Best Glamping near Merced, CA

Recent Glamping Reviews in Merced

175 Reviews of 21 Merced Campgrounds

• 

  William J.

  Guide

  

  Dec. 3, 2024

  Mariposa Fairgrounds

  Camping at the fair.

  Full hookups on level gravel pads. We stayed in lot 5 at the back of the fair grounds, and it was quiet at night. The showers were clean, and the wifi was the best campground internet we have experienced. It is 2 miles from town, but there are plenty of restaurants and a market in Mariposa to make the trip worthwhile Make sure you go to the Mine and Mineral museum on the the grounds.

• 

  Be L.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 27, 2024

  Diamond Gulch

  perfect

  Was a wonderful experience! The host was super helpful even at night when we didn’t find our designated spot (even though it had super obvious signs - our fault) Super lovely host and a beautiful ranch. A lot of fireplaces with wood. Can only recommend lighting up a little campfire and stargazing at night! Bring some marshmallows with you !

• 

  Miles L.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 25, 2024

  Evergreen Rd Dispersed camping

  A few spots scattered along the road

  Nothing fancy or too expansive, but a handful of spots on either side of the road. Certainly easier to settle in before it’s dark.

• 

  Miles L.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 20, 2024

  Hidden View Campground — Hensley Lake

  Easy to access and good services

  Plenty of sites, we arrived after 8 pm and were able to find a spot and book it on Recreation.gov easily.

• 

  Greg D.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 20, 2024

  Yosemite Pines RV Resort & Family Lodging

  Going downhill ?

  It wasn’t as nice as the photos depicted. Water shortage? The grasses were long and dried up, there appears to have been a wooden bridge as a shortcut to the pool/restroom/laundry room/Deli, but no longer. The restrooms were barely tolerable and the woman’s had a bad odor. There’s a dishwashing station that is no longer serviceable, just a stainless sink set in a covered table with no water or even plumbing to include drains. You have to pay for WiFi and sometimes the signal drops. For the cost of the campground the WiFi should be free! Lesser known campgrounds even have free WiFi. There are Conestoga Wagons, Cabins and Yurts. None were occupied. Reason?

• C

  Christopher N.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 20, 2024

  Diamond Gulch

  Excellent base for exploring Yosemite

  We used Diamond Gulch as our base while exploring Yosemite for 5 days.  Overall, it was a great experience with a great host!  We visited in mid to late July, so it was very hot, and this means the campground was a little dusty, but manageable.  As others have stated, there is free firewood at your site, but we were a little scared to light a wood fire given how everything was so dry.  Also, as others have mentioned the showers were great, but we did have issues with getting them to heat up.  

  One thing to keep in mind is that while Groveland is only ~30 minutes from Yosemite, the drive within the park can take up 45-60 minutes.  So, plan accordingly and be prepared.  Our experience was that if we left camp around 7:30 we'd be through the gate with no line at 8am, and be at a parking lot around 9am.  This always worked for us to get a parking spot without any hassle.  After a long day of hiking and exploring the drive back to the campground felt a little long.

  Something we did not expect was how little there is in Groveland itself.  We tried to spend a couple of hours there one afternoon, and ended up just grabbing coffee and going back to camp.  There just isn't much to do in town.  This isn't to discourage anyone, but keep that in mind.

  The good:

  * Good host

  * Beautiful scenery from camp

  * Clean, well serviced bathrooms (porta potties)

  * Water available in camp

  * Excellent showers (especially when you can get them to heat up)

  * Very relaxed atmosphere

  The okay:

  * The sites have wood chips spread to keep down dust, but those get tracked everywhere.

  * A bit of a drive from the sights in Yosemite

  * On busy weekends it can get a bit crowded

• 

  Clara T.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 15, 2024

  Lake Tulloch RV Campground and Marina

  Great time in this campground!

  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)

• 

  Sabine D.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 28, 2024

  Dirt Flat

  Closed!

  This place is closed, it seems to be longer. 06/26/24

• 

  Brian and Janet S.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 20, 2024

  Codorniz Campground

  Not as advertised

  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

• 

  Brian and Janet S.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 20, 2024

  Mariposa Fairgrounds

  Cool spot - 1 Hour From Yosemite

  Underrated for sure - we stayed 2 nights while exploring Yosemite because we could not find a campground closer with spots. Big grassy area close to Mineral Museum, water and electric hookups. We basically had the fairgrounds to ourselves. They have additional spots in more of a parking lot setting, well marked.

