Yosemite National Park camping and RV campgrounds.

All 13 Yosemite campgrounds, compared.

The short version: book Upper Pines if you want the Valley in any month. It's the only campground on reservations all year, and it has the park's only year-round dump station. Book Lower Pines or North Pines if your RV is over 35 feet, but only 8 sites fit it. Camp 4 is the cheapest night in the Valley at $10 per person, if you're tenting without a dog. Missed the five-month window? The two-week campgrounds are your next shot, and Crane Flat is the biggest of them, with 148 sites and tap water. Tamarack Flat, Yosemite Creek, and Porcupine Flat cost $24, but you'll boil creek water. Campgrounds sit from 4,000 feet in the Valley to 8,600 feet at Tuolumne Meadows. Every figure comes from the NPS campgrounds page, last updated September 3, 2026, and checked September 11. NPS calls the dates tentative, and a closing date is the day the campground closes, so your last night is the one before. RV limits are for the RV; trailer limits are shorter at most campgrounds and are listed under each name. Fees are per site, per night, except at Camp 4.

When each campground opens for booking.

Every campground books on Recreation.gov. Reservations release at 7 am Pacific and sell out within minutes, so NPS says to set your clock accurately and be logged in before 7. You can make two reservations per website visit or phone call.

Five months ahead, on the 15th. Upper Pines, Lower Pines, North Pines, Wawona, and Hodgdon Meadow release sites five months out, one month of arrival dates at a time. On May 15, for example, arrivals from September 15 to October 14 open. Upper Pines is on reservations all year. Hodgdon Meadow and Wawona need them from April 15 to October 26, and in 2026 Wawona's Loop A stays on reservations until November 29, so the last reserved night is November 28.

Two months, two weeks, or one week. About half of Tuolumne Meadows' sites release two months ahead on the 15th, and the other half 14 days ahead on a rolling daily window. Crane Flat, Tamarack Flat, White Wolf, Yosemite Creek, and Porcupine Flat release sites 14 days before arrival, every day. Camp 4 releases sites seven days before arrival from April 15 to November 9, 2026, and up to 6 people can register per site.

The North Pines lottery. For 2026, every North Pines reservation went first to an early access lottery. Applications ran November 24 to December 14, 2025, for a $10 non-refundable fee, and anything left opened on the usual 15th-of-the-month dates starting February 15. NPS hasn't posted a 2027 lottery yet, so check that page this fall if North Pines is your pick.

2026 changes. Bridalveil Creek closed for the season on August 14, 2026, after a lightning strike damaged its water system and restrooms. It had been due to close September 7. Wawona's Loops B and C close as planned on October 26. In May and June, spring floods can cover parts of Lower Pines and especially North Pines, so NPS holds those sites back until the river is at a safe level.

You don't need a separate park entry reservation in 2026, because Yosemite dropped its timed entry system. Our Yosemite reservations page tracks that, and Yosemite fees has the entrance fee.

RVs, trailers, and no hookups.

Ten campgrounds take RVs and trailers, fifth wheels included. No site in the park has hookups, and plugging into a campground water spigot or outlet isn't allowed. The biggest rigs have the fewest choices: a 40-foot RV or 35-foot trailer fits only 8 sites, six in Lower Pines and two in North Pines. Many more sites take RVs to 35 feet or trailers to 24. White Wolf stops at 27 feet, Porcupine Flat has just 4 RV sites up to 24 feet, and NPS doesn't recommend RVs or trailers at Yosemite Creek. Tamarack Flat and Camp 4 take none.

Trailer limits run shorter because many sites are back-in, with a tight turning radius. NPS doesn't enforce the limits if your rig fits on the parking pad. But if you book a site for smaller equipment than you bring and it doesn't fit, NPS can't find you another site, so check the site details on Recreation.gov. To sleep in an RV you need a standard or RV site, not a tent-only site, a parking lot, or the roadside. RVs and trailers aren't allowed at group sites.

