Lower Pines Campground

Lower Pines Campground is a fantastic spot to stay within Yosemite National Park. The campground is well-maintained, and the staff is friendly and helpful, making the check-in and stay smooth. One of the highlights is the scenic river that flows right behind some of the campsites, adding a peaceful, relaxing vibe to the experience. Restrooms are clean and regularly maintained, which is a big plus for campers. Surrounded by towering granite cliffs and tall pines, this campground offers both convenience and beauty, making it a great base for exploring the park.

Facilities are extremely outdated and no showers. Unfortunately the sheer amount of people who visit this park probably make it difficult to upkeep bathroom facilities as well: no toilet paper, no soap, hand blower for drying didnt work. Plus side: The park host was super friendly and helpful.

We love camping at Lower Pines!!! Views of all the hits from the campground—Half Dome, North Dome, Glacier Point, Yosemite Falls, on the Merced River, closest camping to Curry Village amenities, and early sunshine to warm up with your camp coffee. 10/10

Camping at Lower Pines Campground in June 2022 brought us a different perspective of the Yosemite NP experience. We had camped in Bridalveil Campground in the past and had to drive or hike to the valley floor. Lower Pines is located in the east end of the Valley right next to the Merced River, hiking & biking trails, a meadow, and Curry Village. We hiked and biked everywhere and never needed to drive our truck or wait in shuttle lines. The campground has gorgeous views all around. June was a great time to camp as the weather was perfect and the waterfalls flowing. Reserving a campsite was a challenge due to the popularity of the 3 Pine campgrounds. We were in site #55. We would not pick # 55 again. It is right next to the trash cans and it has a dead tree stump next to the bear box. Squirrels live under the stump and we believe ticks got on our dog when she went in that area. There are plenty of perfect campsites in Lower Pines. If we get the chance to go back to Yosemite and manage to get a reservation, Lower Pines would be our top choice.

You can't do much better than this campground if you are going to experience Yosemite. This is in the heart of it all! You have Curry Village right next to you for food, showers, coffee and other necessities. You have the Merced River right next to you. A spectacular view of Half Dome. And the campground itself is great. They provide bear boxes (which are essential; we were visited by a bear). There are bear-proof trash and recycling bins. Flushing and portable bathrooms. And it's surprisingly quiet for how many people are there.

We HATED this campground, it should be avoided at all costs. Don't go here. Volunteer Jack is way too friendly and helpful, and everyone should just stay away... ...so we can get a reservation here whenever we want! 🤪🤣 Still reading? Hopefully not and more room for us!! On ok, here's more deets: Flushing toilets and running water but no soap so BYO. Fire pits allowed 5-10pm only. Generator can be run only certain times: 7-9am, 12-2pm, etc. Bear boxes at each site, which is standard. Merced River not far so plan your floaties...we brought our boogie boards!! Walking distance to Curry Village and the shuttle pickup is nearby!

Lower Pines Campground is well-situated for all your Yosemite Valley adventures. The campsite is clean, quiet, and close to the river. Facilities are well kept, and the Rangers and volunteers are all very friendly. From the campground, you are within a mile or so from popular spots such as Mirror Lake, Happy Isles, and the Mist Trail/Nevada Falls trailhead. You can also walk to Curry Village for snacks and provisions. Be aware of where your campsite is located. Some have fewer trees, and get very hot during summer months. Luckily, with the river so close by and swimming holes within a short walk, you will be able to find ways to cool down.

What can I tell you that you don't already know – this campground is amazing. It's right on the Valley floor and you can see Half Dome between the trees. The Yosemite river runs right next to the campground and the shuttle to different parts of the park runs from here. There is also a little amphitheater where events happen – so check out the schedule! We were here for Easter weekend and attended service there.

Came here camping and while Yosemite was amazing (as expected) the ranger who was here was a complete ahole, we checked into our campsite and parked our cars, he comes over and starts lecturing us about how we didn't hang our parking passes up, we literally JUST parked, he walked over before we even had our trunks open. We were just there trying to have a good time so we just say sorry and put the parking passes up. We had quite a bit of stuff to unload so I was wondering if it would be okay to drive the car up onto the campsite (since we saw other people with their RVs and trailers parked onto the campsite) but since the range was such a ahole I didn't want to get in trouble so I went to go ask him, he tells me no and I say thanks and I walk away, as I'm walking away I hear him say "DUHHHHH" and start laughing with the other ranger, clearly making fun of me that I'm stupid or whatever so I turn around and I say "what, it was just a question you don't need to be rude about it, I just didn't want to get in trouble since you were so worked up about the parking passes" he just stayed silent and stopped laughing. Honestly this was a horrible experience to start off what was otherwise a great weekend, it's too bad this dick had to have an attitude. Aside from that the experience was not bad, a lot more bugs than other campsites I've been to but hey it's nature lol, lots of great hiking trails and scenery around the campsite area as well

Camp here if you enjoy rowdy, noisy neighbors and if you don't mind random people walking through your site to get to the river and/or the restrooms. The location is incredible, hence the second star, but don't expect peace and quite or privacy.

