Reviews

Marc Crawford

This is an awesome campground if you are not wanting to day hike to half dome of clouds rest. It is very close to the river so you can go swimming, filter water or rinse your clothes. There are plenty of bear lockers to store your food. It was not noisy at all when I was there.

Mel Timo

I had a great experience at the campgrounds. It was very clean. Plenty of space for you to camp and not be too close to other campers. There were plenty of bear boxes so no need to rent a bear canister if this is where you are staying. It's about a quarter of a mile away from a river to get drinking water. The bathrooms were pretty good considering they are composting toilets. They did not smell at all. They had toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Everyone was very respectful. At night you can see so many stars in the sky.

Germain Tronchet

Great campground on the way to Half Dome. There are clean dry toilets, the river nearby to refill the water and go for a swim after a long day of hiking, shared bear boxes across multiple sites. As many other campsites in the Sierra, the soil was dry and dusty. It can get crowded. There were probably 50 people camping there. We left our tent pitched and our gear at the site for the day while hiking. I think it’s pretty safe as long as you leave your food and toiletries in the bear bin. During our 2 day trip, we met one ranger who asked for our permit.

Nick D

Best place to camp overnight before hiking to half-dome the next day. Easy access to water and an outhouse with toilets (no running water). Seemingly 30-40 independent camp sites marked by cut down trees, all with bear lockers. 2 communal fire pits. Next time I do Half dome I’ll definitely be staying here again!

Ingyin

Overnight here for our half dome sunrise hike! Love this campground! Very quiet. Filtering water from the river is so refreshing. The toilets are well maintained. The directions past vernal falls are confusing as we went to the wrong way. Look for the sign for “little Yosemite” instead of “Yosemite valley”! 😅

Keith Green

The location is nice to camp. With a nice river to refill water and swim. Rated only a 2 star because it was very busy with Half Dome hikers. Seemed like a lot of people don't know how to properly backpack... when we arrived the restrooms where kinda dirty. During our stay a volunteer cleaned all 4, and by nightfall they where dirty again. Also the bear bin you are sapose to use where full of trash that seemed like people just did not want to pack out. We assumed this due to 80% of bin was trash and it smelled and look like it had been roting for a while. Would be a 5 star Campground if people picked up after them self.

Kenneth Starr

Yosemite opened on June 5th to wilderness permit holders. Didn’t cancel mine but was close. Notified June 2nd. Flew in June 5th. First night was June 6th. Trip started June 7th. If you don’t look hard enough you’ll miss the stellar’s jay.

Lance Whitley

Great campground with bathrooms. Nice beach area on Merced River. Plenty of bear boxes. Great spot to tackle half dome from!!

Anonymous Person

We camped here over night before conquering Half Dome cables. There is actually a really nice and clean outhouse here which was unexpected considering our location. Our night was very quiet and uneventful as pretty much everyone turns in right at sundown. There are a few large steel bear boxes everyone shares. By the way this is a wilderness permit only campsite so no payment is required because the only people who should be staying here are people with wilderness backcountry permits. Also the last water source before Half Dome is here so make sure to replenish your stock before heading up.

James Costello

This is a fantastic campground for a first night out from the lower valley. It's a nice shaded area and there is water nearby. Not too many mosquitoes for Yosemite. Watch out for squirrels and bears that are very used to people, and more aggressive than in other less-traveled campsites.