Camping

Camping in and around Yosemite

Visitors who plan to camp in Yosemite during summer without a reservation, you are limited to the following campgrounds.

View a list of all campgrounds with this year’s estimated opening and closing dates and other information.

There is a 30-night camping limit within Yosemite National Park in a calendar year; however, May 1 – September 15, the camping limit in Yosemite is 14 nights, and only seven of those nights can be in Yosemite Valley or Wawona.

April – June     Very few first-come, first-served campsites are available in May and June. Typically, only Camp 4 (a walk-in campground) is open during this period, but some other first-come, first-served campgrounds can open in late June if conditions allow. (When known, opening dates for all campgrounds are posted on ourcampground page.)

July – September (approximately)     In order to have a reasonable chance of finding a campsite, you should arrive at the campground of your choice before noon on weekdays and mid-morning on weekends. (Camp 4 usually fills by 9 am; Tuolumne Meadows Campground may fill by 8:30 am on Fridays and Saturdays. Other campgrounds are easier to find space in.)

October – March (approximately)     From fall through early spring, you may be able to find a campsite at one of the reservation campgrounds or at Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow Campgrounds, which operate on a first-come, first-served basis from October through April. You can also double-check the reservations website to check for any last-minute availability or cancellations. Campground reservations are not available anywhere in Yosemite approximately December to mid-March; Upper Pines Campground operates on a first-come, first-served basis during that time.

Other Tips

Daily campground availability information is available by calling 209/372-0266 (this is a recording).

Once you get a campsite, you can register for more than one night. You register at the campground (Camp 4 and Tuolumne Meadows are staffed by a ranger; the others are self-registration).

If all else fails, you can search recreation.gov for nearby campgrounds (see below) or find private campgrounds outside Yosemite.

Within Yosemite National Park, you may not sleep in your car or RV except in a campsite that you’re registered to stay in (except at Camp 4, where sleeping in cars is not allowed because it’s a walk-in campground).

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Yosemite Campground Reservations

Reservations are required from about March 15 through November for Yosemite Valley’s car campgrounds and summer through fall for Hodgdon Meadow, Crane Flat, Wawona, and half of Tuolumne Meadows. Campground reservations are available in blocks of one month at a time, up to five months in advance, on the 15th of each month at 7 am Pacific time. Be aware that nearly all reservations for the months of May through September and for some other weekends are filled the first day they become available, usually within seconds or minutes after 7 am! For your best chance of getting a reservation, be sure your clock is set accurately and start the first few steps of the reservation process atwww.recreation.gov before 7 am Pacific time. You can find more help making reservations and otherfrequently asked questions.

Make a Campground Reservation
  • Visit www.recreation.gov (recommended)
  • 877/444-6777
    (or 877/833-6777 for TDD)
    (or 518/885-3639 from outside the US & Canada)

You may only make two reservations per phone call or website visit (you can call again or start over again to make additional reservations).

If you’re unable to get a campground reservation, you may want to try a first-come, first-served campground.

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Camping Outside Yosemite

Many times during the climbing season climbers will come into Yosemite Valley or Tuolumne Meadows and find that camping is full or arrive after the campground kiosks are closed.  There are some options outside the park off of Highway 120 and 140 that will serve as an interim until you are able to secure camping in Camp 4, Tuolumne Meadows or another campground in the park.  Below you will find some, but not all options.

Highway CA-120, west of Yosemite: Stanislaus National Forest: Groveland Ranger Station, 209.962.7825 / fax 209.962.7412 / TDD 209.962.6406. For information, visit the Stanislaus National Forest Web site and follow the Recreation link, then the Camping & Cabins link, and then either the Campground Camping or the Group Camping link.
— Cherry Valley Campground
— Dimond O Campground [ Reservations ] — Lost Claim Campground
— Lumsden Campground
— Lumsden Bridge Campground
— Moore Creek Group Campground
— The Pines Campground
— The Pines Group Campground [ Reservations ] — South Fork Campground
— Sweetwater Campground
Highway CA-120, east of Yosemite: Inyo National Forest: Mono Basin Scenic Area Ranger Station and Visitor Center, 760.647.3044 / TDD 760.647.3045. For information, visit the Inyo National Forest Web site and follow the Recreation link, then the Camping & Cabins link, and then either the Campground Camping or the Group Camping link.
Mono Lake Ranger District, Lee Vining / Mono Lake area campgrounds
— Big Bend Campground
— Ellery Campground
— Junction Campground
— Saddlebag Lake Campground
— Trailhead Campground (Group) [ Reservations ] — Tioga Lake Campground
Highway CA-140: Sierra National Forest: Mariposa Visitor’s Bureau, 209.966.3638. For information, visit the Sierra National Forest Web site and follow the Recreation link, then the Camping & Cabins link, and then either the Campground Camping or the Group Camping link.
Bass Lake RD campgrounds on or near CA-140
— Dirt Flat Campground [ Reservations ] — Dry Gulch Campground [ Reservations ] — McCabe Flat Campground
— Railroad Flat Campground
— Willow Placer Campground