I may head out to do the JMT this summer. I’ll fly into Merced from the east coast. The schedule of jet arrivals misses the YARTS bus for the day so I will have to wait it out a day in Merced. Are there any good hostels in Merced or reasonably priced clean motels?
HankPoisson
Two years ago I flew to SFO and took the train to Merced. We ended up paying a Taxi $100 to bring the 4 of us into the park. Well worth the money. This summer I am doing another hike in the Sierras. Instead of flying to SFO (from the east coast) I am flying into Reno and taking a bus from there to the east side (Mammoth). For me this is proven to be logistically easier.
Big B
I wish i could remember specific names, but a few years back we did that same overnight connection in Merced. There were fine cheap hotels and decent restaurants within a mile, and we didn’t have anything advance reserved. Messing around on hotels.com or tripadvisor should turn up something.
markv