  $55 per night Wifi worked great

• d

  david

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 19, 2024

  Mercey Hot Springs

  Amazing Place

  I Van Camped at Mercey Hot Springs for 5 days. When I arrived the nights were hot so I decided to take an AC Cabin #10 where I could park right next to the cabin and slept comfortably. I moved to a RV camp site #5 when the temps at night were a more comfortable mid 60s. I love that the hot tubs are available all night long. It allows for long soaks while star gazing. The therapeutic water is magical some of the best I have found. As soon as you enter the pool or hot tubs you feel the smooth water on your skin. The hot tubs are all oversized privet bath tubs that you fill with mineral water of your desired temperature. This is a completely off the grid resorts that has good energy and tranquil atmosphere. It is very clean with clean bath rooms and showers. When I was there in June 2024 they did not have the restaurant open yet but one looks like it is in the near future. They do have snacks, cold drinks, coffee, ice cream and Ice in the front office for purchase. I took the short hike up the hill to see the solar array, while up there I discovered a most amazing triple Labyrinth circle walk that was very mindful experience. I have never seen such a neat labyrinth as this. Truly an amazing stay, I will be back.

• S

  Stefan S.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 19, 2024

  Thousand Trails Yosemite Lakes

  Way to expensive for what you get

  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.

• 

  Maria M.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 2, 2024

  Lake Tulloch RV Campground and Marina

  ick

  Wow, let's say we had a nightmare ishhorrible experience. We rented a tent camp site for 2 nights. We were given an RV Slab camping site. It had the tiniest barbecue grill available. The water that was coming out of all the faucets,  was red and brown. People weren't allowed to shower that night. Once night fall came, the camp's site was infested with roaches Everywhere, they went in all our grocery bags and under them. Went into and under all our boxes that we had. The roaches hid under our tents also. There also seemed to be a termite infestation. We had to cut our camping trip short after spending over a thousand dollars on supplies, food, the Camping site and parking fees The workers that drove by, especially Travis, were nice and Welcoming. Dogs have to be on a leash at all times. If you want to go into the lake with your dog, You have to walk very far away if you didn't rent one of the tent sites at the lake front area. Had to fumigate my vehicle when I got home with all my stuff in it. I pray none of the bugs will be in my stuff at home. I heard many other guests screeching and shouting, omg theres cockroaches every where. Good to know, we weren't the only ones disappointed. The owner Jake refused to refund me, or my two guests that wasted their 50 dollars in parking fees, although the trip was cut short due to the conditions. Jake offered for us to stay another night. Will never be back. Beware.

• R

  Reina M.

  Scout

  

  May. 29, 2024

  Diamond Gulch

  Disappointed

  Booked a reservation through The Dyrt app for this place. Reservation says I booked for a “tent”, meaning a tent will be ready already and should have a bed inside. We wanted a place to sleep before heading to Yosemite the next day, without having to unpack our stuff.After booking on 5/18, I emailed the owner of the campground to make sure my reservation went through and I mentioned that I booked it through the dyrt app and it was a reservation for a tent. The owner replied with “it did”. Upon getting to the site, the owner was not there and we didn’t know where we needed to go. Some of his family members were camping there as well and helped us get a hold of him. When we finally spoke with the owner, he said that the dyrt app is not supposed to do reservation for the tent. We were put in an empty campsite because all the tents were occupied. This was around 9 pm, we don’t have time to set up tent so we took everything out of the back the car and slept in the back of the car. I emailed the dyrt app to get a refund, I paid for the tent but got a camp site instead so I should be refunded for the difference plus not to mention the inconvenience. It was not my fault the reservation was incorrect, I also did my due diligence to make sure the booking was done correctly. It is not my fault the owner did not read my email properly when I asked. The dyrt app will not issue a refund because the owner said he will not issue a refund. Although the amount is not a lot, I would rather only pay for what I got. The owner was nice and his family was nice but we are really disappointed with our experience.

• 

  Alexis O.

  Traveler

  

  May. 28, 2024

  Yosemite “Boondock National” Dispersed Camping

  amazing & accesible spot !

  super accessible spot right by the entrance (10 min drive max) to yosemite np !! not sure why some of these reviews are complicated lol but just go up mount raymond road like the directions tell you to then once you get to the end i just went to the turn out on the right ! super lowkey, fire pits, and beautiful scenery 🌱

• R

  Ryan H.

  Scout

  

  May. 27, 2024

  Diamond Gulch

  Amazing!

  Spots are unlevel, but not horribly. Firewood already at the site for your use. Wonderful outdoor showers! The scenery is beautiful! Wish we had more time to stay here longer. Favorite site of our trip so far

• M

  Martyna G.

  Traveler

  

  May. 9, 2024

  Thousand Trails Yosemite Lakes

  3+

  Huge but peaceful camping 15 mins from the entrance and 45 mins from the Yosemite visitor center. General store equipped in nicer gifts than the visitor center. First come first served, but after a check in you can reserve your site for when you are leaving. We didn’t bother looking for a place by the river as it was already packed, but found a nice spot in the third row. Spotted a skunk twice:) Bathrooms are rarely cleaned - three nights in there were still dirty. WiFi poor and limited to the front desk and laundry room. For this price would’ve been nice for it to work throughout the whole place though. Coin machine in laundry room out of order, you can exchange money at the front desk.

• 

  Bauke

  Traveler

  

  May. 3, 2024

  Dirt Flat

  Closed

  We visit this site (and tried the other next to it) may 2024. Don't now it was illegal. But we parked before the sign: no camping. Everything is closed. So you have to take your litter and toilet with you. 25feet could turn around. Bigger not suggested. Is already closed for 14 months. Doesn't look like it will open again very soon.

