Summerdale Campground

I’m usually not a fan of maintained campgrounds, but with the wife and pup i knew things would go better with a few amenities. The location is good, about an hour to the Valley, the grounds though are great with lots of green and trees that separate the sites.

Summerdale is a little gem right outside Yosemite. The sites are well spaced and private, unlike what you will find in the park. My family and I have visited Summerdale about 10 times so far, and it is one of our faves. 

Fishing: Can be GREAT! But at times, has been really bad. We've often caught our limit each day (trout) and snagged some crawfish to boot. But, we've also had a couple of experiences when we didn't get a single bite.

The Creek is lovely - good for swimming wading, and has several slow shallow spots where you can put your chair in and enjoy the afternoon. I have seen beavers in the creek south of the campground.

Facilities: Pit toilets, trash service and piped water. All good quality and well maintained. The campground is CLEAN. I've never seen a cleaner campground.

HWY 41 noise: Yes, its there fairly consistently from about 8am-6pm. Passenger cars are not terribly noticeable, but larger vehicles and noisy vehicles are more so. Nights are punctuated by an occasional Harley accelerating up the hill, and an occasional hot rod blowing by. But most times, the creek makes enough noise that it drowns out all but the loudest highway noise.

Neat spot just outside Yosemite NP. The campground host was very nice and the cold stream nearby was perfect to cool down after hiking in the park.

A park tour bus stop was a mile south of the campground and can take you all through the park or drop you off and pick you up on the way back at the end of the day.

The camp sites were roomy with plenty of green and trees between sites.

Pet friendly.

Near the South entrance to Yosemite National Park, SUMMERDALE campground is a small, quiet, well maintained campground that requires advanced reservations. The sites are spread out in a little valley with a small stream called Big Creek flowing through it. Nice, clean pit toilets and drinking water available. A short drive from Yosemite Valley makes it a good place to base day trips into the park and great, quiet place to spend the night.

Although we would have loved to have stayed in the park itself- it was all booked up! So we opted to stay right outside- literally miles away! Nothing to write home about at the campsite- but it was quiet enough. The host was super friendly! And you really can't beat being so close to the entrance of Yosemite!