UKC

So I have left it too late to book a site in the valley and most of the surrounding camping grounds. It appears they are all booked up.

What are my options? Am I right in thinking there will be another round of reservations on 15th July?

I HAVE to stay between 18th to 21st August as the holiday has been planned around these dates..

Is rocking up and trying the likes of camp 4 an option?

Please advise. The mrs wants to kill me for being useless and disorganised.


Thanks

Mike

In reply to mike_uk82: If you get to camp4 for 6am in the morning you will more than likely get a place. It has worked for me for the last 3 times. If you get there at 7am things are much less certain

In reply to mike_uk82: Camp 4 might be your only option, but that is a turn up on the day and try your luck.

They do have a daily lottery for Lower Pines Camp ground each day to stay there that night but you waste the day waiting around.

If all else fails its usually fine up in Toulomne Meadows, which at that time of year will be much nicer due to the heat in the Valley. Its only about 45mins to and hour to get back to the Valley, although might be longer as it will be rammed down there.

In reply to mike_uk82: As a previous poster has said, get to Camp 4 before 6am (I'd get there earlier) and you might be in luck. Tullomne is of course an option, and very beautiful, but probably more like 90 mins to the valley.

In reply to mike_uk82:

It's noit camping but one August we stayed at a hostel called the Yosemite Bug which, despite the name, was clean and comfy. We just turned up without a reservatin and stayed a week. It was, from memory, about 30 mins from the Valley

In reply to mike_uk82: As above for Camp 4, or there are other walk-in campgrounds on the road up to Tuolumne Meadows and just outside the National Park. The rangers at the park entrance will let you know. It's a good thing really - a lot of the bookable campgrounds will be full of RVs and are more expensive! And the Bug is a really good hostel.

In reply to mike_uk82: Just back from 3 weeks in the Valley.

Camp 4 is deff your best bet. We stayed there with no real problems. As said before arriving early is your best bet, although we managed to check in twice at about 11am, though we were probably lucky. If you don't get in first day it is possible to bivy discreetly and get up early the next morning.

7 day limit so if you intend on staying longer best to come up with some ideas as to how you are going to stay longer, normally involving getting everyone in one tent and only one person checking in per week. We managed 3 weeks that way easily, and others there had been there 6-7 weeks already.

If you have any other questions let me know i'd be glad to help

In reply to mike_uk82:

If you don't fancy Camp 4 there are several campgrounds outside the Valley, but still within the Park, which don't require reservations (though they do fill up early in the day).

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/nrcamping.htm

There is also Crane Flats, just outside the Valley, which is reservation-only but is opening for bookings TODAY (Wed 22), so if you're quick you'll be at the front of the queue:

http://www.recreation.gov/camping/Crane_Flat/r/campgroundBookingWindow.do?c...

In reply to mike_uk82:

Your wife will love the bogs and washrooms on Camp 4.

E

In reply to mike_uk82:

The toilets in Yosemite Lodge 3 mins walk away, (cross the road turn left, near the shop.) are much nicer than the C4 ones.

If you can't get onto camp 4, a sneeky bivi after dark and try again in the morning but it starts to feel a bit stressful if the rangers are doing the rounds.

Indian flats campground about 5 miles back down the Merced road is another option.

In reply to heleno: Thanks for the tip off helano. Managed to get 1 night in there.

cheers for the help all. My main problem is that I arrive late in the day. Thanfully this booking will give me the chance to get to camp 4 early on the 19th.

Any other advice is always welcome.

In reply to mike_uk82: If you have a rattlesnake in one pocket and a loaded gun in the other - don't f@*k with either of them.

Oh wait.

You meant about Yosemite.

Don't drop your bag/box/pipe of effluent on the heads of fellow climbers - I hear (loudly) that it doesn't go down too well.

In reply to mike_uk82:

Ive never booked camping there and never had a problem, often going in with the queues on labour day.

I like White Wolf: in-situ easier bouldering, not bad for the Tuolumne climbing, cheap ($14 up to 6) and way closer to the valley than Tuolumne Camp. Everyone should stay at Camp 4 once but it can be a pain: to get a space at busy times you need to be there very early and breach the rules of no queues before sunrise (often earlier than 5am). Its also not especially cheap for a group at $5 each and more hassle for a group with their own transport: elsewehere you can camp together next to you cars with less noise and nuisense from others (sites are packed in real close at camp 4 and you often don't get to chose where you go - not great if your neighbour snores; bear boxes are shared so you cant lock them - some petty theft; toilet block a bit small for the traffic; but hey its camp 4!!!).

Also stayed at Tuolumne (as we mainly climb up there in September) and Crane Flats (nice place and 40 minutes from most valley climbing). Both a bit more expensive.

Tamarack flat is nearly always OK (no drinking water) as an emergency option, as is the campsite out the back of the park at Tioga pass (also cheaper than Tuolumne camp).

In reply to mike_uk82: If it's all booked up take a portaledge, climb one pitch of a route and set up!

(This post was in jest, just in case anyone decides to tell me I'm an idiot)

In reply to Offwidth:

I once tried that (the Labor Day queuing) and got nothing. But in previous years hadn't had problems, so maybe we were just unlucky that year (or lucky previously).


