Tuolumne Meadows Campground

Absolutely fabulous campground. The views can not be beat. It was quiet and so clean. Rangers were awesome and super friendly! We loved staying away from the crowds of the valley. It is a drive to see some|Main attractions but there is a lot to see in the meadows. It rained for 2 days including lightning so prepare for that possibility. If you are lucky enough to get a reservation get there early to get a good spot. We had a huge site right by the river. We have a very large 8 person and a smaller tent and it fit perfectly. The bathrooms were kept very clean. Make sure to bring a bucket to wash your dishes in.

We re-supplied here on the JMT at the nearby Post Office/General Store. Nice campsite up on the hill overlooking the rest of the campground. One bathroom was open thank goodness. It was pretty busy and quite a few through hikers here to stay the night. Nice bear boxes to keep our food and ourselves safe from the bears.

Review is for the Backpacker’s Campground only. Cindy was a wonderful host and treats the campground as her own house - don’t leave your food out and be respectful to the other campers! All was quiet by 10 PM and all campers were up and gone by 8 AM. Don’t miss the amphitheater program if one is going on during your stay. We attended the Rock Climbing History presentation and it was wonderful, given by a super cool female rock climbing ranger! Used it as the last night campground after our trip up from Snow Creek and out Yosemite Falls - you can park overnight on Tioga Rd.

A friend and I did a late season hike here for 2 nights in late September and found everything to be as we expected. The restrooms could have used a light but with our camping gear that was not a problem. One thing we loved especially was the entire campground was very quiet and all campers very respectful about what another. No need to get in your car if you want to go for a few miles of hiking as there are many great sites easily reached without using your car directly from the campground including the to wollami meadows visitor center just a mile up the trail. There is also the twala me meadows store, Post Office, and grill with ice cream nearby. Enjoy!

Beautiful location set amidst the tall pines. The Tuolumne river is within walking distance and there are endless day hikes waiting to be explored! The restroom facilities could be better kept but there are plenty of great sites to choose from, so book early! There are no showers so bring your towel and change of clothes to the river for an icey dip.

We spent a night here during our trip to the Sierras. We enjoyed the campground and the area in general. When arriving the ranger at the check in kiosk asked us if we wanted to be by the river, or preferred a quiet site. We asked for a quiet site, and he gave us one in the back of the campground, with few neighbors. Driving through the front of the campground we could see people crammed into that area and were glad we were in the back.||||The site was large with a bear box, table and fire ring. The nearby bathroom was average for a busy campground - - clean enough. ||||We would stay here again in a heartbeat. For approx. $30 you can stay in the park, as opposed to paying 10x as much for a room. The campground is close to the Lembert Dome hike, and nearby to fishing access in the Tuolumne River. ||||Its worth noting that in August it was below 30 degrees at night/early morning, so bring layers.

If I did not get the senior rate, I would have a hard time paying the fees for a campground with no showers. Let me just start there. ||||However, the location is fantastic. There are so many great sites and hikes and fishing available up in Tuolomne that so many people miss by never leaving the crowded valley floor. Early September is a great time to go, usually. No mosquitoes, no snow yet. We had beautiful weather, if cold at night. It was in the low 40s to high 30s at night when we were there. Very warm and sunny in the day, but as soon as the sun went down, brrr. By mid-september the night temps ran in the 20s, according to friends who were still there. ||||For showers you can drive down to Lee Vining and pay $3.50 for 5 minutes of hot water shower in the RV park. 5 minutes is plenty, but if you think you need more, they will refund you what you don't use as long as it isn't past their closing hours.||||It's a long drive from the campground to the valley. So, I would not recommend it if you want to spend a lot of time in the valley. We went for one day, because my brother had never been there. ||||No bears while we were there. There are bear lockers and you are required to put all food and perfumy items in the bin. Keeping up this good habit keeps the bears away. ||||There is a small camp supplies store, but I suggest you be sure to bring everything you need with you. ||||Some sites are better than others. Once you become familiar with the park, you will know which sites to reserve. There are also first come, first serve sites. You need to be in line very early for that!||||The hike up to Elizabeth Lake in the fall is very colorful!

