Tuolumne Meadows Campground — Yosemite National Park

Two nights with snow and temp in 20’s and 3 nights with high 30’s. Great camp experience with trail heads outside your door. Half dome cable climb closed on permit day due to snow. Views awesome, no crowds due to temps and Covid

Stayed in a tent cabin, no bathroom. Very scenic and had a good time

This place is perfect for ppl that want to experience Yosemite and still have commodities. The cabins or tents provided are clean and have everything you need. Showers restrooms etc the food in the cafeteria is also good. Parking is good and easy and the location is close to many trails

First visited in 2016 as part of a men’s group where we camped together by luck we had adjoining campsites that gave us the opportunity to have a meeting place right outside our tent doors due to it being a first come and first served campsite. Well designated parking area, greeting/visitor center and seasonal cafe/grocery store. The access to the JMT is only a 1/4 mile from our site Airy, clean and plenty of water access points with semi primitive washrooms, and some primitive outhouses sprinkled in this place. Fire rings are deep and always cleaned Campsite hosts are great, and you also have the search and rescue team that resides there as your neighbor which is a plus.

minutes walk form many trail heads and beautiful views. also close to a small store. some of the sites are VERY close together so choose wisely! all the ameneties are easy to access.

Sick of the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds of the Yosemite Valley at peak times? Head to the high country and stay at Tuolumne Meadows Campground. I lucked out and snagged a walk-up spot in early summer, when it was still showing closed for reservations online, but was actually open.  Quiet, full of trees, bear boxes at every site, bathrooms with flushing toilets, water, lots of nice hiking trails nearby, and not nearly the crowds of the valley floor.

This is a great campground to use as a stopping point on the JMT. If you were hiking the traditional route, it is a nice point to meet family or friends, have a hamburger, and get geared up for the next leg of the trip.

Our camp site was near the back of the campground and we were tucked away in the trees. The site was beautiful and had a nice spot to park, a bear locker, and picnic table. All the staff members were very friendly and helpful. We really enjoyed staying here.

CAMPGROUND REVIEW: Coldwater Campground, Mammoth Lakes, CA

A beautiful 77 site campground nestled in at over 9,000 ft in the Inyo National Forest of the Eastern Sierras.

Amenities: large sites, modern restrooms spaced throughout the camp (two unisex doors, includes one sink with running cold water, a flush toilet, and metal mirror), water spigots near the latrines.

Each site has a large picnic table, a fire pit with sliding cook grate, a double door bear cabinet and small paved parking pad.

We chose site 66, as it sprawled to s mountain stream, nestled in shaded pines, had a couple flat tent spots and was relatively close to restrooms and water.

No electric, no showers (nearby Twin Lakes Campground Store rents shower time at $7.00…one person per shower.

Coldwater Campground is a short drive from Mammoth Lakes, which has all you should need or desire.

The trails from the back of Coldwater Campground go up, up, up…but offer spectacular mountain views, glacier lakes, picturesque alpine meadows, waterfalls and cascades. A short drive and bus ride away are trails to Iconic Rainbow Falls and Devil’s Postpile, among other ridiculously beautiful mountain trails!

Mountain bike trails are innumerable…and the paved multi-use trails are stellar and travel for miles. https://www.visitmammoth.com/blogs/top-5-xc-mountain-bike-trails-near-mammoth-lakes

There are rentals nearby for every sportsman. This is the active person’s Mecca! Also close-by is Mammoth Ski area that offers the downhill mountain bikers absolute Nirvana, during summer months.

https://www.mammothmountain.com/summer/bike-park-overview/mammoth-bike-park/mammoth-bike-park

At $24 a night, this seems to be the standard rate for this region…and that without showers.

Note: Even during hot summer months, it gets chilly at night. August 6, it was 50 degrees at night. A 40 degree dip from the cloudless daytime temps.

It did not take long to fall in love with the Eastern Sierra Nevadas. I would not hesitate to camp here again, and am already planning a return visit.

This section of the park, while not as popular as the Valley, is arguably just as beautiful, and is much easier to secure camping. This campground is MASSIVE. Reservations can be made in advance, but we didn't have any trouble finding a walkup site in the middle of June. The elevation here means that it gets fairly cold at night, even during the summer.

Groceries may be conveniently purchased a short drive down the road, but keep in mind that the markup is pretty substantial, so you probably only want to use it for last-minute essentials.

While there is running water, if you're looking to take a shower, you'll need to head down to the Valley.

