Looking for the ultimate RV camping experience near El Portal? Find the best sites near El Portal where you can park your RV with a scenic view. Each spot offers quick access to one or more of El Portal's most popular destinations.
Yosemite Pines RV Resort & Family Lodging offers some of the best lodging near Yosemite National Park, with many types of cabins, plus yurts and RV and tent sites. While here, enjoy our large swimming pool, volleyball court, deli and Petting Farm! Spend your days at Yosemite and the surrounding Gold Country towns and return to stay with us, where peace and quiet is plentiful! Relax and recharge in a family-friendly setting, ready for your next day’s adventure!
Yosemite Lakes RV Resort is located 80 miles east of Modesto, and just 5 miles west of Yosemite National Park’s Big Oak Flat entrance station. This large, year-round resort offers nearly 400 sites for RV and tent campers along the banks of the South Fork Tuolumne River. RV campers can choose from open, grassy spaces, or shady, wooded spaces with full hookups; tent campers can set up under mostly shady pine woods. Sites are equipped with picnic tables and fire pits, and restrooms and shower facilities are conveniently located throughout the resort. The resort also offers a variety of cottages, cabins, yurts and bunkhouses. Onsite amenities include a country store, laundry room, Wifi and satellite TV service, trash receptacles, gas station, and propane depot. Dogs are permitted. Reservations are recommended, however many tent sites are first-come, first-served. Seasonal campsite rates are $41–$75/night; other accommodations range from $86–$305/night. For campers looking for a little rest and relaxation time outside of the busy national park, the resort offers a variety of amenities and activities. There’s a playground for the kids, and mini golf, shuffleboard, horseshoes, and basketball for kids of all ages. Swimming, floating, fishing, and gold panning can be enjoyed on the South Fork Tuolumne River, which flows right through the resort area. The resort also hosts group activities, movies and weekend events. Nearby activities include swimming, fishing, boating and water skiing on Don Pedro Reservoir and New Melones Lake, as well as touring the old mining towns of Sonora, Angels Camp and Murphys. When it’s time to visit Yosemite National Park: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is 45 minutes away; Yosemite Valley is 1 hour away; Tuolumne Meadows is 80 minutes away; and Mariposa Grove is 90 minutes away. In the busy summer season, it’s good to allow extra time to get to these destinations, and have patience looking for parking. Yosemite National Park, located in the heart of California’s spectacular Sierra Nevada Mountains, is, justifiably, one of America’s most popular national parks. Visitors flock to Yosemite every summer to marvel at its towering granite walls, domes and pinnacles, as well as its spectacular meadows, waterfalls and wildlife. No trip to Yosemite is complete without taking at least a short walk or hike to soak in the majesty of this glacier-carved landscape, away from the park’s busy roads and villages. Yet, with its limited camping and lodging options, it can be challenging to visit the park during its busy summer season. Fortunately, there are several campgrounds and resorts located just short distances outside of the park that make suitable alternatives to the often congested and overcrowded park facilities, while still allowing easy access to the park’s sights, attractions, and trails.
Spanning 35 breathtaking acres of majestic oaks and manzanitas, cascading waterfalls, rolling hills and a never-ending star-spotted sky, Yosemite RV Resort is an idyllic camping getaway in the valley foothills. Hang here to enjoy the large pool, new playground, and horseshoe pits, then hit the trail, catch a falling star and adventure boldly under the Yosemite Valley sky.
$13 - $50 / night
Located in the beautiful Sierra Mountains, Bass Lake at Yosemite offers cabin rentals, tent and RV camping next to the pristine waters of Bass Lake. Enjoy hiking, swimming, fishing, or boating.
178 full hook-up sites available with cable and wi-fi. Swimming Pool, Shuffle Board, Kids Game Room, Adult Lodge with Relaxing Fireplace and Games, Group Firepit, Cafe and more!
Outdoorsy’s Yosemite campground is set in the western foothills of California’s High Sierra on the shores of Bass Lake. The destination is 18 miles from the south entrance to Yosemite National Park and features RV camping, rustic cabins, and luxury tents. Guests will find themselves a few minutes walk from the joys of lake life - boating, swimming, paddle boarding and fishing, or a world of mountain adventures.
The campground welcomes guests year round to the comforts and refinement of air conditioned luxury glamping tents and pull-through and back-in RV sites (with full hookups) and rustic cabins with fully equipped kitchens. Guest amenities include: WiFi, outdoor pool, cafe, retail store (inc RV supplies), children's playground, community lodge, Cable TV, laundry and shower facilities and gear rentals.