Car camping with access to the Yosemite high country. Great as a base for some amazing day hikes. The campground itself is hidden away in the trees behind the meadows. The views from the campground itself aren't great. That's the only downside. The general store is walking distance , the bathrooms and water sources are convenient, the tent sites are spaced far enough apart.

The campground is located in the most amazing location. Close to many hikes and fishing. It is crowded---you can see all of your "neighbors". We were car camping with kids so it worked for us. Our first night we were at site b36. It was next to a group campsite. I would avoid this spot in future. It was loud and the group site did not abide by the quiet hours and blasted loud music until midnight-1 am! Plus the group campsite's closest bathroom is one of the smallest. There is no soap in the bathrooms (bears). The bear boxes are at each campsite and you MUST put everything in the box. You cannot store anything in your car. We didn't see any bears There did not seem to be a ranger presence at night (no one stopped the loud party). However the Rangers were able to move us to another spot in the morning we moved to c38. It was much better. Quiet and much more respectful. We attended several ranger lead programs and they were fantastic. Loved the kids campfire and the star gazing talk/hike. It gets COLD at night so be prepared. It was easily 40 degrees at night--maybe colder. There is NO cell service at all. The roads are beat up but it is a camping so it didn't bother us. There are mosquitos at the typical times so make sure you are covered up!

Worst campground Ever We have been camping in a small class B RV for 10 years all over the United States in a variety of national Park and forest campgrounds. We are not private RV campground users - preferring the back to nature ambience of the public campgrounds. Over the years we have had some challenging campground experiences but Toulomne Meadows stands out as being the absolute worst we have ever encountered. The campground is dark, dirty, cramped, and crowded. Campsites are not clearly designated and are so close together you may as well be in the same space as the site next to you. Roads in the campground are one-way, not well-maintained, with rocks and debris that makes it difficult to navigate. After 10 years negotiating some real tricky roads, we drove over a low level rock on the so called road severing an outside 8 foot storage bin from our van. Unfortunately this ended our planned 4 week trip to the grand Tetons and Yellowstone and we were forced to turn back home. Fortunately we found a great little campground right outside the east entrance to Yosemite that was leaps and bounds better than Tuolumne so that at least we had some place to stay the night before heading back home. After years of hearing how great Tuolumne Meadows Campground was we were beyond disappointed at how awful it really was. I would not recommend this campground to my worst enemy.

My first time in Yosemite, that I can remember anyway, we decided to just wing it and hope to get a spot at one of the campgrounds that offers 'first come first serve' option. We arrived in late June...and had a hunch that somewhere along the less busy 120 which heads up north of the Yosemite Valley would be the most likely spot for an open campsite. Up up up we went, winding our way along Tioga Road past stunning glacier carved scenery. Both Tamarack and White wolf had "full" signs, but finally after a 55ish mile drive we arrived at Tuolumne Meadows 9000ish feet up. The campground itself is just east of the Tuolumne meadows store, gas station and visitor center and on the Southernish slopes of the meadows themselves. We got there at 7:30am and there was already a line forming for the open campsites. (The office is open 8-5) In line I learned that The Pacific Crest Trail passes right through here, and June is generally when all the hikers make it to Yosemite after starting out in Mexico in April. Everyone hanging around the site were definitely of the younger and more rugged variety. Also I became aware that June is mosquito season. We got campsite G14...and let me tell you, I absolutely loved it. It is a bit of a walk to the restroom, but whatever you're camping. The point is this site is very very secluded. You can hardly see or hear your neighbors, there is ample space in between. I mean of course your campsite might be the first a bear would visit, but that's why each site has its own bear locker for all your food and toiletries to hide. I recommend bringing an umbrella to provide shade for your locker, because it can literally turn into an oven. I have to say, in retrospect I'm really glad we stayed in Tuolumne meadows, because it was far less touristy then the Yosemite Valley. Yes in June it is infested with mosquitoes, but I'd rather deal with them then loud obnoxious tourists traffic. The nearby Tuolumne meadows store and grill sell everything you might have forgotten and the prices are generally reasonable too. You can walk right down to the meadows from the campground, or head out on any of the wonderful hiking trails that start right there in the meadows. I really recommend Tuolumne if you're looking for a cooler (temperature wise) less touristy place to stay in Yosemite. Just keep in mind the Yosemite Valley is quite a driving trek. After my whole trip finished, I would have to recommend Yosemite in Early Spring or Late Fall, never in summer. Tuomlumne is only open in Summer generally, so definitely call ahead to make sure where ever you are going in the park is open, no matter what time of year it is.