This is the only high Sierra Campground that is accessible by car. Camping is half reservations, half first come first serve, but can be hard to get into. There is potable water and flushing toilets, but no showers or RV hookups. There is a small store with the basics close by, and a little grill restaurant. Due to high elevation, it gets cold at night, but its worth it. Lots of great hiking and climbing close by. An awesome place to camp!

It's not always easy to get a site, but it's the only place I choose to camp in Yosemite. There are bathrooms, ranger station, Outpost with basics and walk-up grill, but you won't find any showers. Horse sites & a few RV sites, but roadways within the grounds are best for seasoned trailer owners.

Very big campground. Group sites available. Tent, backpacking and RV available. Long walk in lines in summer. Lots of mosquitoes. Good hiking and fishing nearby. Walk to campstore and restaurant. PCT camp sites nearby.

I was three days early- the campground would not open for three more days! But I was able to talk with a fellow that works at the store just outside the campground to get some info. The campground is used by lots of thru hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail as well as the John Muir Trail (I saw a large group of thru hikers filling up on food from the the store and grill on picnic tables outside) as well as campers who wanted to enjoy the high Sierra area of Yosemite Park instead of hanging out in the crowded Valley. The campground is huge with around 300 sites that accommodate tents, RV’s, Camper’s, and even a few equestrian sites. I was told that the sites in the A loop are the best sites since they are a bit more spread out, are near the river, and the backpacker’s area is there and that is where you get the best stories. Across the road is the Tuolomne Meadows area with great hiking and access to the big trails. There was a really neat soda spring you could hike to where ice cold water bubbled out of the ground. There were some historical buildings in the area that were pretty neat to check out as well.

Planned out a trip with reservations for months but due to fires and hurricanes our reservations were null and void. We were able to score one night a Tuolumne and for the next three just head to the ranger station in the am and request to stay. We stayed in mid September, very cold nights, but doable with proper tent, cot, insulated pad and sleeping bag this Florida girl survived. Loved this campground, no crowds like the Valley, and beauty everywhere you look. Perfect place to camp to check out both Lake Mono & the Valley. The Tuolumne Meadows store has an attached quick serve restaurant that was a blessing for coffee and breakfast, food was excellent.

Tuolumne Meadows: Yosemite's Hidden Gem of a Campground

One of the tricks with campgrounds in Yosemite is that you either have to 1. Book 5-6 months in advance on the exact correct date within 15 minutes of the site becoming available online, or 2. risk a walk-up by standing in line starting as early as midnight the night before you want to camp.

Enter Tuolumne Meadows, an incredibly beautiful campsite within Yosemite that doesn't normally become available until early June AND leaves half of their sites open to first-come, first-served campers. I was thrilled to grab a spot at Tuolumne online for mid-June with just one-week's notice, and there were even a handful of spots still available when we arrived. The campground is about an hour-and-a-half drive from Half Dome and other sites in "the valley," but there's so much to see and do closer to Tuolumne with a bonus of avoiding the standing-room-only crowds. I would definitely stay here again and fully enjoyed coming in from the east side of Yosemite with its breathtaking mountains (we normally enter from the busier west side).

The Campground

Tuolumne is a large campground surrounded by trees, tiny rivers, and breathtaking meadows. As with all campgrounds in Yosemite, there's no electricity, water hook-ups, or showers, but there are water faucets and flush toilets throughout. One thing to note is that camp sites vary greatly, so if you can scope out your site first in person or online, it's worth the research. For example, our site was so large and set back from the road that at first we couldn't find it, while our neighbor was right next to the road and barely had room for their camper and absolutely no privacy. There's also a large group campground, horse camp, backpackers camp (permit required), ranger program, and a really cute visitor center a 1/2 mile away.

Product Review: Gregory Grandeur Series Sucia 28 Backpack

My absolute favorite day pack is an old Gregory Iris that I've had for almost a decade, so as a family we were pretty darn excited to win TWO Gregory backpacks in a recent dyrt.com contest. For my oldest son, we chose a Gregory Grandeur Series Sucia 28 with the hopes that it would do double duty as both a camping/day pack as well as a school bag he can take to class and soccer practice.

