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Curry Village (or Camp Curry as it was originally called)


Curry Village is sometimes referred to as People Central.  Curry Village is an area of tent cabins, cabins, and other retail establishments.  It's a major parking area for day-trippers and overnight backcountry enthusiasts.  It is the best lodging value ($89.00 to $220.93) in the park. 
HOWEVER I get frequent emails from people who are taken aback by the inconvenience of Curry Village.  Please understand that visitor density is very high in Curry Village, and results in an almost total lack of privacy.  Tent cabins are placed very close to each other, so much so that you can frequently hear conversations from neighboring tents.  The shower facilities are a long walk for many of the guests, and dealing with food lockers is a pain.  NO food AT ALL is allowed in tents because of bears.  BUT if you can deal with the noise, crowded environment and such, Curry Village is a great deal.

 

I received the nicest note from a family in the midwest who sent me a picture of their son/daughter posing in front of a tent cabin at Curry Village; her note:

"Hello! I wrote you after our fun trip in August to let you know how great your site was. Just in case you need one more picture of a cute family moment to convince anyone to go the Camp Curry route:

Even if you don't post this to your site, I hope you enjoy the picture because really... this was made possible by your talking us into the tent-cabin option.

Thanks yet again for your great site! It totally rocks!

Jill G. in Illinois".

Thank you!!  Glad you enjoyed it.

ph

 

Curry Village
Curry Village Coffee Corner and Ice Cream daily hours of operations will be 6am to 10pm.  Come enjoy our Seattle's best offerings as well as cool down with our ice cream concoctions.

Curry Village Bar is open daily from noon to 10pm.  Come on over and meet your friends over a frosty one!

The Curry Village pool Lap swim from 9 to 10am with normal operations from 10am to 5pm during summer.

Even though Curry Village has a long, rich history, and even though it's one of the best lodging values in the park, the customer service here has gotten worse in recent years.  Complaints are increasing about employee rudeness, inconsistent enforcement of the rules, and the intolerable practice of reservations calling you AFTER you've paid IN FULL for your reservation, and telling you rates have gone up and to fork over the increase!!!  (Rates at Curry Village increased FOUR times in a 6 week period between June 1st and mid July, 2001) I have received e-mails from people telling a very consistent story about the same issues.  Confirm EVERYTHING.  Ask questions, take the name of the person you talked to, etc. etc. etc.  And when you get there, be ready to be flexible in your daily routine.  Curry Village is sort of a rough-and-tumble place in terms of creature comforts.  They are there, but dealing with quirky camp rules can be bothersome. 

Curry Village employees are not rude, but neither are they particularly friendly or go out of their way to be helpful.  There is an atmosphere of "get 'em in, and get 'em out".  Whether it's the Pizza Place, or cafeteria, or the front desk; employees are overrun with people and become a little brash around the edges.  For instance, in the Coffee Corner, they ran out of the good Seattle's Best coffee, and started serving the awful restaurant coffee from the white bags and there was no notice they had done so, nor a decrease in the price. Also, when ordering pizza, several times I did not get all the ingredients I asked for; Now, to be sure these are little things, and not worth raising a stink over, but it is indicative of the apathetic attitude of management and employees of Curry Village.  (These issues were a bit irritating as I forked over an average of $47 dollars for 2 med. pizzas and 4 drinks for myself and three boys over the 4th holiday.) 

Prices are astronomical, and will only get worse in years to come.  This has forced as condition whereby people bring out portable tables, dozen's of ice chests and to set up picnics in front of their cabins.  More and more people go out of their way to save money and you can't blame them.

Go out of your way not to antagonize or to be confrontational with employees, or to give them any grief, unless you truly have a reasonable disagreement....  You will enjoy your stay more if you stay off the radar of management and security.

Warning about the Taco Stand...
I've never had worse Mexican food in my life; plus, they charge .50 cents for a thimble full of salsa on the side; UGH!  Absolutely awful.

Otherwise, it's a great place!  The benefits far outweigh the negatives... 

Tent cabins Tent cabins interior (that's me in the mirror)

If you have kids, this is a very good place to consider.  Within very easy walking distance of your cabin or tent cabin is:

a large swimming pool w/ lifeguards
cafeteria for breakfast and dinner
(GREAT food and with a huge variety, all you can eat; but way overpriced; $10.00 for kids, a 25% increase over last year!! and $14.95 for adults.)
general store/gift shop
camping equipment store (Mountain Shop) w/ excellent selection of stuff.
pizza & beer place w/ shaded open patio seating (open late with surprisingly good pizza)
small tavern
ice cream stand (that doubles as a coffee & donut shop in the morning)
post office
showers
raft rentals
bicycle rentals
tour embarkation
ice skating rink (winter only)
several meadows for after-dinner or early-morning strolling
the shuttle bus stops here going in both directions about every 5 minutes
several hiking trails originate from here or very near
there's an amphitheater that has nightly programs.

Curry Village Foodservice hours include the following:
- Coffee Corner 6 a.m. - 10 p.m., daily
- Curry Pizza Patio 12noon - 10 p.m. daily
- Curry Pavilion Breakfast Buffet 7 - 10 a.m., Dinner Buffet 5:30 - 8 p.m. daily.

I have to say that the food in the Curry Village cafeteria has improved tremendously.  Vegetables are not overcooked, pot roast, fried chicken and trout almodine are particularly good.  There's a Mexican food taco bar that's not too bad...  A great variety of salads...  you'll love it!