Tuolumne Meadows Campground; gorgeous location in the Tuolumne Meadows area, with the Tuolumne River running adjacent to the campground. This is the heart of Yosemite hiking country, with scores of trails starting within 10 miles or so of this campground. Take the short, steep hike up to May Lake, or into Cathedral Lakes, or just along the meandering river in the meadows area. The campground itself, with 300 sites, offers nice, shady campsites. It does show a lack of maintenance from our federal friends, with roads that haven't been repaved for about 30 years, and bathrooms, with water and flush toilets, needing some updating - but clean and serviceable. Evening campfire talks, with Rangers who do a good job of explaining the history, fun and excitement of Yosemite. If you have an extra day, take Evergreen Road into the Hetch Hetchy valley to O'Shaughnessy dam - and see the sister valley to Yosemite that was dammed and flooded 100 years ago.

We love to visit Tuolumne Meadows. We try to get back there every year. I have to say the biggest mistake I see parents making is camping in below 30 degree weather with toddlers. Parents, keep in mind Tuolumne Meadows is High Sierra camping. Even we adults need a day to acclimate. Little kids and babies have an every tougher time because they don't know why they feel weird and out of breath and it's so cold. Time and again we see them toddling during the day, only to be disoriented, screaming and crying in the middle of the night. Not fun for the rest of us. Tuolumne is a wonderful place to escape from the onslaught of the Valley population. Don't come here with dogs, babies and toddlers and huge RVs with generators and expect this to remain a quaint place where people can attempt to escape from the more worldly and impacting human experience. Keep Yosemite Wild!

I couldn't believe there aren't more reviews on this beautiful campground. We stayed here Aug 16-20, 2017 and had a wonderful stay! We came as first come first serve so we arrived at 4 am on Wednesday morning to ensure we were first in line for a spot. Luckily we scored a site and it ended up being an awesome trip. The site we had was fairly large and nicely spaced away from other sites so we had a little privacy. The campground is huge with many loops. The A loop has sites overlooking the river which we would have loved to stay in but you had to wait in a second first come waitlist for those and we were just happy to have any spot. But next time for sure we would try for one of those spots. There are actual flush toilets with running water and spigots and a dump station for dish water. They ask you to do your dishes at your site and then dump the water so just be sure to bring appropriate equipment (i.e. buckets) for this. They have a pretty strict 10 pm quiet time, fires out which people pretty closely adhere to. Shortly after 10 each night it got super dark and super quiet. They are dog friendly but very strict about keeping them leashed at all times. The nearest showers are only about half an hour away at an RV park in Lee Vining which we used twice and were very convenient. They are token operated which you have to buy first, cash only. One of our favorite parts about Tuolumne Meadows is the convenience store and grill. It was so nice to be able to stock up on fire wood and buy more ice and things we forgot. We also stopped in and grabbed coffee and breakfast one early morning when we didn't feel like doing the whole camp cooking thing. Weather in August for us was very cold at night and in the early morning. The days warmed up to perfectly comfortable in jeans and a tee or long sleeve. And for the duration of the 5 days we were there we experienced quick thunder showers three times. The longest lasted about two hours but most were just a quick drizzle. All in all, we will definitely be back.

We stayed at Tuolumne Meadows Campground from Fri 8/27-Sun 8/29, 2010. It's pretty far from Fremont taking 5hrs to get there. Since we had reservations we went to the kiosk and the guy asked us what campsite we wanted since they don't assign one to you beforehand. We requested a site near the bathrooms and got C68. I liked it because it was only 1 site away from us. Regular sites can hold 6 people. We had 2 tents & 3 people. There's one bear bin to put all your food & smelly stuff. Site was pretty quiet, though depends on the neighbors you get. Bathrooms: NO LIGHT - Bring your own lantern or headlamp. Womens: 3 flushed toilets, 2 sinks, cold water. Potable water outside the bathroom. Garbage cans across from the bathrooms. We went for 1 night campfire talk "Bear Necessities" given by Ranger Mike on Sun 8/28/10. There really was a campfire! I enjoyed it. We did 3 hikes in 3 days in Tuolumne Meadows - Tuolumne Falls, Cathedral Lakes (Lower & Upper), & May Lake (on the way out). Still more to do in the area so hope to go back next yr. Website for reservations: http://www.recreation.gov/