The pack has three main areas he'll be putting to use: first is an outside mesh stuff bag for stinky soccer clothes, muddy cleats and/or wet clothes for camping and summertime trips, second is a large internal area with padding for both a laptop as well as an ipad and a small zippered mesh area for keys/chapstick etc., and finally there's a second large internal area with dividers for things such as pens, pencils, notebooks, etc. There's also a separate, smaller top zippered area for keys/wallets/phones as well as spots for water bottles on both sides. All-in-all, a pretty perfect setup for both school and road trips.

So far after putting the pack through the ringer during our recent 1700-mile road trip, it still looks brand new and passed every test as far as usability and comfort. It's the perfect size to fit the basics for a night or two of camping including sleeping bags, clothes, etc., as well as the pounds and pounds of books he'll be taking to middle school. For reference in looking at the photos, my older son is 5 feet tall and the pack fits him well now and should also grow with him just fine (it also fits my husband well who's 6-feet-tall). The red bag in the photos is the Gregory Miwok 18, worn by our younger son who is 4 feet tall.

Pros:

Sturdy and well-made. I keep noticing features such as the reinforced stitching at the stress points and the reinforced zipper pulls.

Perfect combination of features for both work/school and camping.

Looks great and feels comfortable.

Cons:

My only wish for this pack is that the outside mesh are was the tiniest bit bigger to more comfortably fit a soccer ball. I know, this is a pretty specific request and there are other bags specifically for soccer balls, but just a little bit more room there would be ideal and they we wouldn't have to cram it in quite so tightly (though it does actually fit with some pushing).

I was also going to add a "key clip" request for an inside pocket, and then I looked inside the small mesh compartment near the laptop area and found one (and felt kind of dumb when I found it). It really is a pretty perfect pack for our needs, and with my experience with other Gregory bags, I'm pretty confident it should hold up well.

This campground is located outside of Yosemite Valley, so it has less of the “Disneyland of the Sierra” feel—more serene and fewer people and buses.

we stayed in the area for backpackers—our first night there before hitting the trail for backcountry camping, as well as our last night before heading home. The spots in the backpackers camp area are first come first serve, take your pick when you arrive—only for folks with a backcountry permit. I recommend walking further back and up the hill to the more tucked away spots. Our first night we grabbed one of the first spots we saw which had an exposed feeling and plenty of foot traffic going by. Our last night we went to the back area and had a nice spot tucked against the forest.

A lovely creek runs along one side of the campground. It’s also walking distance to the general store and cafe.

Campground Review

Yosemite is one of those granddaddy national parks. It is large, gorgeous, and has pretty much everything you’d want in a park: great vistas, trails, campsites, facilities, lodges, history, activities, interpretive centers, etc. We drove down in a 32’ RV and got lucky in finding a campsite open on Tuolumne Meadows near the eastern entrance to the park. This area is more alpine in feeling than the more famous Yosemite Valley—more on that in a bit—but the landscape is no less incredible. The campsite was a little tricky to find in the dark but definitely large enough for our RV. No hookups at the campsite but a dump was a five minute drive away. Plenty of wooded area and a fair amount of privacy and quietness between the many campsites crammed in the space.

We picnicked in the gorgeous meadows before taking the 90-minute drive towards Yosemite Valley. It being the summer season and Yosemite now fully open—Tuolumne Meadows doesn’t even open until June due to snow—the park’s main challenge is its popularity. There were a lot of people on the highway throughout and Yosemite Valley itself was packed. The myriad falls, Half Dome, El Capitan and more all live up to their billing as absolute must-sees. But be prepared to see them all in the valley with a lot of people around biking, walking, hiking, listening to music, and coming to-and-fro from the fancy and amazing Majestic Yosemite Hotel (aka Ahwahnee Hotel). And even with the crowds, the whole park is absolutely fantastic. If you’re able to camp there or stay late enough for the sunset, the “dome glow” is inspiring.

Product Review

Gregory has been making backpacks forever and being a backpack junkie, I was keen to try out the Miwok 18 as a day pack which my wife had won via a Dyrt contest. It was an apt pack to use in Yosemite as the Native American tribe that frequented the area many years ago was, in fact, the Miwok tribe.

The pack is a very light weight 18 liter pack with lumbar and waist cross support straps, a nifty suspension system that kept the pack high on my back and not saggy, a fairly well-ventilated back cushion, a small sunglasses/smart phone/key pocket near the top and a good sized main pocket to house gear. There are two water bottle holders on the sides and an external quick stash pocket on the outside. The quick stash pocket expands with zippers but the top is still tied down with bungie cord so you can’t totally open it. Still plenty big to stash a jacket or wet towels—as we used it for a dip in the Merced River—and other gear. In fact, the pack as a whole had more than enough space for four towels lashed to the outside with compression straps, dry clothes for myself, my wife and two boys, two water bottles and some snacks.

