Camping Without a Reservation

Camping without a Reservation

If you plan to camp in Yosemite during summer without a reservation, you are limited to the following campgrounds.

• Camp 4 (Yosemite Valley) (no RVs/trailers)
• Bridalveil Creek (RVs up to 35 feet/trailers up to 24 feet)
• Tamarack Flat (not recommended for RVs/trailers)
• White Wolf (RVs up to 27 feet/trailers up to 24 feet)
• Yosemite Creek (not recommended for RVs/trailers)
• Porcupine Flat (limited space for RVs up to 24 feet/trailers up to 20 feet)
• Tuolumne Meadows (RVs and trailers up to 35 feet)

View a list of all campgrounds with this year's estimated opening and closing dates and other information.

May through June
Very few first-come, first-served campsites are available in May and June. Typically, only Camp 4 (a walk-in campground) is open during this period, but some other first-come, first-served campgrounds can open in late June if conditions allow. (When known, opening dates for all campgrounds are posted on our campground page.)

July through September (approximately)
In order to have a reasonable chance of finding a campsite, you should arrive at the campground of your choice before noon on weekdays and midmorning on weekends. (Camp 4 usually fills by 9 am; Tuolumne Meadows Campground may fill by 8:30 am on Fridays and Saturdays. Other campgrounds are easier to find space in.)

October through April (approximately)
From fall through early spring, you may be able to find a campsite at one of the reservation campgrounds or at Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow Campgrounds, which operate on a first-come, first-served basis from October through April. You can also double-check the reservations website to check for any last-minute availability.

Daily campground availability information is available by calling 209/372-0266 (this is a recording).

Once you get a campsite, you can register for more than one night. You register at the campground (Camp 4 and Tuolumne Meadows are staffed by a ranger; the others are self-registration).

In May and June, you're very unlikely to find a first-come, first-served campsite (until later in June, when additional campgrounds open).

If all else fails, try to find a campsite outside of Yosemite National Park.

Within Yosemite National Park, you may not sleep in your car or RV except in a campsite that you're registered to stay in (except at Camp 4, where sleeping in cars is not allowed because it's a walk-in campground).