It's a really nice campground right by the stream and the view of the granite cathedral peaks. Campground is clean very well maintained , the cascade waterfalls are beautiful by the campground. There's a hiking trail that goes from this campground to somewhere i forget but it's a nice hike next to the stream seriously beautiful. We saw a deer munching on grass just off the trail. The only problem for me is that there is no shower here. I wished there was. And I feel like the sites are too close together. I wished they were spaced out a bit more but can't complain it's just so beautiful here. Across from tuolomne meadows and Lambert Dome. We hiked from Lambert Dome trailhead to the Dog Lake and we saw a bear with a blue ear tag about 300 ft away from us. He was aggressively tearing the bark off trees looking for some grubs. He was a pretty good size bear , I'm guessing it's a male. Funny he must've been there on the way to the lake cuz we heard the same noise he was making but didn't notice him lol. We only noticed him on the way back to the trailhead. I've seen quite a few bears by now but this one was the biggest I'd seen. I had to knock one star cuz no shower at the campground. Otherwise perfect !

Great campground location to be in the Tuolumne Meadows area 8,500 ft above sea level. The Tuolomne Meadows area has many amazing hikes whether it's a stroll through Glen Aulin trail or a real hike to Cloud's Rest. The campground has two parts: one for those who make reservations and another first come first serve. We had a RV reservation spot (but you can use it with a regular car). The campground is clean and big with multiple loops of camping spots and is obviously beautiful. The individual spots are pretty spacious for a group of 4-6. Each comes with a commercial picnic table, fire pit with a rack, bear-resistant food container, and enough space for your car and tents. The campgrounds also has shared bathrooms with toilets and sinks with cold running water. The park rangers at the entrance sells you firewood (which we had a lot of trouble lighting - due to how wet the wood was but probably due to our incompetence as city boys). They are also super friendly and helpful! Overall, a nice campground in a beautiful area of Yosemite. Would highly recommend venturing here if you've been in the valley already!

Camped here August 2011. I can only compare this campground to the one I experienced at Sequoia (in July 2011) and I have to say, that one was faaaaaar better. My issues with this site: - SMALL. It was pretty cramped for 2 cars, 6 people, 2 tents. - Only 1 bear box. Bf tells me that is usually the standard, but at Sequoia we had 2 for each campsite. One needs crazy good organizing skills to jam everything into 1 bear box. - SO FAR AWAY from the bathroom/trash bins/water spigots. At least 10 minutes walk each way, in the dark & the cold...alone if you can't find a buddy at 3am to accompany you. - Super close to your neighbors: there wasn't any trees/land separating us from our immediate neighbor, not too much privacy at all..and I felt we encroached on some of his space because there was 6 of us, and only 1 of him. I'm sure I'm just being excessively nitpicky for camping (I'm in the wilderness, I should really just chill out!!!) and this site would've been perfect if we were closer to the bathroom, and maybe with 3-4 people to be comfortable. What is good about this site is that it isn't as touristy, so not as many crowds & close to many great hikes. Try to get there during daylight (especially if you are arriving at the campsite for the 1st time), because 1 way road + no road lights = very dangerous.

TM Campgrounds was a great location for our late July camping excursion. The Site - We had our standard wooden picnic table, enclosed fire pit, and bear locker big enough to fit our food and toiletries for three nights. It was easy finding spots without too many rocks or pine cones to pitch our tents and potable/drinkable water faucets were in easy walking distance. The Facilities - As expected, the bathrooms were pretty gnarly (meaning disgusting) but there were always daily cleanings and plentiful TP. Unfortunately there wasn't any sinks for us to dispose of liquid food for some reason so we were forced to toss it down the toilet or into garbage bags. The Area - There are some nice hiking trails near the campgrounds (we did Lembert Dome and Cathedral Lake) that are within walking or easy driving distance. There is also a small general store where we got post-hiking ice cream and additional firewood. Yosemite Valley is one hour away but it was still super easy to head out early and spend a hour day there checking out the iconic landmarks. I would definitely come back to camp here!

