How to Car Camp in Yosemite National Park
Last updated July 2024
Want to know how to snag a campground at one of the most popular national parks? Read on to see how a little bit of advance planning (or, no planning whatsoever) can help you score a coveted campground.
Important! Tuolumne Meadows will be closed through 2024 or 2025 due to restoration and renovation projects.
The Campgrounds
- Yosemite Valley: Upper Pines, Lower Pines, North Pines ($36/night), Camp 4 ($10/person/night)
- North of Yosemite Valley: Hodgdon Meadow, Crane Flat, Tuolumne Meadows, White Wolf ($36/night), Tamarack Flat, Porcupine Flat, Yosemite Creek ($24/night)
- South of Yosemite Valley: Wawona, Bridalveil Creek ($36/night)
Note: Campground prices may vary during the year, depending on the season. For accurate nightly costs, visit this page and click on the campground you are interested in for detailed camp info.
How To Get a Campsite in Yosemite National Park
Visit During the Off-Season
I know, I know, this is limiting. And while it is true that only 4 of 11 campgrounds are open, less people are coming to the park. For reference, the NPS considers November – early-April to be the “off-season”, though campground opening and closing dates can vary according to park conditions.
So, what are my options during the off-season?
- Upper Pines (Yosemite Valley)
- Camp 4 (Yosemite Valley)
- Hodgdon Meadow (Hwy 120 Entrance)
- Wawona (Hwy 41 entrance)
All of the above, except for Camp 4, are drive-in campsites and allow RVs, so you can have a classic car camping experience. Camp 4 is walk-in only, which means you cannot drive your car up to your campsite. There is a parking area near the Camp 4 reservation booth, so you can still have access to your car, but you have to carry all of your gear to your campsite. I consider Camp 4 as more “front-country backpacking”. It’s best if you bring smaller tents, and more portable camp stoves.
Camp 4, Hodgdon Meadow, and Wawona are all first-come, first-served during this time (except during February, when the famed Horsetail Fall “firefall” happens). At Hodgdon Meadow and Wawona, you’ll obtain a spot by driving to the campground, finding an open spot, and then by filling out a self-registration envelope (bring exact change). You can fill one envelope out for your whole stay. There’s no need to fill one out every day.
Camp 4 in the winter time is also self-registration based, however the campground operates on a per person quota. You may have to share a campsite with 5 other strangers, and group members can be split up among campsites. Rangers patrol the campground a few times per day checking for your registration, but the kiosk isn’t usually staffed during the winter.
What about Upper Pines?
Upper Pines is still reservation-only during the off season, on the normal 5 months in advance schedule. Read more below.
No matter which campground you choose, showing up early will always work better for you, especially in the shoulder months (November, March/April). Even though it’s the off-season, and campground check-out time is noon, Yosemite is still very popular, and you will have to put in a little effort to get a campsite. And getting up early is that effort.
Be a Planner: Reserve 5 months in advance
2024 note: Yosemite is requiring reservations to enter the park every day of the week during the height of summer of 2024. There are zero walk-in campsites available in Yosemite during the summer of 2024.
Ok, so you don’t want to visit during the off-season (you should, though, by the way – so many less people!). If you want to camp in Yosemite during the months of mid-April – October, your absolute best bet in getting a campsite is to reserve one in advance. All campsites need to be reserved in advance. Most must be reserved 5 months in advance, but there are a few that release at 2 weeks before your planned camping trip!
Good news though! There are 13 campgrounds in the entirety of Yosemite National Park that are open at some point during the high season (aka, all of the campsites listed at the top of this post!).
Campgrounds to reserve 5 months in advance
- Hodgdon Meadow (Hwy 120 Entrance)
- Tuolumne Meadows (Hwy 120) – closed 2024
- Upper Pines (Yosemite Valley)
- Lower Pines (Yosemite Valley)
- North Pines (Yosemite Valley)
- Wawona (Hwy 41 Entrance/ Wawona)
Campgrounds to reserve 2 weeks in advance
- Camp 4 (Yosemite Valley)
- Crane Flat (Hwy 120)
- White Wolf (Hwy 120)
- Tamarack Flat (Hwy 120)
- Porcupine Flat (Hwy 120)
- Yosemite Creek (Hwy 120)
- Bridalveil Creek (Glacier Point Road) – closed 2024
How do I reserve a campsite?
