UKC

A friend and I are heading out to Yosemite valley mid September for 3 weeks. We've managed to book ourselves into half dome village for the last 2 weeks. We were told on booking that the maximum length you can stay in the park is 14 nights. Ideally we'd also like to stay in the park for the first week of our trip as well. So does anyone know the rules on the amount of time you have to leave the park before your able to then return to stay, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month. Or if anyone has any other advice it'd be much appreciated. I've tried emailing the national park but haven't yet had a reply.

In reply to Richardhenton:

Last time I went (about four years ago) you could book campsites for up to four weeks from the 15th September onwards. The shorter time limit only applied to the peak summer months.

In reply to Richardhenton:

Camping Limit

There is a 30-night camping limit within Yosemite National Park in a calendar year; however, May 1 to September 15, the camping limit in Yosemite is 14 nights, and only seven of those nights can be in Yosemite Valley or Wawona.

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/campregs.htm

In reply to Richardhenton:

We stayed there in 2014 for 3 weeks,we spent a week there before the 15th and then stayed the following two weeks after,if you go like that you should be able to extend your stay like we did so that you already have a space on camp 4,however it sounds like you have alternative accommodation. Either way unless it's changed you should be fine as long as only the first 7nights are before 15th. Also I seem to remember we had to spend our first night in the states in a motel as I think you have to give a proper address to the authorities as I don't think they accept camping for night one. Hopefully someone else will confirm that bit for you as my memory of it is a bit hazy.... hope you have an ace trip! I'd love to go back one day!

In reply to jon_gill1:
We always have a decent Motel lined up for customs questions as people just camping have had a hard time... sometimes the motel is more as a plan B ( in case we were too tired for the drive (endless traffic queues heading east from SF or LA can be debilitating after a long flight). We got really worried one year after we chose a Best Western in San Bernadino. After 5 minutes of suspicious seeming questions at Immigration, it looked like he was on to us !? We stayed cool and it soon became apparent the immigration guy was only concerned about us staying in a boring industrial area when much nicer places like Palm Springs were only a little further.

In reply to Offwidth:

Ha yes their questions can be rather intense can't they?still it was worth it!hows things anyway?not spoken in a while,are you getting out much?
Jon

In reply to Richardhenton:

Half dome village

In reply to ashtond6:

I know, right.

In reply to jon_gill1:


I've given a campsite as my address for 4 trips over the last 3 years and they haven't even blinked

In reply to Richardhenton:


Have you had to give both of your anmes to book into curry village?

If you've only given one name for that booking then I'd suggest booking a campsite in the other name. They only take the name of the person that makes the booking

In reply to jon_gill1:

Not as much as I'd like.. long story... always look forward to US trips though.

In reply to timjones:

It's about appearances and camping. Middle class tourists simply do get an easier ride than climbing bums. Also times have changed: even the ex- Norwegian prime minister got a grilling the other day.

In reply to Offwidth:


Are you talking about clearing immigration or campsites?

There is a lot of merit in knowing when to dress like a "middle class tourist" rather than a "climbing bum". If we're flying to Yosemite to climb it seems delusional to claim that we are anything other than "middle class tourists" so we may as well look the part if it helps to oil the wheels

Unfortunately the problems of looking like a "climbing bum" are minor if I admit to being a livestock farmer on my landing card!

In reply to Richardhenton:

There are 9 of us heading out there on the 15th of September for a month, we've rented a house in Groveland for the month. Planning to do a couple of big walls so will be spending a a few nights camping in the park. There will crash space in the house if you fancy a couple of night of comfort. Trip of a life time can't wait.

In reply to broady
Cheers mate for the super generous offer of a couple of days at your rented place. We're gonna give the park a call to see what the crack is with the rules on staying in the park for the first week, if that's a no go were gonna stay in el portal for the 1st week and bus it in everyday for some easy to get to short routes then a bit more adventurous on the 2nd and 3rd week when we're staying in half dome/curry village. If you see a couple of middle aged fat lads with vacant looks on their faces it'll probably be us so come and say hello. And yes your right it's gonna be a belter of a trip, cannot flippin wait.

In reply to Richardhenton:
A couple of tips from a Valley regular:
- Whilst the rules on number of nights' stay are strict, there is NO SYSTEM for checking up between the different campgrounds.
- I've always given 'Camp4, Yosemite Village' as my accommodation address and never had a problem.
- With a bit of suffering in the queue, you can generally get onto Camp4 and no trip to the Valley is really complete with some time 'living in the dirt.'

Anyway, have a fantastic trip! For a bit of inspiration check out my blog from a 3-week trip at the same time of year in 2015 https://doughton.wordpress.com/category/usa/california/