Passenger Trains > Merced and Yosemite advice

My wife and I are taking Amtrak from L.A. up to Merced/Yosemite in March and then back home to K.C. MO via the SW Chief.  I would be happy to here from anyone with recent travel tips of any kind.  We plan to rent a car in Merced.  Thanks.

The Merced - Yosemite bus that connects with the San Joaquin is great.  Once in the park, walking or taking the shuttles around the park make having a car unnecessary.  I think most of the valley shuttles run year-round.

Matter of fact, the Park Service would be very happy of you didn't bring your car.
Parking is a big problem in the valley.

March might be a difficult Month to anticipate what you'll find in the Valley. My first thought is dark and rainy, maybe some flooding and trees down, not sure how the bus will accomadate that. If you prepare enough, it may be more clear as to which part of the Park you can access, or which to avoid or make an extra effort to see. I haven't been there since the Bus routes became a major part of the Valley. There is a Lodge in the valley and some small motels at El Portal and some of the Towns on the way in, at least there was at one time.

For me, the most memorable month was a January trip with the waterfalls frozen, occasionally breaking and thundering around the Valley, but it was really cold when the sun went down. If the spring does have heavy rains it could be an issue getting back to your Flight home. Other trips had the foothills flooded and I had to detour around to the north, came out of a road closure from the wrong side and made it back home really, really late.

I am of the opinion that the Amtrak bus would be the way to go from Merced. The bus picks up and drops off right at the station where as with the rental car you probably would have to arrange
transportation to and from the rental car pickup place.​

I have used the buses from Merced to Yosemite and back several times with no problems. Once I carried a backpack and camped near Yosemite Lodge in Camp 4. Other times I stayed in a Camp Curry tent cabin. The transit system in Yosemite is excellent and a car is really not needed. I must mention another trip which really shook me up. I got off the YARTS bus from Merced, went into Yosemite Lodge, and looked at the information board. I was shocked to see that the highway along the Merced River from Mariposa, which my bus had passed over not 45 min earlier, was closed! How could this be? Well, there was a huge slide, a whole mountainside, came down onto the highway and into the river! This must have happened shortly after our passage. What could have happened is really frightening. The trip back to Merced a few days later involved a long detour.

Thanks to all of the above.  When I wrote the original post I had not done much research on the buses.  It does seem like that would be the way to go.  We like to use public transportation whenever practical.