Yosemite National Park
About Yosemite National Park
Yosemite is the campground everyone wants and almost nobody can get. Upper and Lower Pines, North Pines, and Camp 4 in the Valley book out within seconds of release, and the demand doesn't stop at the Valley floor — Tuolumne Meadows, Wawona, and Hodgdon Meadow all see heavy competition once their seasons open. With 16 campgrounds spread from the high country to the Valley floor, Yosemite has more entry points than most campers realize, but "more entry points" doesn't mean "easy to book."
Camping Alert tracked over 10,000 cancellations across Yosemite's campgrounds in the last 30 days alone. Almost none of those openings get booked by someone refreshing Recreation.gov by hand — they get taken by whoever's watching the moment it drops. That's the gap an alert closes.
What to Expect
Yosemite Valley is the park's gravity well — granite walls, waterfalls, and the shortest walk to Half Dome and El Capitan viewpoints, which is exactly why Upper Pines, Lower Pines, and North Pines are the hardest sites in the park to land. Camp 4, the walk-up climbers' campground, runs a lottery system in peak season rather than standard reservations, so it behaves differently from the rest of the park — worth knowing before you plan around it.
Outside the Valley, Tuolumne Meadows offers subalpine meadows and access to the high country along Tioga Road, typically open only in summer and early fall depending on snowpack. Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow sit near the south and Big Oak Flat entrances respectively, both a longer drive from the Valley but meaningfully easier to book. White Wolf and Porcupine Flat split the difference — high country access without Tuolumne's crowds.
If your priority is proximity to the Valley's big landmarks, expect to compete hard for Pines-area sites. If you're flexible on location, the outer campgrounds fill a real gap: still inside the park, still a short drive to the Valley, and consistently easier to catch.
Next Weekend: Sat, Aug 8 – Sun, Aug 9
Campgrounds in Yosemite National Park
Availability shown for Next Weekend: Sat, Aug 8 – Sun, Aug 9
See the full Yosemite National Park hub page →
Booking Tips
- Book at exactly 7:00 AM PT, 5 months out. Yosemite releases most sites on a rolling 5-month window; mark the exact release date for the campground you want and be logged in and ready.
- December is the easiest month to land a cancellation at Upper Pines, based on Camping Alert's historical drop data — if your trip is flexible, winter camping in the Valley is a very different (and far less competitive) experience.
- Fridays see the most cancellation activity at Upper Pines specifically. Weekend arrivals draw the deepest pool of competing campers, so a same-week Friday check can pay off.
- Watch the outer campgrounds even if you want the Valley. Wawona, Hodgdon Meadow, and White Wolf open up far more often than Pines-area sites and are all still inside the park.
- Set alerts on multiple campgrounds at once rather than fixating on one — Explorer and Backcountry plans let you watch the whole park in a single alert instead of refreshing five tabs.
Never miss an opening at Yosemite National Park
Get notified the moment a campsite becomes available — by email or SMS. Sub-5-minute scans on paid plans.