First time camping ever and this campsite was far beyond my expectations! I need to add that the weather was awful for camping with rain and snow so most of the campsites were empty and flooded. We were the only group to sleep in tents while the other campsites had recreational vehicles for shelter. Despite the horrible weather conditions, our campsite did not flood or pool as expected. Campground site- A driveway, picnic table, bear proof storage container, and fire pit are included at every site. The bear proof storage container is easy to use and was in good condition. Make sure to bring your own firewood! Bathrooms- I was very impressed with the facilities provided at the campground. The bathrooms were clean! Flushing toilets, toilet paper, sinks, and air dryers (very useful to dry wet clothes!) are all present. There is even a power outlet! Just outside the bathrooms are a filtered water station (which tastes DELICIOUS) and unfiltered water for washing dishes. Rangers- The rangers were helpful in giving us advice for hiking and camping. They were very pleasant and funny. In addition they were very resourceful. Location- When the sky cleared up, you can stare up at half dome and north dome from your campsite! It made a beautiful panorama!

Camped 9/16/15-9/19/15 Tent Camping (no RV) I have now experienced camping in Yosemite Valley twice, the first time was at Camp 4 and this time it was Lower Pines Campground. Camp 4 is a totally different experience than camping at Lower Pines. Camp 4 is walk up only, no reservations, Lower Pines you have to reserve sites ahead of time. So let's start from the beginning. April 15, 2015 at 6:58 am. I sat at my computer and waiting for the booking window to open. They say to book 5 months in advance on recreation.gov, I was booking for the dates 9/16-19. So right at 7 am, I hit refresh and clicked on the site I wanted.... I tried booking 3 nights at the same site and only got 2 of the 3, for night 3 we had to move sites, but at least they were both at the same campground. We paid $26/night. We booked site #26 and site #5. Check-in is at noon, but if the site is vacant when you get there, you can check right in! You pull up to the kiosk (I think they open at 10 am), and they provide you with a parking pass and they go over rules and regulations with you. Then you drive to your site.... Site #26) We liked this site the better of the two. We were tent camping. Location wise, it's pretty close to the restrooms, the restroom lights are motion censored so they do turn off eventually. But if you are sensitive to light, you might not want to stay at this site. But if you are the type to get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, this is a perfect site for you! We had 2 picnic tables at our site. The bear box was pretty big, my best friend and I got into the bear box to take a funny pic, so I'd say you'd be able to fit 4 human bodies in it sitting up cross legged. We also slung up a hammock, there were two trees that were far enough apart from each other for it. Site #5) I do not recommend Site #5. It's pretty close to the entrance of the campsite. It's like 2 to 3 sites away from the kiosk. It's right next to a sidewalk that leads to the restroom. It's also really close to the restrooms. Through out the entire night I got woken up by footsteps. Pros about #5 are that it has 2 picnic tables as well. The parking spot is a double wide, meaning you can probably fit two cars side by side or an RV. That's about the only pros. Lots of bees it seemed. Also in one of the trees at the site, it had a fly bag, one of those contraptions that traps flies.... no bueno. We did Half Dome on Thursday, and this site is definitely walking distance, about 1/2 a mile from the Happy Isle Trail head. Which is also the trailhead for Vernall Falls and Nevada Falls. Lower Pines is also right across from Curry Village for showers. They also have a water dump toilet which was convenient for dish washing (felt bad though, I think they have to unclog it on a daily basis because no food is supposed to go in it). There is also a water bottle filling station at the restrooms. Also, right next to Lower Pines is a meadow with a wooden walkway that is very picturesque. Close to a free shuttle stop as well.

This campground sold me at clean and non- smelly bathrooms. I've once camped at a very beautiful place with awful and disgusting bathrooms that I would rather choose to pee in the bushes. But this campsite has such clean bathrooms. Not clean like hotel clean, but very clean for a campsite. They also provide a bear storage to put all of your food in. No need to worry about bears breaking into your car! And for those of you guys that have seasonal and pollen allergies. I stayed here for 3 days 2 nights during May and had the worst allergies ever. And it was only when I returned to the campsite. Had to stay inside the car just to not sneeze my heart out. It was horrible.

