Best Places to Tent Camp in Yosemite

Camping provides a getaway from our hectic lives and takes us on a fantastic experience with the excellent outdoors. Disengage from technology and be reconnected with Mother Nature with popular sites such as Yosemite National Park. Camping in its campgrounds is an experience like no other.

Yosemite has a great deal going on around its campsites. You’ll cherish the outdoor tent sites that could serve as your home away from home. The best places to tent camp in Yosemite are Tuolumne meadows and Camp 4. More of which we’ll be talking about in a bit.

Lamentably, because of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, Yosemite National Park is briefly shut to general society. According to NPS, it has changed operations in line with the local health department. For now, Yosemite National Park is closed to all guests until further notification.

How Do I Get a Reservation at Yosemite Campgrounds?

Yosemite National Park has 13 well-known campsites, of which up to seven are on a booking system. From April through September, reservations are vital. It’s no surprise that the first-come, first-served camping areas are usually fully booked by early afternoon from April through September.

Reservations are required the entire year for Yosemite Valley’s vehicle campsites and summer. Campsite reservations are accessible in a batch of each month in turn. Know that virtually all bookings for the long stretches of May through September are filled the day they become accessible. 

For your most apparent opportunity regarding getting a reservation, visit this website before 7 am Pacific time. You can get more assistance reserving a spot and now and read inquiries about visiting the campgrounds. 

You may reserve two spots for every call or site visit. Call once more to make an additional reservation. If you can’t get a camping area reservation, you might need to attempt first-come, first-served campsites.

Must-visit Tent Camping Sites in Yosemite

Yosemite National Park is currently closed. However, it can’t stop you from planning your next camping trip! If you want to level up your experience, Yosemite has many tent camping sites in store for you. The camping options in Yosemite will leave a lasting impression. So, take some notes on our list of best places to tent camp in Yosemite National Park.

1. Camp 4

Camp 4, the only camping area in Yosemite National Park where RVs and trailers are not allowed, is particularly famous among rock climbers. It turned into the informal home base for those intrigued by the game during the 1900s, with many setting up camp and remaining for quite a long time. Notably, it made its way to the list of the National Register of Historic Places.

The 11-acre camping area is situated close to Yosemite Falls and Yosemite Valley Lodge, at 4,000 feet in height. There are 34 walk-in sites meant only for tent camping, so Camp 4 is commonly favored.

2. Tuolumne Meadows Campground

Tuolumne Meadows Campground has been dubbed as the most enormous ground at Yosemite National Park. It’s above 8,600 feet, where the Tuolumne River is divided into Lyell Fork and Dana Fork. Notably. It’s mainstream and a camper’s favorite for its numerous conveniences such as a café, store, service station, mailing station, mountaineering school.

This campground has 304 tent sites. Additionally, many tourist attractions such as Lyell Canyon, Elizabeth Lake, and different pinnacles, lakes, vaults, and trails are nearby. What’s more, check out John Muir Trail starting at the campsite.

3. Bridalveil Creek Campground

This campground rides solo on Glacier Point Road. Here, campers are brought close to the great Glacier Point post. It offers unique perspectives over a portion of Yosemite Valley features and the awe-inspiring high country. 

Definitely, it’s the ideal area for explorers who need a campsite to prepare for challenging hikes and road trips.

Bridalveil Creek Campground provides you with 110 tent sites and two group destinations. Plus, you also get three-horse sites. Each campsite is campfire ready with an outdoor table, flushing restrooms, drinking water, and food storage to keep items safe from Yosemite’s bears.

4. Upper Pines Campground

Located at 4,400 feet, Upper Pines Campground is quite possibly the most well-known in Yosemite Valley because it’s such a vast site. There are 238 destinations with space for tents and mind-blowing perspectives. 

You can spot Yosemite features like El Capitan and Half Dome from Upper Pines. Its area is close to Curry Village implies there are many conveniences accessible for a pleasant stay. Also, the camping area is open all year.

5. Wawona Campground

Wawona Campground is your most brilliant option if you need to stay near Mariposa Grove. It’s home to the famous Grizzly Giant sequoia trees. It’s open the entire year, and out of the three, one camping area circles at Wawona Campground is situated on the South Fork Merced River. 

