro:  Good access to southern Yosemite and a tolerable drive to Yosemite Valley. Oakhurst has two large supermarkets, a rarity in the mountain area, and you'll probably want to stock up on groceries here if you're staying in a cabin elsewhere. Oakhurst itself lies in a pretty valley where the foothills and mountains meet. Besides its proximity to Yosemite, Oakhurst is 6 miles (10 km) from Bass Lake and 11 miles (18 km) from the Chukchansi Indian casino/hotel.

Con:  Oakhurst is an unincorporated city with essentially no city planning or aesthetic oversight, and the result - let's just say that your fast food and gas station needs will not go unmet here.

Dining:  Crab Cakes and Oka's are good choices for seafood and Japanese, respectively. El Cid's, purveyor of Mexican food, is very popular with locals. People drive hundreds of miles to eat at Erna's.

Shopping:   If you're approaching Yosemite from the south, Oakhurst is your last chance to get supplies until the smaller and more expensive stores in Yosemite itself. There are two full-sized grocery stores here (Vons and Raley's) and two full-sized drug stores (Longs and Rite-Aid). In the Raley's shopping center there's a small sporting goods store where you can get Yosemite-useful gear like walking sticks and carabiners, and a bookstore to help you while away your more leisurely hours in the park. The town is also dotted with art galleries eager to help you accessorize your tent. Oakhurst's business district is located almost entirely on highways 41 and 49, so a few minutes' wandering will suffice to find anyplace mentioned here.

Coffee Emergencies:  There's a Starbucks inside Vons and another, this one with a drive-through, along Highway 41 near the middle of town. You can get Peet's coffee inside Raley's. If you prefer your baristas with a local flavor, try the Cool Bean, which you'll find behind McDonald's.

ATM Machines:  There's a Wells Fargo machine outside Vons and a branch office inside. There's also an ATM at the United Security Bank in the same shopping center. In the Raley's shopping center are branches of Washington Mutual, Bank of America, Yosemite Bank, and the Golden 1 Credit Union, each with ATM's. There are also ATM machines in several of the gas stations along Highway 41.

Medical Help:  There's an emergency room at Community Medical Providers, open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. It's located at 48677 Victoria Lane. You'll pass the turnoff as you approach town from the south on Highway 41; look for the white sign on the left as you're going downhill, about a quarter of a mile before the road flattens out.

Attractions & Entertainment:  The largest nearby attraction is the Chukchansi Casino & Hotel, 11 miles (17 km) south near Coarsegold. Besides the usual slots, poker, etc., it frequently books big-name acts of the "Hey, it's good to know they're still alive" variety.

If you're in Oakhurst on a Friday evening in the summer, head to the Pines Resort in Bass Lake (6 miles/9 km away) for Jazz on the Lake, a happy combination of dinner, outdoor lakeside seating, and live jazz. The series usually runs from late May until the end of August.

The Yosemite Sugar Pine Railroad is an antique logging train that runs daily for most of the year. It's 13 miles (20 km) north of Oakhurst and two miles (3 km) south of Fish Camp on Highway 41. It's usually daytime only, but there are occasional moonlight runs; see their schedule for particulars.

Oakhurst itself is a bit more prosaic, entertainment-wise, but there is a multiplex cinema here, in the Raley's shopping center. If you're marooned in Oakhurst in the daytime, you might be able to divert yourself at Fresno Flats, a collection of historical buildings, or the Children's Museum.

Oakhurst Hotels