Our group came out here for Labor Day weekend this year and I'm very pleased with the overall cleanliness of the campsite! The group was mixed with seasoned and newbie campers, and they all enjoyed the stay! The campsite was a close walk to the meadows area or a little stream/river for you to kick back and enjoy during hot weather. The stars were spectacular at night. You could even see the milky way. Amazing! Might I add that the bathrooms were pretty clean, with running water! The camp hosts do a daily replenish of tp, and scrub down every day. Thank you! I'm not sure if there were any showers at this site, but it's camping - oh well! Friendly environment for camping, what more can you ask for! I would definitely come back! Future visitors - don't forget to clean up after yourselves, use the bear lockers, and put out your campfires when they're not being attended!

Great time for 2 nights at lower pines. Great, big spaces. Okay bathrooms and nice water refilling station. No showers though. We had a great view of half dome from our spot and plenty of space for our kids to play. Tough to land summer reservations though.

Loved our site here! We pitched our tent here for 3 nights and absolutely loved it. We will definitely be back! The site grounds and bathroom were very clean. Note - you do not need a locker for the bear locker. It already has one. Also, the bathrooms do not have showers. Please do not litter and please follow the campground rules.

I had time of my life in my first camping in Yosemite. This campsite was awesome. There's is a wooden deck goes thru Stoneman Meadow. Using this path, you can walk to Half Dome village, much shortcut. And an inspiring walk. Site 72 and 88 are the closest to the path and looked good. Though these seem to be group site. We stayed at site 68. Not bad. I would reserve other spots if coming next time. The one closer to river probably nicer with the sound of stream. These sites are site 38, 38, and 41. The sites didn't look good are the ones right next to the bathroom. I assume Ppl come and go all the time and two sites are seem to be on the path to bathroom. Not so good...that's site 64 and 66

I don't understand why there are so many reviews for Upper Pines but no one has reviewed Lower Pines. Here is how Yosemite campsite reservations work. Reservations are required from March to November (I've actually camped in December-- good luck finding your actual campsite amidst the snow). Reservations are made up to 5 months in advance on the 15th of each month at 7am PST. I'm usually at work around 7ish but it was a much, more difficult task to convince one of my friends to get up & help me reserve a campsite. Prior to 7am, make sure you already have an account at www.reserveamerica.com. I open a few windows with said website, I call to make sure my friend is awake & online, & I pull up my list of desired campsites (make sure you have decided on your dates). Once the clock strikes 7am, everything happens pretty quickly. I believe all of the sites were gone by 7:11am. I ended up only being able to book an Upper Pines site but since I accidentally picked a holiday weekend, I paid the $10 cancellation fee. Once all of the sites are filled, the spacious handicapped site magically becomes available. This is how J came to book Lower Pines' #18 campsite. The elevation is 4000' & the fee is $20/night (with up to 6 people per campsite). Here's a map to the 60 campsites in Lower Pines: http://www.yosemite.ca.us/maps/lower_pines_campground_map.jpg I'm not a fan of the RVs but #18 is incredibly spacious, right beside the Merced River, & not too far (or too close) to the restroom. It's also pretty close to the ampitheater, which is good if you plan to bring kids. Unlike at Whitney Portal (which seems to have no set hours), Yosemite visitors are good about abiding by the campfire hours-- which reduces pollution & allows for people to have a smoke-free night of sleep. My friends & I hiked Half Dome & were able to walk to the trailhead. I don't think I've ever stayed at North or Upper Pines, but online reviews say Lower Pines was the best. I was quite pleased.

Despite numerous trips to Yosemite over the years, I had never had the experience of camping on the valley floor. I just never had planned far enough in advance. This year I decided that was where I was going to spend my birthday, and I planned accordingly. I emphasize planning because that is the only way you will get to camp here. As Christina and Micaela have both mentioned, getting reservations is extremely difficult, and involves you getting up at dawn on a Saturday morning five months in advance to click madly away at your computer hoping for the best. When we got our reservations, all campsites were sold out in three minutes. But if you can deal with that hassle, the rewards are amazing. There really aren't any bad spots here. Some have better views than others, but all are spacious and comfortable. The only complaint we had was the size of the bear lockers. They are slowly replacing all of the older, smaller lockers with newer, bigger ones, but if you are going to camp here, make sure and look up on their web-site to verify the dimensions of the locker at your specific site. Otherwise, you may end up with an ice cooler too big for your locker. The bathrooms were well-maintained and kept clean and the rangers were friendly. The campfire restriction (campfires are only allowed between 5 and 10pm), although it bothers many people, is necessary and fair. I was just happy as could be at this campground...I will definitely try to come back here in the future.

