Originally Posted by
mlshanks
The other issue... If you haven't booked your rooms or campsites months in advance, you are likely out of luck staying anywhere close to the Valley or desirable in the park.
This is not always true.
Yosemite accommodations typically come with a 7-day cancellation policy, with the result that a number of cancellations start showing up beginning about 10 days out when some potential visitors have a change of plans. So, it is true enough that most rooms are snapped up early, but it is also true that there may be availability much closer to an arrival date.
In addition, with the fire (that is now concluded for all intents and purposes), there was a sudden increase in availability, even for dates (including some weekends in August) several weeks away, as people abhorring uncertainty apparently just threw in the towel and canceled.