You’ll see 93 campsites for tents, with each having a fire ring, food storage, and outdoor table. It has an area close to a washroom with flushing restrooms and drinking water. Wawona Campground will be noticeably more isolated than campsites situated in Yosemite Valley, so head here for a more far-off escape.

6. Porcupine Flat Campground

If you want to try a more venturesome camping experience, Porcupine Flat Campground gives you a more remote choice. There are not many comforts accessible. Hence, you’ll need water or a pot for boiling spring water. It has 52 tent sites, each containing a fire ring, footlocker, and picnic table. 

You’ll enjoy Yosemite features here since Tenaya Lake, Olmsted Point, and Tuolumne Meadows will be accessible. Count in the numerous miles of adventurous trails as well. This campground is a beautiful spot where you can appreciate the outdoors with your family. Close by is the outstanding view of the Sierra Nevadas mountain range.

7. North Pines Campground

Set amid transcending pines, rock bluff walls, and close by a surging waterway, North Pines Campground has a lovely setting, a fantastic area, and a woodsy vibe. 

It sits at the furthest end of the Yosemite Valley. Hence, you can walk directly from this camping area to some close by climbing trails. With just 81 tent sites, the majority of which are enormous and very much divided, it is tranquil, and numerous destinations offer security. Riverside destinations are grand.

Yosemite Tent Cabins

If you don’t like the hassle of setting up your tent, Yosemite has tent cabins that offer warmth and a comfortable feeling. These lodges offer the lower costs of setting up a shelter yet without the trouble. 

1. Tuolumne Meadows Tent Cabins

If you hope to be in a lovely area and don’t have any desire to rest on the ground, yet don’t anticipate an extravagance “glamping” resort, you may like this cabin. Tuolumne Meadows is a high snow-capped knoll at 8,775 feet in height. 

They have 69 lodges, open from mid-June through mid-September. Each tent cabin is large enough for four individuals, outfitted with beds and clothes. There is no power in the lodges, yet candles and a wood-consuming oven are given. The camping area has showers and bathrooms.

2. White Wolf Tent Cabins

White Wolf has 24 wood-outlined, wood-stunned, material-covered tent lodges and four customary lodges. There is no power. However, they give candles and a wood-consuming oven. They additionally give sheets, covers, cushions, and towels. 

The tent lodges share showers and bathrooms. The four deluxe tent cabins have private baths, restricted power, and house cleaner service.

3. Housekeeping Camp

Housekeeping Camp has 266 units, with each one big enough for six individuals to rest in it. They are three-sided solid constructions with material rooftops and protection drapes. 

These two-room lodges have a twofold bed, two single bunks, a table, seats, reflect, electrical lights, and outlets. Showers and bathrooms are halfway found. Additionally, you can find grills and a fire pit outside each lodge.

4. Curry Village

Curry Village is known for a similar warm, friendly atmosphere. It highlights standard lodgings, wood lodges, and earthly tent lodge facilities. Likewise, it offers accessible various dining alternatives and fun-filled outdoor activities.

Curry Village offers the following room types you can choose from:

  • Canvas Tent-Unheated
  • Canvas Tent-Heated
  • Yosemite Cabins w/ Bath
  • Stoneman Standard Rooms

5. High Sierra Camps

Yosemite National Park offers five High Sierra camps. They welcome campers from late June through September, contingent upon the climate and snowfall. At the High Sierra Camps, you snooze material tent lodges with dorm-style steel-outlined beds. Gatherings of under four individuals may need to impart a tent cabin to other people. 

The camp gives sleeping cushions, pads, woolen covers, or sofa beds. Just bring the rest sacks or sheets. It’s not the sort of convenience that would be portrayed as “glamping,” yet it’s superior to resting on a stone.

Ready to Have the Perfect Yosemite Trip?

If you want to detach from life’s daily stresses, tent camping in Yosemite is the best choice to unite with nature. It offers a wide variety of campground choices that offer different experiences. However, In light of the Covid-19, the Yosemite National Park closed its operations until further notice.

While spending your quarantine moments, you can grab the chance to plan your next camping trip. Above are the best picks to tent camp in Yosemite. You can choose from the different campgrounds where you can set up a tent. Also, there are tent cabins available. Tag your friends along and experience the one-of-a-kind experience 

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