Iv been to Yosemite numerous times and camped at both upper and lower pines and for me it's lower pines any day of my life. We all know it's crowded, we all know it's filled with kids running around screaming and biking thro the camp but we also know that this is one if the best camp grounds out there. The bathrooms are really clean, showers and pool at the curry village, one hop to the free shuttle that will take you thro the valley. Breath taking views in the valley and some of the best hikes in CA. If you are allergic to too many people in the campground - this is NOT the place for you unless you wanna camp here in December

Best place on earth. Avoid the camp host. He will site you every chance he gets. We were sited for having our 5 kids with us. Our family is 7 total. We were forced to wait in line every day for an extra campsite and then we were harassed if we stayed together at night as a family.

We were able to score #46 2 days before leaving for the park after our Wilderness Permit was made unusable by the Meadow Fire. We stayed 2 nights. Although the campground said that it was full, there were a small number of empty sites. I think you could ask last minute for openings from late cancellations. There is zero privacy in the campground and you are fairly close to each other, but since most people are in campers, not tents, it made it a little quieter. The rangers came by to personally tell each site about the bears. While we did not see one, there was one in the campground on the first evening because everyone started yelling "bear!". If it was light, we would have seen it. On the note of the bear issue, make sure you clean your car out before you get to the valley. Make sure there is nothing that has a scent in the car, including lotions and hand sanitizer, and look out for those french fries that are fossilized under your seats. The bear boxes are a little on the short side, so make sure your ice chest is smaller than [33"(D)x45"(W)x18"(H)] (some sites have larger lockers). Ours was too tall. Bathrooms were clean and close. They only have cold water. There is a place to dump your dishwater (another bear bait) and a special fountain just for filling up water bottles. I was very satisfied with this campground. For such a crowded valley, this was not a bad place to use as your base camp and then spend your waking hours out in the park. If you have the possibility of taking your pick of sites, take a look at the map online and stay away from the sites right next to the bathrooms and the ones at the junction of the loops and the road through camp. The dumpsters are at the junctions and they are noisy with the special doors on them to keep the bears out. The bathrooms are not stinky, but they tend to be loud from all the foot traffic, and the lights stay on 24/7.

Stayed here in the first weekend of August. Haven't camped in the valley since early 2010, and apparently there is a no-wood-fires-outside-5pm-to-10pm rule now in effect. Very sad. I can understand why, but really, one of the nice things about being in the valley is coming back late from an all day hike (like half dome or the Four Mile + Panorama Trail), cooking a simple dinner on the fire, and staying up with your fire and watching it burn to embers as the air becomes chilled and still late into the night. If you get back from a long hike during summer season, it's already going to be about 8 pm or so, and by the time you unpack stuff, get the fire going and start cooking, it's already 9. Basically we hadn't even busted out the Smores when the ranger informed us of the rule. Oh well. Pros: - Close to Curry Village to get a shower - Walking distance to half dome trailhead - No bears (campground was packed which could be why) Cons: - Bathrooms smelly (due to the crowds) - Wood fire limitations (no such restrictions outside the valley) - no bears (hehe if you did want to see them)

Had an amazing stay. Definitely will return. Beautiful views. Almost great facilities.

I love nature so much and this is a nice place to visit nature, love seeing those huge trees. I gave it 4 star for the reason that I only stayed for a couple of hours and I didn't get a chance to explore the place. The rest room is so far away...

Easy camping, campgrounds are surrounded by beautiful landscapes. This was our first family camping trip we went Easter weekend spend 3 nights here definitely not enough time. The weather was perfect the valley was full of life in the spring saw deer in the meadows daily the snow was melting creating high water flows at all the different falls throughout the park. I definitely recommend u bring mountain bikes you can access everything on bike and its a lot of fun too. We booked DBL 2 and DBL3 sites, accommodations for up to 24 people we were able to fit my 26' Toyhauler attached to my f-250 and my cousins nissan armada with plenty of room at DBL3. A friend and my sister had 2 25ft motorhomes at DBL2 with plenty of room. These spots were conveniently located across the street to the RV Dump Station. Very easy to access dump n fill no long lines at all for holiday weekend. You must plan ahead and book sites beginning 1st of ever month we booked on January 1st and were lucky enough to get these sites as there is limited space for large RVs. We also enjoyed camp fires every night u are allowed to run a fire 24/7 during winter n spring months. There are plenty of restrooms throughout the park and at the camp sites, they are all clean with running water. We enjoyed the daily hikes and clean fresh air will definitely make this an annual trip in the spring.

