Hotel Review: Rush Creek Lodge

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Hi there! Since the lockdown ended we’ve had the opportunity to stay at a bunch of hotels within a few hours drive from the Bay Area. I get a lot of requests to recommend family hotels and so finally decided to get off my lazy butt and start sharing some.

Now this isn’t like my “old” hotel reviews where I have lots of high quality photos…for one, I always forget the camera, two, the room gets destroyed as soon as we enter, and three I’m just busier carrying all the kids stuff so I never remember to take pics! But I hope this review is still helpful. I was going to do all my recs in one post but for ease for finding them I’m actually going to split.

So. Starting this off with Rush Creek Lodge. We stayed here nearly a year ago. It’s a sister hotel to Evergreen Lodge, which is also supposed to be really good! They both have accommodations that can easily fit a family of four, or larger, and so it was kind of a tossup between the two. I think Rush Creek might had more rooms available when we booked? I forgot why we chose it in the end, but anyway, it was great.

Location: Rush Creek is one of the few options to stay right outside of Yosemite Park, versus actually *in* the park. Of course it’s more convenient to stay inside of the park, but I think those hotel rooms fill up super fast, and also some of the reviews were quite frankly scary. So we decided to stay outside. Rush Creek is close to a back entrance of Yosemite, but to be honest we didn’t spend much time in the park anyway, this round…we only went there one day. Which I know is blasphemy to some but there was enough to amuse as on the resort grounds and it was just easier. Also it’s about a 3 hour drive from the Bay Area and we were tired from the drive. I know some people can do these huge road trips with their kids in the car. So far we….struggle with this, ha.

If you do go during ski season, it’s about 40 minutes from Badger Pass, for some easy family skiing (and it’s quite affordable there too).

Accommodations: I really liked our room, which was a one bedroom villa. There was a pull out bed in the “main” room, as well as a separate bedroom which the kids stayed in, and a bathroom in between. And there was a large balcony, and plenty of storage space. Really quite spacious for a family! Also, all of these villa type rooms are in free standing buildings with two floors. Our visit, we stayed on the bottom floor. I would suggest if you are sensitive to noise, to stay on the second floor. HOWEVER – if you have lots of luggage, also beware that you will have to be lugging them up and down the stairs! So I think there are pros and cons to both levels.

Activities: There’s a big pool which is always nice, and a hot tub which I think is 24-7. Keep this in mind if you want to stay in the main building, these rooms face the pool! When we went, it was winter and there were still a lot of families using this pool. We didn’t because we are wimps.

There are also these big ziplines on the property which my kids LOVED. They wanted to do it for hours. It was tiring for me as they were still of the age where we had to lift them each time onto the line. However once they were bigger I can totally imagine just sitting nearby with a book as they climb on themselves. One day!!

Also, there were hiking trails on property, and a little hill for sledding, which my kids loved (bring your own sled!). Note that in colder months, when there’s snow, the trails can get slushy…but you have the advantage of things like skiing. In spring/summer, I’d imagine you can enjoy the trails more.

Food: I think Yosemite area is pretty sparse on food options. In fact, when we asked where else there was to eat, most people recommended the sister property, Evergreen Lodge, which was a 15-20 minute drive away. We ended up eating at the hotel for all meals. We stayed early in the year when there was a surge and my youngest wasn’t vaccinated yet and so we actually ate in our room (takeout) for all meals. I would say it’s decent quality, a little expensive, but you don’t really have a choice. I’d also recommend packing some items to keep in the mini. fridge like milk, cheeses to snack on, some fruit, etc, if you are staying for a few days.

Also – the property offers a free s’mores kit each night, which you can take out to the firepits. So you don’t need to buy dessert (unless you hate s’mores). We all looked forward to this each night.

Price: From what I’ve seen, Rush Creek typically runs (depending on the time of year), between $400 and $600 for a villa like the one we had. You can also get a room in the main building for a little less. If you stay in off season, there are also usually deals, which are all on their website. I think their site has the cheapest rates.

Some last things to keep in mind:

1. High season I believe is in spring break/summer! So if you want a deal go in fall/winter when it is colder.
2. Bring your own food and snacks especially if your kids are picky. There is a microwave on site (not in your room) but keep in mind there’s no kitchenette in the room, though there is a mini fridge. There’s also a general store that sells some nice items including trail mix but other than that you are really limited to the restaurant.
3. There are lots of activities on the resort grounds! If you want, this can be a “arrive and done” sort of a destination. There’s also a big game room, which we didn’t use, because at the time our youngest didn’t have her vaccination yet.

Alright, there we go…a family family hotel I am happy to recommend in the Northern California area! More to come. And if you’ve stayed at Rush Creek (or Evergreen) would love to hear your experiences!