The straps run a bit long that they dangle and I might think about shortening them but what it lacks in strap economy it more than makes up for in its best feature: its light weight. Apart from the Yosemite day of hiking around the valley, I also used it in Legoland to carry all our stuff for the day and my back didn’t get sore or tired shoulders.

All around, the Gregory Miwok 18 is a very solid day pack for a good hike and weekend excursion.

Great campsite. A 4wd or high clearance vehicle is recommended to get there, but last time I went we were in a camry and got there just fine! There is plenty of space per campsite. Bathrooms are nearby. Firepit, storage and tables are at each campsite.

Great campsite. A 4wd or high clearance vehicle is recommended to get there, but last time I went I was in a camry and we got there just fine. The campsite is great- plenty of room per site. There are bathrooms and fire pits.

Eexcellent campground! Clean and well run. Lots of trails around. The river is great on those hot summer days. And a store very near by. And reservations not required if you get there early enough!

Had an absolutely amazing time here in yosemite. Met some people just outside of the park and they invited us to spend a few days at tuolumne and climb with them. This campground is huge.... i mean huge..Beautiful down by the river and the meadows and the sites are pretty typical. drinking water and bathrooms. my only thing is they are expensive. i keep saying thats typical for national parks but i just can't get over it. also people reserve sites a year in advance. Fortunately they keep 40% sites open for walk ins. No body really knows this though.

This campground is always a great place to start ones journey into Yosemite National Forest. The backpackers campground has more to offer than just a place to rest your head, you are able to meet other backpackers and talk about the current conditions of the trail. There is a wonderful Ranger Talk that you can learn about the area's history and later have a hot cup of chocolate with.

Tuolumne Meadows Campground is located in Yosemite National Park in the Central California's Sierra Nevada Mountain. Its elevation at 8000 plus feet gives you the chance to see beautiful scenery.

I stayed one night here before embarking on a backpacking trip through the Yosemite back country. Anyone with a wilderness permit can spend the night before their trip in the backpackers camp behind the main campground loop. It is a very short walk to the general store and Tuolumne Meadows Grill. The campsites all seemed pretty big with lots of space. Bathrooms were also clean and well kept. There is a large community fire pit where they have Ranger led campfire talks which are great for families. In my opinion, this campsite is much more enjoyable than any of the sites down in Yosemite Valley.

Beautiful overall, great access to many back country inlets and lakes. A wonderful place to witness one of the many Yosemite thunder and lighting storms. If you can leave your pet at home you will have a better time, the majority of lakes and trails in the Yosemite area do not allow dogs, some are leash restriction such as campsites. If you're heading up to lake Tenaya the pups can't go.

This is one of the most beautiful places I have camped. We have stayed here in a RV and a tent. Tuolumne Meadows is a little removed from the hustle and bustle of the Yosemite Valley area but worth the stay. The sites are booked online but assigned by the ranger when you arrive. Try to get one by Tuolumne River. No hookups is the only negative thing I can say but if you stay at National Parks often then you are used to this. There are many great hiking trails across from the camping area to Lembert Dome and Dog Lake.

Getting there: As far as campsite in Yosemite go, Tuolumne Meadows is one of if not the most difficult to get to. From the East entrance of the park your still about 1.5 hours away from the campsite. To increase the difficulty of getting there Tioga Road is closed during the winters and will close anytime it snows.

Campsites: Tuolumne Meadows rest halfway between the Yosemite Valley and Mono Lake. Additionally Tuolumne sits just feet from the John Muir and the Pacific Crest Trail. All this access in combination with the difficulty of getting to Tuolumne Meadows makes it a great campground for those wanting to get away from the crowds and out onto the trails. WARNING: Because Tuolumne Meadows is so exposed to the forest there is HEAVY BEAR ACTIVITY. Keep your campsite clean, keep all food/toothpaste/sunscreen/anything that smells (even canned beer or alcohol) in the Bear Bin. The Park: Yosemite is awesome. What to do: You're already WAY OUT THERE so you might as well go see everything off Tioga Road (White Wolf, Porcupine Flat, etc. Also drive out to Mono Lake. You have perfect access to hiking the John Muir and Pacific Crest trail. Find a route and get out there!