1st time camping here. Clean bathrooms and most easy access to water for washing dishes etc. Sites come with a table, grill and bear locker. One thing I didnt love was that the bear locker did not have the option to put an outside lock on to secure your stuff while you were away from the site. Cant beat waking up looking at Glacier Point etc You can get a shower over at Curry Village ( now Half Dome village) Bring mosquito spray!

I love camping on the valley floor. I prefer North Pines Campgruond because it's a little more secluded than Lower and Upper Pines Campgrounds, but I'll take a reservation anywhere on the valley floor. Lower Pines is a nice campground but if you're camped in one of the sites that goes along Southside Drive, the road that takes you into the campground, people parked there tend to walk through campsites to get to the bathrooms. As long as I'm talking about bathrooms, they are kept up during the spring and fall, but there are so many people in the valley during the summer it's hard to keep up with the messes. That being said, if you can get a reservation anywhere on the valley floor, take it!

I've been Yosemite a few times and this is the 2nd time we've camped, this time at Lower Pines. I came at an 'off season" which may contribute to less crowds. I stayed for 3 nights, Sun to Tues evening and overall pretty pleased. It was a lot less crowded (but i think this may be due to the time of the yr--late Sept, the virus scare, etc). The campgrounds was nice, only about 60 camp sites. The bathrooms were kept pretty clean (not sure about high season). We experienced 2 nights that were somewhat peaceful; however a chorus of birds making quite a bit of commotion at 6am ish right around sun rise. :) Our 3rd nite was diastrous. We had really inconsiderate neighbors right across from us who had maybe 8-12 ppl just hanging out and were quite loud during "quiet hours". Quite a few vehicles came in late at nite. Not sure why. Perhaps has to do with their annual Facelift project.

First off, I'm not a big fan of camping. And I was a little nervous about how my trip would go. But I got to say, I had one of the best weekends here. Yosemite is my boyfriend's favorite place and in the six years we've dated, we've never gone together. So I planned a surprise trip for his birthday, invited his friends, and decided I'd give camping another shot. So glad I did! I would love to come again in a year or two since it's not that far from home. As mentioned, it's hard to get a spot. I tried to reserve two but by the time the first one was reserved all the other ones were gone. If you're trying to get two, especially close together I'd have multiple people trying to work together. Otherwise it's next to impossible. Our site was AMAZING! I don't even want to mention the number because whenever I go I'll always try and get the same one from here on out. Little tip: try to get one towards the back. It feels much less crowded, less cars coming through, and I feel like the views are better back there. I honestly can't wait for our next trip back! And the man at the campground booth was VERY friendly. I would like to mention that. The bear lockers were a pretty good size. We had two coolers and some big cardboard boxes like Costco uses to place groceries in and it all fit. The location is fantastic! Only about a five minute drive to the grocery store, right next to one of the best and most popular meadows in Yosemite, and the views through the trees were amazing! From our site you could see half dome, north dome?, and glacier point. Until next time Yosemite. Until next time.

I love camping in lower pines, it's gorgeous! I would give it 5 stars if it wasn't for the damn reservations! Jesus Christ Super Star who do I have to sleep with to get a site?!?! I use my home phone, cell phones and computers trying to get in and 2 minutes later, camp site full! What the what the?!?!?

I have camped each spring in Yosemite Valley for the past 7 years. Getting your reservation is quite a feat in itself. If your lucky when the clock strikes 7:00, the site you have picked won't be taken by another camper with a quicker finger. Have been trying for a certain site for the past 3 years and have not been able to get it. If you don't get your site, be quick to do a check and grab any site available. If you don't scramble you may be left out. We prefer Lower Pines for two reasons. The campsites are generally further apart from then the sites in Upper Pines and North Pines, and the campsites in general get more sun than in Upper Pines. Spent one trip in Upper Pines and saw very little sun. We camp in May every year, so the sun is well sought after. The bathrooms are clean. The time limit on campfires is a little disheartening, especially for tent campers, I find the no campfires after 10:00 P.M. helps to keep the partying down which makes for a quiet sleep time. Curry Village has showers which I think you have to pay for as of last year. Going during the week if possible helps to avoid the horrible week-end visitors. I go for the beauty of the surroundings and the good times had with my friends.