Dump stations, water, and showers. Upper Pines has the only dump station open all year. The one near Wawona runs in summer only, and the one near Tuolumne Meadows is closed from September 8, 2026, until further notice for wastewater plant work. Outside the park, Lee Vining has dump stations for a fee. Tamarack Flat, Yosemite Creek, and Porcupine Flat have creek water you need to boil, and vault toilets. White Wolf has no water in 2026. The only showers in the park are at the Curry Village pool showerhouse, for a fee.

You can keep food in a hard-sided RV or trailer if it's out of sight and the windows, doors, and vents are closed while you're away. Pop-ups, tent trailers, and other soft-sided campers can't hold food. Generators may run only from 7 to 9 am, noon to 2 pm, and 5 to 7 pm.

Camp rules that change your trip.

A site holds up to six people, children included, and two motor vehicles parked on the pad. A trailer doesn't count as a vehicle if it fits on the pad. Extra parking near each campground is free, but very limited at some. Check-in and checkout are at noon. With a reservation, check in before 10 am the morning after your first night, or it's cancelled.

You can camp 30 nights a year in the park. From May 1 to September 15 the limit is 14 nights, and only 7 of those can be in Yosemite Valley or Wawona.

Keep food properly stored 24 hours a day; see the NPS campground regulations. From May through September, wood fires in Yosemite Valley and at Hodgdon Meadow are allowed only from 5 to 10 pm and must be out by 10. From October through April, fires are allowed at any time. Stove and charcoal fires are fine around the clock. Quiet hours run 10 pm to 6 am.

Pets are allowed in every campground except Camp 4 and the group sites. Keep them leashed, and don't leave them tied up alone. Group sites hold 13 to 30 people, in tents only, with parking for up to five vehicles. Wawona has them all year, and Hodgdon Meadow, Bridalveil Creek, and Tuolumne Meadows in summer. Horse sites are at Wawona, Bridalveil Creek, and Tuolumne Meadows in summer, by reservation.

Camping and the crowd calendar.

Yosemite's camping season runs right through its busy season, and August is the peak month. April averages 48% of August's visits, as reservations start at Hodgdon Meadow, Wawona, and Camp 4 on April 15 and Lower Pines and North Pines open April 21. May runs 71%, and Crane Flat opens May 21. June is 95%, with Tamarack Flat and Porcupine Flat opening June 22 and 23. The highest campgrounds open in early July: Tuolumne Meadows and Yosemite Creek on July 1, White Wolf July 2, and Bridalveil Creek July 3. NPS says campgrounds usually don't begin opening until at least four weeks after Tioga Road opens. July and August are the busiest months. September drops to 88%. Yosemite Creek closed September 7, and White Wolf closes September 14 and Tuolumne Meadows September 27. October runs 77%. Porcupine Flat closes October 11, Crane Flat and Tamarack Flat October 12, and Lower Pines October 19. North Pines closes October 26, the same day as Wawona's Loops B and C. November falls to 40%. Our pick is the first 10 days of October: visits are down from August, Crane Flat, Tamarack Flat, Porcupine Flat, and every Valley campground are still open, and wood fires are allowed at any hour. Valley nights average 41°F in October, and the higher campgrounds run colder.

Month-by-month tradeoffs are on the best time to visit Yosemite page.

No reservation? What still works.

From mid-April through October, no first-come campground is open. NPS says your only option is to search Recreation.gov often for a cancellation at a campground in or near Yosemite. Don't arrive without a reservation, because you'll probably have to leave the park to sleep. The two-week and one-week campgrounds give you the most chances, since new dates open every morning at 7 am Pacific.

Winter. Camp 4 is first-come, first-served from mid-November through mid-April, and Hodgdon Meadow and Wawona from late October through early April. They can fill on weekends and holidays. Call 209/372-0266 for current campground status. Yosemite Valley and Wawona stay reachable by car all winter, and our Yosemite in winter page has the rest.