• 

  Tina M.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 26, 2024

  Thousand Trails Yosemite Lakes

  Amazing!

  We absolutely loved our monthly stay at Yosemite Lakes TT. We arrived early April and where the first ones to take a spot by the river - basically on our own for a week or so before others started trickling in. Towards the end of April the weekends were packed and buzzing but as soon as Monday's came around it was quite again. We ended up moving spots to have more space and better Starlink reception. Great activities at the lodge, clean and friendly and super close to the NP. We are in a 45 ft toy hauler and taking 120 up here was an ok drive. Would definitely come back again!

• 

  Erik J.

  Guide

  

  Mar. 5, 2024

  Codorniz Campground

  Gorgeous setting and easy access

  There are few gems along the Hwy 99 route between Sacramento and Bakersfield but this is definitely one of them! Located a short 20 miles east of 99, just north of Fresno, this Army Corps of Engineers campground is stunning. Situated among rolling hills that are luscious green in the spring, this campsite is quiet and packed full of things to do. Whether you want to bike, hike, fish, boat or just sit and enjoy the peace and quiet, this is the site for you!

  We're dry camping at the Wildcat site which the ranger said is rarely used. There is no one else in the whole campground!

  Coyotes howled in the distance last night and it was dead quiet. Going to take the road bike out today and explore some of the roads around the Lake. Lake is full after the 2023 season.

• 

  zachary L.

  Traveler

  

  Dec. 28, 2023

  Yosemite RV Resort

  AMAZING

  Such an amzing site with clean amenities. (Showers, bathrooms, washing rooms.) people that work here are also super kind and welcoming. Definitely recommend 13/10

• 

  Candy H.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 12, 2023

  Codorniz Campground

  Very remote

  It’s a quiet campground on a hill. You are at least 30 minutes from any stores. The lake is beautiful but the campsites with power and water do not give a view of the lake at all with the exception of 42. AT&T cell signal from 45 was non existent but T-mobile worked well enough to stream Netflix. I enjoyed my stay. Clean and the camp hosts were great.

• H

  Hunter P.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 10, 2023

  Tuttletown Recreation Area

  Nice Area When Empty

  Sites are packed in tight. Def geared for tent camping although I was lucky enough to be here when it was dead empty and picked a good site for my 27’ toy hauler. Fire pits and picnic tables at every site. No idea where the water is at but didn’t really look. There is a nice dump station ($8 fee recommended.. pay station is at park entrance). Lots of deer and raccoons. Gas station with firewood not too far away (Lakeridge Inn Gas), and they have diesel. Boat launch and day use area only a short drive away. Just would not want to be here if it was busy.

• H

  Hayley K.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 27, 2023

  Diamond Gulch

  Cozy little spot

  We stayed here for the night prior to a Hetch Hetchy backpacking trip. We arrived in the dark. We had reserved a site with a small two person tent already set up for us. It was a bit hard to find in the dark, but the camping area is fenced in under an oak grove so eventually we found the stump with our name on it next to the tent. In the future, I think I’ll just bring my own tent and deal with the small hassle of setting it up—the tent provided was fine, but definitely would not have been a good choice if there had been rain. And you could tell it is essentially set up 24/7—some tiny insects living inside etc. The campsites themselves were sufficiently spacious and the host has nice fire pits with fire wood provided for each site, plus picnic tables. Basic portapotties plus some running water for bathrooms. Fellow campers were an interesting mix of folks from all over, though I wish the owner had quiet hours posted and communicated—our immediate tent neighbors sat out chatting and laughing until nearly 1am which was annoying. The coyotes and owls at night were lovely.

• T

  Tony Z.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 28, 2023

  Yosemite Pines RV Resort & Family Lodging

  Great place to stay!

  We enjoyed our stay here while on a three week trip from our home in PA to the West Coast. There was a high volume of campers and it seemed they struggled a bit to keep up with the bathrooms but place more blame on people's poor manners in cleaning up after themselves. Definitely recommend!

• 

  Noelle G.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 24, 2023

  Diamond Gulch

  Clean and great amenities

  Great stay at Diamond Gulch! Host was responsive and available. The bonus of free firewood and hot showers were next level. The sites were clean. Overall a great stay! It’s a little misleading as you think you are booking a specific site, when in actuality all sites are first come first serve. We pulled up in the evening and it was unclear how the process worked to pick a site, especially when we thought we had “site 1”. We had a lot of room because only a handful of campers there. Everyone was quiet and respectful. But if all sites are booked it may have been a different vibe.

• 

  Kristyn C.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 20, 2023

  Yosemite “Boondock National” Dispersed Camping

  Great and close to NP

  Lots of places to park a vehicle or set up a tent. Plenty of fire rings and is very close to the NP entrance. Only downside was the lack of private areas to use the bathroom, but we managed. The lead to get in wasn’t bad, and we got there after dark.