$42 - $127 / night
Remember your OUTDOOR ETHICS when enjoying your public lands. Please RECREATE RESPONSIBLY. No water in campground. Drinking water available at the Briceburg Bridge. ### Overview The first of three BLM campgrounds within the Merced River Recreation Management Area is McCabe Flat. The campground is located 2.3 miles west (downstream) from the Briceburg suspension bridge along the Wild & Scenic Merced River. The Briceburg River Road runs along the historic Yosemite Valley Railroad grade that follows the Merced River. It is an unpaved, dirt & gravel rough road with many potholes, but can easily be navigated with ordinary passenger vehicles traveling within the 15 miles per hour speed limit. Turn-outs are located all along the road. Loop turnarounds are provided in each of the three campgrounds. McCabe Flat Campground hosts one of the biggest sandy beaches in the area. There is a designated swimming area and no dogs are allowed on the beach. All other areas of the Merced River Recreation Area allow dogs on leash. ### Facilities in McCabe Flat Campground (11 sites total): * 8 Walk-in camp sites * 3 drive-up camp sites * 2 vault toilets * 1 Port-o-let toilet (seasonal near site 10 and 11) * Trash collection cans * Recycling collection cans * Main parking lot * Overflow parking lot * Drive-thru turn-around * Designated swimming beach * Self-pay Iron Ranger fee system * There are picnic tables, fire grills, and food storage lockers at all camp sites. * All campsites are within 200 feet of the river ### Permits, Fees, and Limitations: * Camp fee is $10.00 per site per night. America the Beautiful Pass fee is $5.00/site/night. * Camping is allowed only in designated, numbered camp sites. * Maximum 8 people and two vehicles per site. * Camping is first come, first served. No reservations available. * A campsite is rented ONLY once it has been paid in full, pay-stub is properly completed and attached to campsite post, and site is occupied by campers (tent up). * Self-pay system. Iron Ranger located near Bulletin Board. * Pay camp fee within 30 minutes of occupying site. * No dispersed camping within the Merced River corridor. * No person shall leave any property unattended for more than 24 hours. (43 CFR 8351.2-1 (1)) * Fires are allowed ONLY in provided metal fire rings. NO FIRES ON BEACH. (Fire Restriction may apply). * No glass bottles allowed within 1/4 mile of the Merced River. 43 CFR 8351.2-1 (i) * Dogs must be on a leash at all times. * NO DOGS allowed at McCabe BEACH. * NO AMPLIFIED MUSIC or unreasonable noise any time. * QUIET TIME AFTER 10:00 pm (no speakers, generators etc.) * No discharge of firearms or fireworks 43 CFR 8351.2-1 (a) * No person shall enter a developed campground between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am, unless that person is a registered camper. 43 CFR 8351.2-1 (g) * All California Motor Vehicle Laws Apply. (Seat Belts, DUI, etc.). 43 CFR 8351.2-1 (e) * Any person who fails to comply with these written orders may be subject to a fine not to exceed $500 and/or imprisonment not to exceed six months. Federal Register/ Vol. 66 No. 130/ Friday, July 6, 2001/ Notices Pg 35663. ### WARNING: No lifeguard on duty. Swimming is dangerous any time of year, but especially during spring and early summer. The Merced River is un-damned and the flow changes dramatically from year to year and season to season. Please wear a life jacket. SWIMMING IS ONLY RECOMMENDED BELOW 700 CFS. Potable water is available across the Briceburg Bridge as you head towards the campground facilities. Look for the faucet near the information kiosk. Bring your own water for camping purposes. Potable water is not available at the campground sites. ### PLEASE NOTE: Trailers over 18 feet and large RV's are not recommended crossing the suspension bridge. The old Yosemite railroad grade is accessible by vehicles up to the Railroad Flat Campground. Only equestrian, pedestrians, and bicycles are permitted beyond the Railroad Flat Campground. Commercial lodging is available in the town of Mariposa. ### Helpful Links: * River flow is posted on-line at: www.dreamflows.com * Return To: Merced River Recreation Management Area. * Visit: BLM, Mother Lode Field Office * Recreation Passes: America the Beautiful -- National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass
$10 / night
Mammoth Mountain RV Park offers full and partial hook-up sites, tent camping and cabins in the beautiful alpine town of Mammoth Lakes, CA.
Mammoth Mountain offers an impressive 175 different campsites to choose from, including 49 full hook-up sites, 105 partial hook-up sites, 17 tent sites, 2 group tent sites, and 2 cabins. The park is ideally located near sightseeing, fishing, skiing, snowboarding, hiking, kayaking, shopping and much more!