Backcountry camping. The backpacker campgrounds at Little Yosemite Valley and near the High Sierra camps aren't on the campground reservation system. They need a wilderness permit, like any overnight stay in the Yosemite Wilderness. Sixty percent of permit reservations open 24 weeks ahead and forty percent one week ahead. It costs $10 per application, plus $5 per person if you get a permit. From about November through April, permits are free at permit stations, with no reservation.

Sleeping in your car or RV isn't allowed anywhere in the park except a campsite you're registered for, and that includes the roadside. There are campgrounds outside the park too, but we don't track them.

Common questions.

Can you sleep in your car overnight in Yosemite?

Only in a campsite you're registered to stay in. NPS doesn't allow sleeping in a car or RV anywhere else in the park, including along the side of the road. Camp 4 is stricter still: it's a walk-in, tents-only campground, so you can't sleep in a vehicle there at all.

How much does it cost to camp in Yosemite National Park?

Most campgrounds cost $36 a night per site: Upper Pines, Lower Pines, North Pines, Wawona, Hodgdon Meadow, Bridalveil Creek, Crane Flat, and Tuolumne Meadows. White Wolf is $28, and Tamarack Flat, Yosemite Creek, and Porcupine Flat are $24. Camp 4 charges $10 per person per night. The North Pines lottery added a $10 application fee in 2026, and the park entrance fee is separate.

Is it hard to get a campsite in Yosemite?

Yes. NPS calls reservations extremely difficult to get, and sites sell out within minutes of their 7 am Pacific release. Be logged in to Recreation.gov before 7 on the day your window opens, look at the campgrounds that release two weeks or one week ahead, and keep checking for cancellations. In late fall, winter, and early spring, Camp 4, Wawona, and Hodgdon Meadow are first-come, first-served.

When do Yosemite campground reservations open?

It depends on the campground. Upper Pines, Lower Pines, North Pines, Wawona, and Hodgdon Meadow open five months ahead, on the 15th. About half of Tuolumne Meadows opens two months ahead on the 15th and the rest 14 days ahead. Crane Flat, Tamarack Flat, White Wolf, Yosemite Creek, and Porcupine Flat open 14 days ahead, and Camp 4 opens seven days ahead. All release at 7 am Pacific.

How do you get a site at Camp 4?

From April 15 to November 9, 2026, Camp 4 is reservation only, released on Recreation.gov one week before your arrival date. It's $10 per person per night, and up to 6 people can register per site. From mid-November through mid-April it's first-come, first-served. It's walk-in and tents only, with no RVs, trailers, or pets.

Why does Recreation.gov show 16 Yosemite campgrounds?

Recreation.gov lists the horse campsites at Wawona, Bridalveil Creek, and Tuolumne Meadows as campgrounds of their own. NPS counts 13 campgrounds and lists the horse sites as part of those three. Horse sites are open in summer only and need a reservation.

Where these facts come from

Every campground's 2026 season, elevation, RV and trailer limits, booking window, fee, site count, accessible sites, and water, plus the RV rules, dump stations, showers, group and horse sites, the Bridalveil Creek closure, the Wawona extension, and the Tioga Road opening lag, come from the NPS Yosemite campgrounds page, last updated September 3, 2026. The 13-campground count, release times, the booking windows, and the two-reservation limit come from the NPS campground reservations page; Camp 4's 2026 window from the Camp 4 page; the North Pines lottery from the NPS lottery page; the first-come seasons and no-reservation advice from Camping Without a Reservation; spring flood sites from the campground reservation FAQ. Occupancy, vehicles, parking, stay limits, check-in, food storage, fires, generators, quiet hours, pets, utilities, and sleeping in vehicles come from the NPS campground regulations. Wilderness permit rules and fees come from the NPS wilderness permits and permit reservations pages; winter car access from the NPS winter page; the 2026 entry rule from the NPS reservations page; the 16-campground listing from Recreation.gov's Yosemite page. Campground coordinates come from the NPS API. Visit shares are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from NPS Visitor Use Statistics, as a percentage of August, the park's busiest month. Temperatures are NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the Yosemite Park headquarters station in Yosemite Valley. Crowd numbers are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package on NPS IRMA Stats. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.