Upper Pines Campground — Yosemite National Park

After numerous previous backpacking trips throughout Yosemite's high country, this was my first stay in the valley itself. The site was clean, spacious enough, flat enough, and very convenient to access to everywhere in the valley. We ended up driving up to Tuolumne Meadows in the high country so being able to leave the trailer and all our camping stuff in a safe, relatively crowded and lively campground was was really nice. The site easily accommodated my trailer and Jeep. There were plenty of clean bathrooms, fresh water, fire pits, and spacious site located bear boxes throughout. One thing to note, although it is in one of, if not the most beautiful national parks, I wouldn't call it rugged or even having the illusion of privacy.

Had a great weekend going to Yosemite national park, either way if the temperature was low

Great place, amazing position with astonishing views, but almost impossible to book. At last moment I get a reservation

We camped here late February to capture the firefall. We got a decent photo the first day we arrived so mission accomplished. I was very happy to be able to book spots within 2 weeks of the date.
EV drivers get the bonus of free charging at the main lodge.

We stayed in spot 91 with our 32’ Imagine travel trailer. Our Ram 2500 did not fit in the site with us, so a few of us booked an extra spot to park our vehicles. We went mid-march and the park was empty and peaceful. There are zero hookups and you can use a generator 3 times per day. You have beautiful views and we could see half dome directly from our picnic tables.

Campsite 058. Had service basically the whole time on Verizon with two bars. Campsite didnt flood like the others when the rain started and not too much snow in the campsite unlike February times.

Campground was nice and clean on arrival with small snow piles around. Temps were touching freezing at night and close to 60 during the day.

First site we reserved was too exposed, site 3, talked with camp host and was able to get a more into the trees campsite 29. Clean campsite with plenty of room and bathrooms nearby along with an amazing view of half dome which I got to paint at sunset walking distance to campsite.

Would give this a 4.8 if we could - pretty private sites for a NP campground! And right in the valley!!! Level spots and access to showers! Bathrooms decent - quiet. Nice neighbors. We lucked out and checked at Rec.gov at 6:30 pm for any cancellations and scored a 2-night spot!

Friendly Camp Hosts (volunteers at gate or rangers). Three two hour times to run generators (7-9AM, Noon-2PM, 5-7PM). Small brook runs a few feet at the back of the site. Lots of shade with two pockets of sun around site for solar panels/chargers. Bathroom nearby (no showers). Hot showers a short drive to Housekeeping Camp (so nice…clean towels available at no cost. Great laundromat so pack less and wash, bring lots of quarters. $3.50 for the 30 minute wash (small drum) and $0.50 for a 10 minute dry (large drum). Took only 20 mins to dry two full wash loads in one dryer).

Easy bike ride to Curry Village (aka Half Dome Village). $25 pizzas are worth it. Guest house Wi-Fi is intermittent, but the only way to get a signal on Verizon for checking permits in Daily Lotteries, email, etc. T-mobile did have intermittent coverage at site 214. AT&T same as Verizon. Firewood, camping supplies, limited groceries/food and lots of souvenirs. Bar area has cafeteria style restaurant with some lunch/dinner options.

Great bike trails around the valley.

Bring your Kayak or rent a tube. (GoPaddling app shows drop and extraction points…Stoneman Bridge to Sentinel Beach. (Or if the camp host is willing, North Pines to Sentinel Beach). Mid June water level was low in some points with round rocks. No issue, but in July/Aug, might require navigating around shallow areas)

Great site to walk (or bike) to trailhead for John Muir to Mist to Half Dome. 19 miles from Site 214 to Mist to HD Summit and back down flatter JMT (vs. Mist) to Site 214. 14 hours at a very slow pace. Probably more like 12 hours for most people.

Hammocks require cardboard. Oaks are protected and not allowed to be used for hammocks.

We parked an Integra RV, 25 foot and t-bone parked a Highlander SUV (very tight to get all wheels on the pad). Tree small branches overhang at about 11’.

Great location in the Valley. Highly recommend.

Wonderful place to camp if you will be hiking Yosemite. Walking distance to trails. Trees surrounding campsites, not to close together, but not spaced a lot either. I've been in December and in summer, much less crowd in the snow and its beautiful. There are restrooms and a store a medium walk down the road.

Great campground close to trails and Curry Village. A creek and forest run behind our sites; and a couple hundred feet was the river. The kids had a great time exploring. Close by is a restroom (no showers). The restrooms were cleaned everyday!

The campground is nice. Great place to start hikes. Easy to get around the valley with bus system. Reservations are hard in general. We were lucky to get hold of a last day cancelation. There were a lot of tent campers, regardless of the snow and cold.

Great place to walk and hike

Great base camp for exploring the Valley. Sites are very close together with vague boundaries. This is not great camping, but you can't beat the location.

You’re in Yosemite. The park alone is worth 5 stars for sure!

The campground was more than half closed due to Covid restrictions in April 2021, and even with less than half capacity it was still crowded.

Close to the Valley Loop Trail and Yosemite Village, which has a general store and snacks.