Easy. Go to www.recreation.gov and search “Yosemite National Park”. The search results will yield all of the reservable campgrounds in Yosemite. During the high season, it will be difficult to get a campground on any day of the week. If you want a campground, especially on the weekend, you’re going to have to pretend you’re trying to get Eras tour concert tickets, and get online at 7 AM (Pacific Time) in the morning, 4-5 months prior to when you want to camp.
Every month on the 15th at 7 AM PT is when the reservations get released for the 5 month in advance campgrounds.
For example, if you want to camp any time between July 15 – August 14, you should make a reservation on March 15. And here’s a fun fact: These are for arrival dates only. If your first night camping is August 14 (or the last day of any reservation window), you can still reserve the nights after the 14th (like the 15th and 16th) on March 15th, even though those nights are technically in the next month’s registration. You need to keep it in the same reservation though.
If you are unable to get a reservation for the dates you want, you can either check recreation.gov every day and try to get a reservation, or you can attempt to get a spot at a 2-week out reservable campground.
2 Week in Advance Campgrounds
The reservation method is exactly the same as listed above.
However, dates are released daily, not only on the 15th of the month. For instance, on May 7th, you can book any date from 5/7 until 5/14. On May 8th, you can book any day from 5/8 to 5/15.
A note on campground reservations: Please cancel your reservation if you decide not to show up. If you’re a no-show, you get no money back. If you cancel appropriately, you can get some money back. No-shows are another way last-minute campers can get a spot in a reservable campground. Check recreation.gov for up-to-date info. Campsites are put online once cancelled.
Are there any first-come, first-served campsites in Yosemite National Park?
As of 2024, there are no first-come, first-served campgrounds available in the high season (mid-April – October).
In the past, 50% of the campsites at Tuolumne Meadows were FCFS. If you wanted to get a day-of campsite at Tuolumne Meadows, you needed to go to the reservation kiosk along Highway 120 that’s right in front of the campground. The rangers started assigning campgrounds around 8 or 9 am, though there may be a line of people earlier.
Tuolumne Meadows campground is closed for 2024 while repairs are completed, and nothing has been announced for 2025 and beyond about FCFS camping. Based on how Yosemite is becoming mostly reservation-based for all kinds of visits in the summer, I would assume Tuolumne Meadows will become 100% reservable when it re-opens, though maybe half will be 5 months in advance and the other half will be 2 weeks in advance. This is only a guess.
Try To Arrive Mid-Week
No matter which campground you want or when you want it, you’re going to have a much better chance of actually getting a campground if you reserve a site Sunday – Wednesday than if you must be there Thursday – Saturday. So plan those vacation days accordingly!
Be Flexible
If you’re trying to get a last-minute campground reservation, be prepared to change plans if you can’t get one that you desire. And be prepared to change them enough that you would be willing to camp outside of the park.
Here’s a map document of Forest Service campgrounds that are North/ Northwest of Yosemite. And options for camping east of Yosemite. You also may want to look into dispersed camping on BLM or National Forest land, though this is more suited for backpackers. If you will try dispersed camping, remember to Leave No Trace.
Yosemite Campground Open / Close Dates
Opening and closing dates vary drastically for the seasonal campsites. The best place to check online for the opening/ closing dates for the season is here. The best place online for current campground status is here. Or call this number: (209) 372-0266.
Generally, the pines campgrounds (except for upper) are open from early April – early November, and all the rest greatly depend on snowmelt.
Bridalveil Creek will open when the facilities have been deemed safe (aka potable water and safe plumbing) after Glacier Point Road opens, and the likewise for the rest, after Highway 120 opens for the season. Tuolumne Meadows generally closes in late-September, and Porcupine and Tamarack Flat always close by October 15th. Generally speaking, the Tioga Road campgrounds have a short operating period, especially if it is a heavy snowfall year.
So much information! I think I have been pretty comprehensive, but comment below if you have questions, and I’ll try to help you out.
Hike in Yosemite
Now that you know how to grab a camping site in Yosemite National Park, check out my guide about hiking trails in the park!