$35 - $80 / night
Incredible views of the mountains and alpine lakes from the highest campground in California (10k). Primitive camping with vault toilets, incredible campground host, potable water, firewood for sale. Accessible via a gravel access road, might be challenging to traverse for anything bigger than small trailers/RVs. Best campground I’ve ever been to!
Got one of the furthest sites tent camping. Could see all the stars. They also provide bear boxes for each site.
I had always wanted to camp in the Inyo national forest. Oh ridge was on my list and I was able to finally make the trip. It was a hefty drive from the Central Valley but the views were stunning. The mountainous route was sketchy but arriving to June lake was amazing! Our campsite was awesome, site 6 in bear loop. You can see the lake perfectly from our site. There’s bathrooms and an easy short drive to the town. From our site we drove down to June lake which was short and easy. You could technically walk but I don’t recommend it if you don’t like walking uphill. The lake is cold but beautiful!
We spent one night right in front of the water, amazing view for the sunset. It’s true that bathroom / toilets / showers aren’t clean, they are quite old.
But we didn’t care, the view worth it. We went swimming in the lake : what a pleasure. We saw some squirrels and dears, they didn’t bothered us.
It was super calm. The crew was nice with us and let us spend only one night here for 50$ (the minimum should be 2 nights)
I recommend this place!
(Also, it’s right halfway between Yosemite and San Francisco: which was perfect for us)
We had never been camping as a family and I hadn’t been camping since I was a teenager. The entire camp site is huge, well maintained and just wonderful. The staff are friendly and helpful. The bathrooms are clean and well up kept. All of the campsites are spacious and free of clutter. There is easy access to the lake and marina. Overall a great visit and experience.
This is my second time staying at Trumbull Lake Campground to access the hiking into the Hoover Wilderness. Both times have been fantastic. Trumbull Lake is at just under 10,000 feet elevation, making it a great place to escape the summer heat. The surroundings are beautiful. The campground is very simple, just how I like it. Near the campground are Trumbull Lake, Little and Big Virginia Lake, and Red Lake. Along the trail once you enter the Hoover Wilderness is a string of lakes starting with Blue Lake, then Cooney Lake, the three Frog Lakes, and Dry Pond. The trail continues over a pass at 11,100 feet elevation where you get a spectacular view on the other side looking towards Yosemite. Just on the other side was an unnamed lake and Summit Lake about another 3 miles in the distance. Highly recommended for the night before and after a day of exploring the wilderness.
Still 4 stars, more accurately 3.5 stars. We were under the trees this time instead of on the asphalt parking lot slab. All dirt, dirt back in site, dirt camp site accessed by a dirt road. Expect lots of dust. Bring all your campsite mats, you will need it. We backed in pretty deep to the site as not to run into our neighbor, My long shore cord had to be stretched to get to the power box. The water and sewer fine. Why these boxes are so far back almost into the next site is puzzling. Upon leaving, the access road is totally blocked by vehicles lined up for the dump station. If you want to avoid this, leave early. Not really sure if there will be a third visit.
Six of us went and got 2 campsites, 27 & 28. Very roomy and lots of shade. Other sites have varying degrees of shade from good to none. Fishing was fantastic with both flies and lures. Bathrooms nearest camp host are much nicer than the others. Hosts were extremely nice. Price was just $12/night with national parks pass. Tons of free firewood from downed trees in area
Great option, plenty options a dirt road
We got to Big Springs Campground in the night on July 3rd we found site #14 available. This campground has only 25 sites some good shade, poor shade or no shade at all. Site 14 was near the restrooms (vault restrooms). Camp host available. Cell phone service poor. We liked the campground and the we loved the creek!
The unprofessionalism and unnecessary arrogance disrespect from the camp rangers was rather shocking. That’s not it it’s like camping a hill side it’s almost impossible to get a trailer bout camping to the stops it’s so steep, the fees for the vehicles not water at the like it said it would have the advertising is NOT REALISTIC. Be prepared to sleep at a slant . Please be careful going to places do your research before you go anywhere. I do not recommend this place if for some reason you go the camp maintenance Man was harassing my a group !!(RAY)!! He said was his name an older man . Be careful
Came to Bass Lake to visit family from out of state I am from Phoenix. Did not expect the campground provider to be so unprofessional and rude before even finding our campsite we were harassed. I would never recommend this place. They charge for everything. if you want to drive your boat here be prepared to pay for an extra $53 fee for a sticker that you might only use one time be prepared to pay fees on everything else as well if you stay as a camper and get prepared to be harassed.
We’ve camped in Oh Ridge twice already and we have loved it! Both times we stayed in I believe Bear 17 site. Oh Ridge has flush toilets no showers but coin showers next door, next to the market. You can literally walk to June Lake.
