Best Tent Camping near Mariposa, CA

I really recommend this campground. I can come here and play online games with my family. The campground offers both reservable and first-come, first-served campsites. The sites are relatively spacious and provide a mix of shade and sun. Each campsite typically includes a fire ring, picnic table, and food storage locker. It provides basic amenities such as restrooms with flushing toilets and drinking water. However, it does not offer showers or hookups for RVs. There are no electrical or water connections at individual campsites. The campground's location provides access to various outdoor activities. Nearby attractions include the Mariposa Grove, where you can explore giant sequoias, and the Wawona Golf Course. Additionally, there are hiking trails, scenic drives, and opportunities for wildlife viewing in the area.

North Pines is one of three campgrounds on the floor of Yosemite Valley. Across the Merced River from the other two campgrounds and adjacent to the horse stables, it is relatively isolated with no major roads running by it. Nevertheless, it is well connected to the rest of the valley amenities, with a quick walk to the bus station, a longer walk (1 mi) to the visitor center via the Valley Loop Trail, or a drive (if you don't mind braving traffic and searching for parking spaces). 

The sites are not well defined. You have a place to park and besides that, it is a little of a free-for-all with the adjacent sites as to where you set up your gear. Despite that, we had plenty of room to set up our large 10 person tent, without feeling crowded or that we were overspilling our space. We were there the last weekend it was open (Oct 26/27) and all sites were booked. There are no hook-ups, and the comfort stations only have toliets and sinks (no showers), a fresh water faucet, and a disposal "toliet" for dish water. All dishes must be washed at camp. The facilities were fairly clean, though the disposal toilet often backed up.  Being late October, I was expecting very cold conditions. But the weather was great! 70s during the day and 40s at night. Clear skies. Absolutely beautiful. 

Our site was located right next to the comfort station, and in hindsight I wish we had found a place a little farther away. But besides the proximity, our site was nice with a fire pit and picnic table. Quiet hours are from 1000-0600, and we had to remind our neighbor campers who came back drunk at midnight to shut it, but that seems to be more the normal than abnormal these days. There were mostly tents in the campground, with a few small RVs and trailers. Generators are allowed during limited hours, but the noise wasn't overwhelming, since they were few and far between.

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. This weekend I got to test the Wenzel Great Basin 10 tent (https://wenzelco.com/great-basin-10/). Overall, my impression of this tent is that it is a solid and reliable tent. Yes, it has a few design items that could be improved for ease of use, but overall it served us well and I look forward to using it again. The tent is a domed center-opening design, with two side "rooms" that can be separated by zipped curtains, making three interior spaces total. My husband and I filled up on room with two large cots facing length wise (we had them oriented along center line and still had enough room to move along the sides). The other side has more than ample room for my daughter's small cot, which ran the width of the tent along the side window. Very comfortable for three people. 

Yes, this is a huge tent. Can it be set up by one person? Probably, if that person is patient and tenacious. Two people work much better. A few design items we found annoying were the pole connections, which would frequently catch on the tent pole sleeves and center strap. Also, the zipper flap on the tent's door would frequently get caught in the zipper, making it almost a necessity to use two hands to open and close the tent. Besides these two small inconveniences, the tent worked great. The rain fly fits snug against the tent roof. The construction felt sturdy and we liked the design of the three interior rooms. 

Overall, we had a fun two nights in Yosemite. We might make a tradition out of going for the closing weekend each year.

We stayed the night at one of the Hetch Hetchy reservable sites (first come, first served) before our trek through the backcountry of Yosemite. The sites were just a quick walk in from the parking lot and featured picnic tables, bear boxes, bathrooms and established fire rings. A permit is required to stay in the area as well as a $6 per person fee and you're able to check-in with your reservation right at the Hetch Hetchy entrance. The sites are well maintained and do feature scenic vistas, though it appears that the best views offered by Hetch Hetchy are found farther in the backcountry and we wish we had the time to really explore the area. The campground served as an easy spot to hike in, set up and prepare for a long trek ahead, although, if you're not pressed for time or resting up for a big hike, I'd recommend continuing on past the established sites into the more scenic backcountry. One major advantage of Hetch Hetchy is that you'll avoid the major crowds in Yosemite Valley which can't be beat in my book.

Wonderful campground with gorgeous views that won’t disappoint! Plenty of shade and spacious camp sites. Restrooms and water were also available. You can also purchase firewood from the camp host. I had no cell phone service in the Reds meadow valley. There is plenty to do in the area with hikes to the Devils postpile which is a National Monument, and Rainbow falls. You can see them both on a 4 mile loop that leaves from the postpile parking lot. There is also river access In the campground for great fishing. You will need to purchase an adventure pass on your way into the valley either from the mammoth mountain adventure center or the guard station upon entering the park for 10$. Take plenty of water on your hikes and remember to leave no trace on trails. Also remember to properly store food in the provided bear boxes this is very active bear country!

Typical campground set up with fire rings and bear lockers at each campsite. Flush toilets, but no showers. There is a dedicated sink to wash dishes at by the bathrooms along with a faucet for drinking water and a water bottle filling station. You can take a shower at Half Dome village right down the road for $5/person. They provide towels, shampoo, and body wash. The campground is conveniently located right next to a shuttle stop which makes it easy to get around the valley, but it’s also very noisy at times if you have a campsite right next to the road so just keep that in mind. Both Half Dome Village and Yosemite Village have large general stores that sell firewood and anything you could possibly need so if you forget something you can most likely find it there. No WiFi and very limited cell service. You can get LTE coverage outside Lower Yosemite Falls if you absolutely need to get ahold of someone or read an email. My only warning is about the pine sap! The pine trees are great for shade but get pine sap all over everything so just be prepared to clean it off your car and camping gear. Also a good idea to bring something to cover the seats of your picnic bench when you sit down, otherwise you stick to them.

Come early! There were a dozen people already in line when we arrived at 4:30a. These are shared sites meaning there are 6 people assigned per site to share a fire ring and it was $8 per person per night. Fires are regulated and strictly enforced- no fires 10p to 5a. The rangers will site you if you leave trash or food out unattended. There are reasons for the bear proof boxes provided and they take their bear safety seriously, which is appreciated. The ground squirrels were begging by day and racoons by night so it is keep loose items stored. There are no showers onsite but you can find some at neighboring campgrounds. We recommend the Green Dragon trolly tour. We got to hit all of the POI's while learning some history in 2.5 hrs or so. We saw plenty of deer along the way and slowed for all the best photos. Rangers offered coffee in the mornings by the Raffi Memorial Boulder across from the bathroom. We had a great site with access to an open area for some frisbee or just taking in the view. This is a park then walk-in campground so be prepared to walk a few hundred feet to your tent site…well worth it for the view up El Capitan from our site and Yosemite falls view from parking area.