Looking for the best campgrounds near Yosemite Valley, CA? Yosemite Valley is filled with the activities, sights, and experiences to make everyone in your crew a happy camper. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your California camping adventure.
$48 / night
"Great location right in the middle of Yosemite Valley. Great access to beautiful hikes and scenery. The camp sites are spacious."
"This campground is in the heart of Yosemite Valley. It is great to camp on the valley floor, especially during peak season as traffic from all main gates to the valley floor is very congested."
"After accidentally driving to this location following the directions of another reviewer for the “Yosemite Boondocks” campground across 41 (which we never found) we were very happy with this location."
"Great spot about 5 minutes away from Yosemite entrance. Only a few other campers nearby but plenty of space to where they were only seen from a distance."
"For people with mobility issues, this site is a good walk away from the inner valley trails, fine for anyone else who is up for walking distances, because that is why you came to Yosemite!"
"Beautiful campground, unfortunately right next to the trail, but very spacious and also has bathrooms and picnic tables right there!"
$36 - $75 / night
"Decent access to drinking water and each site has tables and fire rings, no RV hookups (another reason you have more "campers" and it's less noisy at night)."
"Your best bet is to visit the valley and camp outside the Park or in locations outside the valley. The granite cliffs and waterfalls are something to treasure."
$32 - $64 / night
"This was a good staging site to go up and down the June Lake Loop for the colors. I am a tent camper and at this time of the year it is COLD. Most of the folks were in RVs. "
"The nearby lake was beautiful, especially in early morning, and it provided an entry and exit point to the quieter side of the CA wilderness, such as Ansel Adams Wilderness (for when you don't want to"
"Off-road on the way to the camp site. We stayed at #4, with a good shade and it’s by the creek. Everything is good only it’s too dusty when other cars pass by without slowing down."
"Has a creek through the middle next to pretty much all sites. The stars at night are incredible. It’s about a 40 minute drive from Yosemite."
"If you wanna get away and camp next to a river and down a trail and shoot your gun or go fishing you can freedom you can horseback ride if you have horses he can fish there are fish there trout it's beautiful"
"There are pit toilets, but they are located only on the upper loop, so the sites in the lower loop are quite far away, so be prepared to dig a hole."
$41 - $43 / night
"The site is pet friendly and has horse stables. Our neighbors were friendly and quiet. The site had a picnic table, fire pit, water spout and full electricity hook ups."
"Driving from the West toward Yosemite this location is one which will allow you to find a camping option before getting into the big crowds. "
$34 / night
"Twin lakes is Located in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains near the town of Mammoth Lakes, California. Upper and lower twin lakes are a fantasic place to set up base camp and explore the sierras."
"Twin Lakes and all of the surrounding Mammoth area is gorgeous. You'll have plenty of hikes to choose from, go fishing, or hit the slopes (biking during the summer and snowsports in the winter)."
RangerI stayed here for 4 nights while visiting Yosemite National Park. This was the closest campsite that I could get without a reservation (about 15 minutes from park entrance, & 1 hr. from Yosemite Valley) The campground looks like it used to be much nicer but it was obviously burned in the Rim Fire. Even if it wasn't burned, I still wouldn't be too impressed. The sites are pretty close together and the campground is right on the highway so the noise is pretty bad. Also, they are doing some kind of construction around the site so we woke up to the sounds of equipment driving right behind our tent. Also, this place is WAY over priced for what you get. I paid $20 per night plus $8 per night per extra vehicle. If you're planning on spending most of your time in the park, this place can be a decent last resort if everything else in the area is full.
GuideGreat location right in the middle of Yosemite Valley. Great access to beautiful hikes and scenery. The camp sites are spacious. Because it's an equestrian campground, you will smell the horses and stables....be prepared. The river is close to the campgrounds and are refreshing on a hot day.