Memorial Day Weekend 2024 Our first time camping in this free campground (donations to the campground are welcome). We stayed in a double site (for 12 people). The camp host was very welcoming. The creek and vault restrooms weren’t far from our site. We’ll definitely keep this campground in mind!
We got there at 5pm on a Sunday. Went all the way to the back and In my opinion got the best spot. We had plenty of trees around us for privacy and shade. Highly recommend if you’re trying to camp close to Yosemite without a reservation. Only downside were the mosquitoes were on another level. They turned off once it got dark though.
Nice flat spots along the Scenic Bypass road (not just where the map says). More secluded spots up the hill. The dirt hill road is fairly decent, but no medium+ to large rigs.
5 minutes into Mammoth town. 30 mins to Route 120 west turn, that takes you into Yosemite (tioga pass). I enjoyed a week's stay here. Negatives? Poor and spotty cell. A lot of airborne dirt when dirtbikes, and ATV's are active on weekends.
I would return to this enjoyable spot.
Gull Lake is a fabulous campground if you can secure a site. It’s a very popular location with limited availability. Sites 11 through 7 offer direct water access, and even site 1 has water access across the street. It’s perfect if you want to launch a boat or kayak and have access directly from your campsite.
However, be cautious when booking. My specific site, site 8, was advertised as suitable for a 40-foot vehicle or RV, but it was actually more suitable for about 25 feet. I barely managed to fit my trailer and truck. I wouldn’t recommend this campground for large RVs, as the sites are quite shallow.
The restrooms are clean, and there are trash receptacles near them. There is no camp host on site, so if someone doesn’t show up for their reservation, there’s no one to assist with rebooking the site. On the plus side, cell service is great.
I enjoyed my stay on the most part. Sadly there was some trash scattered all over the place because of previous visitors. It was quite and have several trails to walk on. Their is a nice that runs by the campgrounds and further down and pass the station where pay the toll to the stake park. Their is a few playgrounds in the middle of the campgrounds and option to play an activity or two. It was also not to far from the town or it’s dam. I would only suggest to bring your own wood with you because California made it illegal to pick up any wood for a fire and it would be very and to find and wood for a fire. Overall it’s was a pleasant visit for this place for a camping trip .
No wifi, bathrooms did not have hot water.
Cool park with extremely friendly and helpful staff. Cannot say enough about the great park rangers and camp hosts.
There were people close by to us with several tents and campers in one spot, not sure how this is monitored.
Spotty T Mobile Service $32 per night
This place itself is just one star worth. But the near proximity to Yosemite is good. Sites are cramped, toilets and showers were unhygienic. Was the most expensive camping we had with the worst service and accommodation.
Easy access. Lots of space. Quit, peaceful, and some fallen trees for camp fire.
This time I brought a friend who hadn't been here before.
As usual, the staff was great! Very friendly at our arrival and in the evening while performing their drive-by checks.
This time I actually tried the showers and I was not disappointed. Great water pressure, plenty warm and cleaner than you might expect. Sure, there are some bugs that get in, but it was way nicer than showering in my van.
The bathrooms are well maintained and stocked with paper towels and tp. They really do a nice job here.
The riding was great. We were in awe of how empty it was. Father's Day weekend and we never came across anyone else on the trails.
We did have to relocate. My buddy couldn't get his RV into the hillside spot we'd reserved - M49 I think it was.
We stayed here 4 nights in June 2024 and loved it. The campground is the last of the ones along Poole Power Plant Rd and is the best. There are about 16 sites. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and had the pick of the campground. We stayed in site 3, which is right on Lee Vining Creek. There’s a fire ring, table, and bear locker. Bears are active there and one camp through the campground late on one of the nights we were there. The camp host, Cary, is the best camp host ever. He knows so much about the area, its history, great hikes and things to see, etc., and he’s a pleasure to chat with. The campground was so quiet and peaceful. We will definitely be going back.
Stop here after coming over the mountain through Yosemite needed a place to camp on the east side before we headed home. Very different place the ground is very soft with pea gravel like granite pine trees and pine cones had to use four low with the Jeep to pull our teardrop back in to camp spot. The camp spot that's marked on the app was taken so we turned right and left the hill and found one back further in the trees
A quiet, large space for setting up.
This spot is great, right outside the YNP, but the mosquitos will suck ever last drop of blood out of you! This was the very back spot but also a quiet spot.
Well kept rustic sites, good bath and shower facilities! Great views and great fishing. A small family run resort that makes it feel like home. Large RV will fit in some spots.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular RV campsite near El Portal, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular RV campground near El Portal, CA is Yosemite Pines RV Resort & Family Lodging with a 3.9-star rating from 22 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 238 RV camping locations near El Portal, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