That's where I ended up staying - someone was leaving just as we arrived

On our last visit we played it safe and made a reservation at Tuolumne well in advance. The weekend we arrived it was full, but after that there was plenty of space. The disadvantage of reserving is that you don't get a refund if you leave early.

In reply to mike_uk82: We went on a family camping and climbing trip to Yos last year around the same time as you plan and had the same problem. But keep watching the booking site as people do cancel. We got a single night that way for our first in the valley. Then get to reservations the next day and you will almost certainly get one or more nights cancellations but you may have to move around. It worked for us no probs. Or do as the others say and cram onto the madness that is camp 4. The sites are cheap to keep them accessible to all and that unfortunately means people frivolously book them and even speculate with them, selling them on ebay.

In reply to mike_uk82:

Did you try crane flat. its a real nice drive down to the valley. its quieter than the valley.

In reply to mike_uk82:

Another option that I have used in Tolumne is to get a wilderness permit for a convenient trailhead. This entitles you to camp so long as you are a mile or more from the trailhead.

I think there are always some wilderness permits kept back to be sold on the day.

In reply to Gav M:

Another tip - don't know if this applies in Yosemite, but elsewhere in the US (Utah) some pitches are reserved for the disabled, but if a disabled person hasn't claimed it by a certain time in the afternoon it is up for grabs by the able-bodied.

In reply to mike_uk82:
Thanfully this booking will give me the chance to get to camp 4 early on the 19th.


Remember to make sure you are all there at the booth by 8.30 (although you will need to que earlier), as you can't get a spot for anyone who isn't there.

In reply to mike_uk82:
I went mid-june to mid july last year. The signs at the Yosemite National Park entrance (which is miles from the valley) all showed all campsites full. Seemingly (according to the rangers) all the sites book up within minutes of the booking website opening. Other accomodation in the valley is outrageously expensive (and also usually full). Camp 4 is the only non-bookable (walk on) site - you can only stay 7 nights maximum so at least 1/7 of the spaces come available each day. To be sure of a place you need to "wait in line", a very civilised form of queueing from about 6am, (the kiosk opens at 8.30am). Don't expect too much of camp 4, I thought it a rather squalid dump, but at least it is a cheap dump! The rangers are wise to most tricks and are pretty vigilant.

We also went to Tuolumne, that site opens 1 July but also gets very heavily booked, it has some walk on sites and each morning the board showed some vacancies but they were quickly snapped up. Once again get there early. One thing you need to know is that in the Valley and at Tuolumne the mosquitoes are grim in July and August - you can buy really strong repellent out there.

Other options: You can camp outside the park at Merced (the show ground I think), the drive each day is apparently about 40 mins each way. On the east side of the range you can camp at one of many Inyo National forest campsites which are found just over the Tioga pass from Tuolumne. These are cheap, basic and usually eary to get a place on (all are "walk in"). They allow up to 14 day stays. We camped at one beside the Tioga Pass resort, the host was very friendly but obviously smoked too much grass in the 60's! The major downside of trhis site was that it was at just under 10,000 feet and there were acclimatisation issues. The upside of camping over the Tioga is that you can go down to Lee Vining (beside the weird Mono Lake) and eat in the restaurant at the Mobil Fuel Station where the Tioga road joins the main N-S Highway - an experience not to be missed.

In reply to Trevor Langhorne:

is that the Whoa Nellie Deli...?

if so, agreed..! i had buffalo meatloaf, very nice...

In reply to Trevor Langhorne: IIRC The journey from Merced takes a lot longer than 40 minutes - more like two hours. I don't think this would be practical if you wanted to be in the Valley each day. Second the recommendation for the Mobil fuel station at Lee Vining - good food and possibly the best view of any garage forecourt in the world! We ate there after doing Cathedral Peak on the day that Tuolumne closed for the winter. We stayed a couple of weeks at Crane Flat and a couple of weeks at North Pines in the Valley. Although it's a 30-40 minute drive from Crane Flat to the Valley, one compensation is that you get more of a 'wilderness' atmosphere - which means plenty of bear action. You're also better placed for Tuolumne. However, prepare yourself to get fairly scuzzy fairly fast - it's very dusty and there aren't any showers. A great way to get the authentic dirtbag look!

In reply to Trevor Langhorne:

Merced? Are you thinking of another town beginning with M? Merced is a good two hours from the Valley. Oh yes it's a dump too.

E

In reply to Enty: Maybe he's thinking of Mariposa. On the same route but only about half the distance from the Valley. Can't remember if there's any camping there, but it did have an excellent diner - the Happy Burger. Better than the name suggests! Slogan: "Biggest menu in the sierra." Every inch of available wall and ceiling space decorated with old vinyl album sleeves. As you can probably tell, we did a lot of eating out!

In reply to Andy Clarke:

Mariposa Fair ground - that's the one I meant. I think the mobil service station is the Whoa Nellie Deli, why can't we invent imaginative names for our cafe's?

In reply to Trevor Langhorne:

There are some imaginative names out there, driving past the Deli Llama on the A66 always makes me smile