This site is RV compatible up to 35ft. It is also ADA. Has partial shade in the morning and late afternoon but midday the sun beats straight down on the site.

Bathrooms nearby with paved access (ADA).

First time at this campground and I will most definitely come back. If you can get past the fact that it is a bit crowded, mix between tents and RVs, you will feel and appreciate the awesome location that it is. You are in the middle of these grand rocks, you can hear waterfalls in the background, and you can walk to some fantastic trails. You do not come here because you want privacy and seclusion. You come here because you are in one of the most awesome places on Earth.

Upside: • You’re right next to half dome! A short walk away towards the center of the Valley and you’ve got a great sunset view of the dome. • Also located right next to the the trailheads for Mirror Lake and the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls (most popular trail). You can also start the Valley Loop Trail from here. • You’re in the valley! This saves you hours of driving in and back out and parking; plus, you get experience Yosemite in the morning and evening with a much smaller crowd. • Wildlife - Coyotes wandered through a couple times. Beautiful! Unfortunately, no bear encounters for me. Follow the food storage rules though. Don’t ever leave food out. Food in the lockers, NOT in your car. Especially not visible. I saw both ravens and the coyotes go nuts on one picnic. • Plenty of mostly clean restrooms. Not a bad idea to bring your own toilet paper.

Downside: • Campsites are right next to each other with no privacy *e.g. no tree barrier - between sites. Some sites are better than others. Not that you have much choice when booking but check out the site photo on Recreation.gov to manage your expectations. • Generators – three 2 hour time slots throughout the day where visitors can run their generators and it gets loud. • Between 11AM and 2PM, there’s a lot of foot traffic of people cutting through the sites to get the those popular trailheads after the parking lots fill up.

Other notes: • Cellular service with Sprint/T-Mobile was spotty, coming in and out. Usually out. Perfect signal 5 minutes down the road towards the Yosemite Village.

These camping spots fill up pretty quick in advance. But we checked for cancellations and got lucky because the storm was coming through in a bunch of people canceled. So we slid right in not minding the weather at all, it made for a great photographs. The campsites are very close together, but it’s a small price to pay to sleep on the valley floor. It allows you to wake up super early and beat the huge crowds to have Yosemite to yourself.

I love Yosemite! While the campsites are very crowded, I don’t care. The natural beauty of this place forgives every shortfall. I will return again and again.

The view up the valley walls is amazing.

I’m so grateful that Yosemite has a portion of Upper Pines open for camping!! It felt appropriately socially-distant even though there was no gap sites between bookable sites. Thank goodness for escapes into nature during times like these...

Being able to sleep under the stars in Yosemite Valley is a dream come true. The campground is crowded but the scenery makes up for it. Everywhere you look is an Ansel Adams portrait. Lots of trails leave from the surrounding area. Bathrooms are clean but its a trek to the showers. Have fun.

Cell Coverage: Verizon (Low)

It’s a good place to stay when you are in Yosemite because it’s central and close to popular hikes. But spots are small and sanitary are old and not very clean. Hosts are kind and helpful. It’s full all days and it’s a huge campground so there is a lot of people but still quite. Good enough but not the best campground!

This campground is one of my absolute favorites in the valley! It's centrally located near the Merced river, Mist Trail trailhead, and a short walk from Curry village if you need supplies and a fresh shower. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! Book early :)

Just a small walk to Happy Isles, which is the start to many good hiking trails. The campground is huge and not a lot of privacy at each site. Bathrooms nearby and picnic tables at each site. Came here for a Geomorphology College Class Trip and collected research for a project about rockfall safety in the valley. From camp one can hear the sound of occasional rocks cascading down from the mountain face behind camp.  Very crowded during spring and summer, book early! Such an incredible place that deserves to be kept pristine, do not forget to clean up after yourself so we may continue to share this experience with others after us.

Even tho you are practically on top of each other at this campground it’s totally worth it in my opinion just to sleep in Yosemite valley. I could have and wish we had spent a whole week here.

FYI, they are not joking about wildlife here, bear lockers are there for a reason and the animals are so comfortable and used to people they get close to camp. We were sitting at our picnic table around 9pm while there were plenty of other sites with people awake and outside and a coyote was right behind me, a few feet, searching for food. He was not threatening but it’s still worth noting their confidence.

Another note, when we road tripped thru California in October there were fire bans at every campground so bring your stoves!

It's almost impossible to get a spot at the campsites in Yosemite Valley these days, but if you do you are lucky.  There are a ton of campsites here so it always seems overcrowded, but it does give off a good community vibes with lots of groups and families around.  If you bring a bike you can easily get to anywhere in the Yosemite Valley in minutes without having to worry about walking a couple miles or parking your car.  Several of the top hikes are within walking distance of the campsite

Close to Happy Isles and Mirror Lake/Meadow, this campground is convenient for day hikers. it's one of the better spots in Yosemite Valley, somewhat off the beaten path, so to speak. Access to the Merced river is also close-by, so you can cool off after a long day of hiking. It's no secret that this is a high-use high-traffic area, but braving the crowds is worth it to spend a few days and nights under the Yosemite sky.