Yosemite is the fourth-most popular national park – behind only Great Smoky Mountains, Rocky Mountain and Grand Canyon national parks last year – and the vast majority of its visitors arrive from late spring through early fall.

During the intervening months, Yosemite Valley is jammed to the gills. Restaurants, lodging and shuttle buses are packed, and it is nearly impossible to find a parking space.

Activity slows in the late fall, when some park facilities begin closing for the winter. These off-months can be the perfect time to visit Yosemite Valley, and to experience the wonders of the park with slightly fewer people.

Yosemite Valley’s popularity is easy to understand. It may well be most beautiful location in the United States. The scenery is spectacular, the park receives a lot of press coverage with photos, and it is a reasonable drive from cities such as San Francisco, Fresno and Sacramento.

With 4.15 million visitors last year, Yosemite is seeing substantially more people this year, the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.

The two of us have visited Yosemite at least a dozen times, most often during the busy summer season when many travelers have the same idea.

We’ve been there in the off-seasons, too. We visited for three nights one December and had a splendid time. The air was crisp and the valley was covered with a light snow. It turned out to be a perfect place to celebrate our anniversary (although we can’t remember which one that was.)

We recently returned, this time in mid-October. Foliage had begun turning yellow, the evenings were cool, and daytime temperatures were perfect. While a few queues formed at hotel registration desks and in restaurants – and we occasionally needed to circle for an open parking space – the visit was considerably more relaxing than our earlier summer excursions.

During previous trips, we’ve stayed in one of the valley’s four lodging areas. We decided to try something different for our recent trip. We chose a resort just outside the park and drove into the valley for the day.

The downside was the time it took to drive the 1 hour 15 minutes each way between our hotel and Yosemite Valley. The upsides were superior accommodations and a different set of recreational options, while avoiding much of the typical congestion.

Our choice was Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite, a resort two miles outside the park’s south gate. Tenaya is certainly upscale and expensive compared to our normal choice of mid-level hotel chains. Howe

ver, considering the high cost of staying in the valley, the expense wasn’t unreasonable.

Inside the national park, a tent cabin with cots and a light bulb in Half Dome Village (formerly Curry Village) now runs nearly $150 a night! A room at the park’s upscale Majestic Yosemite Hotel (formerly the Ahwahnee) will set guests back a little over $500 per night.

Thus, a room at Tenaya Lodge that costs from $260 to $280 per night (for the dates of our stay) wasn’t excessive considering the resort’s AAA Four-Diamond status.

Like many private resorts, Tenaya uses dynamic pricing, meaning posted rates continuously change depending on demand. It is similar to the method used by airlines that alter ticket prices depending upon the number of available seats on a particular flight.

Tenaya Lodge has 302 guest rooms including 53 cottages a short walk from the main hotel. The resort has multiple restaurants, a spa with 12 treatment rooms, and activities such as guided nature hikes, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, guided fly-fishing and swimming. Scheduled activities, including a Morning Adventure Club, are offered for children.

Perhaps best of all, Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) offers public transportation along Route 41 to Yosemite Valley five times daily from mid-May through mid-September. The ride from Tenaya Lodge to the valley takes about an hour and a half, and costs $13 round-trip ($9 for seniors).

Choosing to stay inside or outside Yosemite Valley depends upon the type of experience you desire and the time you intend to spend in the park.

If you are looking for a relaxing vacation and would be satisfied with less than a full day in the valley, consider a stay outside the park. If this is likely to be your only opportunity to visit Yosemite, for just a couple of days, try for a room in the valley. In either case, plan early because many others are considering the same trip.

David and Kay Scott are the authors of “Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges” (Globe Pequot). Visit them at www.valdosta.edu/~dlscott/Scott