HOWEVER; the powers-that-be have done an excellent job of hiding all this civilization amongst the trees and behind rocks, so even though there is quite a bit going on close by, there is still an atmosphere of being in the woods.  The cabins and tent-cabins are very well shaded, and are placed around naturally occurring boulders, trees and high ground.  It's also amazingly quiet for being so close to that much civilization.  The restaurants, swimming pool and other businesses are similarly tucked away from the casual observer.  So, if being near creature comforts is important to you, this is the place to be.  It is extremely family oriented, with plenty of other kids around for them to make new friends and stay busy.

Most rooms at Curry Village are designed for one thing; sleeping and dressing.  They are not designed for hanging out in, or inviting friends for conversation.  Only the most expensive rooms (about $90) have running water.  Space is at a premium, and you have just enough room to dress and prepare for bed.  But, in the worst of circumstances (tent cabins), accommodations are very comfortable, with beds, linens, blankets, pillows, a dresser, and small heater.  There are no phones or TV (thank God), and ventilation is very good.  All cabins and tent cabins are very close together, so consideration of your fellow camper, especially at night, is paramount. Earplugs might be in order if you're a light sleeper.

 
Higher-priced cabins (sorry, no interior shot). They have running water and a bit more space. Small cabins.  The interior is very similar to tent cabins. No running water.

Days can get warm, but at night, even during the hottest days of summer, you will be very comfortable, if not downright chilly. (Keep in mind that humidity is very low.)  

Mosquitoes are not nearly as bad as in other parts of the valley. 

Bears have been known to patrol the area at night, especially in the parking lot, so pay attention to what they tell you about bears.  Keep food out of your room, or you might be awakened nose-to-nose with a curious bear snorting in your face.  Clean out your car in the manner recommended. Put your food in a bear-box, located all over the place.  Put a good-sized lock on your bear-box when you load it, because unfortunately, there have been reports of theft of food and coolers. 

There is the chance you might be awakened at night (summer only) to quite a commotion originating from the rangers.  They are chasing a bear and shooting it with rubber bullets to discourage it from returning.  

Digging in to the pizza; it's surprisingly good!  Or, is it the altitude? Pizza/tavern patio.  A very nice place to quaff a beer and make new friends.  It's the closest thing to a college town beer hall in the park. 
Interior of the cafeteria; it's huge. It's jammed-packed with food, and it's all-you-can-eat, buffet style.  If you can't find anything you like here, you're not hungry.
 
Curry Village swimming pool.  I've had better Mexican food, but it's tolerable.
 Curry Village shower house is now closed due to the rock slide. Although this is a "YARTS" bus (shuttle from areas outside the park) the valley bus comes every 10 minutes.
 
The Amphitheater has nightly programs. The ranger warms up the crowd for a film about the old Firefall from Glacier Point.

Here are your choices for accommodations in Curry Village:
Canvas Tent Cabins
$89.00 for 2010  ($70.00 2005 $52.80 2004, $39.50 2004)
The exterior and interior photos are at the top of the page.  There's no heating or plumbing, and space heaters are not allowed.  Several configurations for beds are available.
Wood Cabins w/o Bath
$110.00 for 2010  ($72.00 2005 $77.98 2004)
You get 2 double beds; propane heat, sleeps 5.
Wood Cabins with Bath
$125.00 for 2010
1 or 2 double beds, sleeps 5, electric heat.  Full bath with tub and /or shower.
Standard Rooms
$135.00 for 2010,  ($109.00 2005 $113.03 2004; not a misprint)
Located in the Stoneman House, there are 18 rooms w/ full bath w/ shower, carpeting, ceiling fan, and variety of bed configurations.
Cabin 90B (one only; see below)
$175.00 2010, ($120.00 2005, $127.43 2004)
One-bedroom deluxe cabin w/ queen-size bed, "sitting room", TV, full bath w/ shower and tub.  No fireplace.
Cabin 819 (one only; see below)
$220.00 2010, ($156.00 2005, $155.93 2004)
(You're in tall cotton now...) One bedroom cabin with king-size bed, plus sofa bed, spacious living room, TV, fireplace and a daily supply of firewood included.
Cabin 90A closed due to the rockslide Two bedrooms each with a queen-size bed, a "sitting room", propane fireplace, full bath with tub/shower combination.
Reservations number: 559-252-4848 in Fresno
Front Desk: 209-372-8334 or 8333

Cabin 819 winter of 2001.  Badly in need of fix-up.

 

Cabins 90a and 90b.  Obviously, this is a duplex, 
but it's tucked away from the noise and is very nice inside.  Currently, it is not being rented due to it's proximity to a potential rockfall area that has not been determined to be safe.  That's the reason for the yellow tape.

Cabin 819.   After the renovation in the fall 2003. I
haven't seen the inside, but I hear it's very nice.
Adult Beverage Time before dinner.
 
Put your food here; do NOT take it
to the tent cabins.  During summer months, put a pad lock on these lockers; people steal food; unbelievable, but true.
Curry Village is for all ages...
 

 

 

You have been warned! This is deadly serious stuff. Do NOT take it lightly; CLEAN OUT YOUR CAR!!

 

Copy of Curry.jpg (116616 bytes) Curry Village location (click on image for larger view)
Copy of Curry2.jpg (259409 bytes) Close-up of Curry Village location (click on image for larger view)