TravelerThis campground is in the heart of Yosemite Valley. It is great to camp on the valley floor, especially during peak season as traffic from all main gates to the valley floor is very congested. There is a shuttle stop right outside the campground. You are also in easy walking distance to the path to Mirror Lake and the ever popular Mist Trail. Shuttle stops at all valley attractions and you can easily get to the Pizza Deck in Half Dome Village, the deli in Yosemite Village, and many different hiking trails. Some spots are right along the Merced River. No showers here, but hot showers are close by at Half Dome Village. We will be back!
GuideWe had a nice open camping spot. It was at the edge of Yosemite Valley. The only downside to the spot was everyone else had a RV and had there generators on at 6am. We are not RV people so we don’t know why they need to run them. Next time we will camp in a tent only area. This area had no showers.
GuideOn the east side of Yosemite Valley, it offers a convenient spot to rest after exploring and enjoying all the activities the area has to offer. Is crowded, but each spot is equipped with fire ring, food storage, picnic table, parking spot and flat, shaded spots for your tent.
Advantages: car camping, good for families, pets are allowed, bathroom and potable water nearby. Shuttle bus is pretty close too.
Disadvantages: Crowded, have to book a lot of time in advanced, distance between campsites is short.
RangerCampground Review
I gave this campground a 3 out of 5 stars for two primary reasons. The first being that there is very little information available out there about the campground and the actual location of the grounds can be somewhat cumbersome to find. We spent a fair amount of time researching how to find this place and asking around at multiple information centers within Yosemite National Park before eventually finding it. The second reason being that the sites are not reservable and considering how crowded Yosemite NP can get, this is quite the gamble. Some crowd control is provided, as you need a backcountry permit in order to stay at the campground but with only 20 sites available, there’s a likely chance you may not get a spot. Most hikers use this campground as a basecamp before or after making their treks through the backcountry but it can be difficult to plan out your trip if you’re not sure that you can reliably find the campground or even secure a spot. That being said, this campground is located very close to some amazing amenities (10 minutes to Half Dome Village and 10 minutes to most trailheads). In addition to nearby amenities, the campground itself offers some great amenities including picnic tables, fire pits, bathrooms and bear boxes. The campsites are also really beautiful, as the grounds are situated near a picturesque wooded area, creek and unique rock formation. All in all, if you’re willing to wage the risk of not knowing how to get there or if you’ll even have a spot when you get there, you’ll be rewarded with one of the only remaining patches of solitude in Yosemite Valley.
ScoutClark's Fork is a large campground with 88 sites – all of which are situated with lots of space so that you aren’t too close to your neighbors. The availability of adjacent “double sites” makes this campground a great place for larger groups of families and friends. The 25 sites on Loop A offer vault toilets and cost $19 an night. Loop B sites offer flush toilets and cost $20 a night. There are also 14 nice family-sized equestrian sites and one group equestrian site. Sites are within easy walking distance of the water. No matter what kind of camping you want to plan, Clark's Fork offers options. A RV dump station is located near the entrance to the campgrounds. The Clark's Fork Campground is on a first-come, first-served basis. This beautiful wooded campground is on the Stanislaus River, recommended for your fishing and scenic pleasure.
LegendNorth 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.
GuideBeen here many times with my son and my horses over the years. Still quiet and not over ran. Close to fishing streams, high mountain lakes, hiking trails, off roading and don't forget that trip into Bridgeport and Bodie.
Obsidian took a beating two cleaned up and they are still fixing some things. I would vonsider Obsidian more of a primitive campground, not dispersed but minimal.
Outhouse is clean, bring your own water, can get 5G/LTE here.
Tables, campfire rings, park at your site, tent, small camp trailer. At the end of the campground there is a bigger spot for groups.
Horsetrailer parking/camping across from campground in a turn around spot.
$12/Night for single unit $6/Night for extra vehicle
Horse camping in California offers a unique way to explore the stunning landscapes while enjoying the company of your equine friends. With various campgrounds catering to horse enthusiasts, you can find the perfect spot to set up camp and ride the trails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Yosemite Valley, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Yosemite Valley, CA is North Pines Campground — Yosemite National Park with a 4.6-star rating from 23 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Yosemite Valley, CA?
TheDyrt.com has all 30 equestrian camping locations near Yosemite Valley, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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