Deer were everywhere, the flowers during summer are amazing. Last camped there 2017 with my son and his friends and now they are CAMP lovers! Yosemite of course was breathtaking....

Nice campground. Elevation is high so be prepared, you are at over 8,000 ft. Mix of dirt and paved road. Restrooms are clean and stocked but they don't have lights so you have to supply your own when it gets dark. Everything must be stored in your site bear box so pack well. Beautiful scenery and friendly campers. We saw deer but no other wildlife. No showers so bring stuff to dry bathe. Gas station and store close by. Trout in the rivers. There are a lot of hiking trails and horseback trails. This campground is smack dab in the heart of bear country, sadly we didn't see one for the four days we were there. Marmots inhabit the meadows and look like a cross between a beaver and a squirrel. They will chew anything so be careful....this includes hoses and wire on your car. They do sell chicken wire to keep them out if your in their area.

Very convenient location, but with traditionally indifferent employees who are about as helpful as the proverbial Cigar Store Indian. Because of the crowding, one should be willing to share space with ( especially ) solitary hikers and such. At night, walk away from the campground and into the area towards Lembert Dome to get fantastic night sky views. The Park Rangers who man the area ( no gender disrespect intended ) are the nicest of the bunch. The showers are tough to operate, but a strategic use of a velcro strap or a long towel will help.

Just stayed here with my girlfriend, beautiful and peaceful campground! Would come here again and again! So much to do around the area and a lot less crowded than the Valley.

First come, first serve or by reservation, this campground is marvelous in location, close to numerous Sierra high country hikes in Yosemite. Walk from camp any time from sunrise to sunset, follow the Tuolumne River pouring over rocks and giant boulders, in either direction, experience lots of deer, yellow belly marmot, chickadee singing, the Clark Nutcracker carrying the white bark pine seeds, wild flowers and polished domes. So much wilderness to explore. Lembert and Pot Hole domes are near by. Be sure to take the Ranger lead hikes, all are informative and fascinating. Location, location, location--makes this campground exceptional at elevation 8,000 feet approximate among big lodgepole pines. There are no hook ups. Tents and RV/trailer friendly. Only complaint is that the interior roads though camp and up to camp sites are dirt and gravel, and the majority of campers seem to be in a hurry always, driving too fast for being on a vacation, stirring up lots of dust--so our red truck and silver Airstream trailer is covered in a fine dust. Smoke, smoke, smoke--lot's of campfires!

Before you stay here, keep in mind that this is a HUGE campground. 304 sites, plus 7 group sites, plus 4 horse sites. If you're looking for privacy & peace and quiet in a respectful, nature-loving environment, keep looking 'cause this ain't it. Pluses: -convenient to gorgeous Tuolumne Meadows -flush toilets & sinks in the bathrooms -convenient to the Tuolumne Meadows store, which is well stocked with anything you could need. Heck, if you don't want to cook, just cut through the campground on the path straight to the grill and have a burger & fries. -we were able to get a reservation only 2 weeks in advance -when we stayed here in August, there were no mosquitoes Minuses: -everything was in need of repair. The road was in poor shape. Low clearance vehicles beware. -the women's restroom in our section had 2 stalls. Two. The men's restroom had one stall and one urinal. This is perhaps the only time I've ever seen a line for a men's restroom and no line for the women's. Way too meager for the density of people being serviced. -bring earplugs. Your (very) nearby campsite neighbors will likely keep you up late with noise. -campsite was small. The people on one side of us had commandeered the back portion of our site and proceeded to walk through the middle of our campsite to get to the bathrooms. Um, hello? Etiquette? Thank goodness for red wine and earplugs...my ticket to a good night's sleep.

-We came around 6-7am and there was already a line, so definitely come early if you don't have a reservation! -Lembert dome is a cool hike from here. If I can do it, you can do it. -I was surprised that the bathrooms were kept rather clean. Very thankful for this. I wish there was electricity though so I could see at night, but I guess this adds to the fun(?) of camping. Bring a flashlight!

Finally, one trip off my to do list! Tuolomne Meadows was the perfect campground! We were right across from the river and it did get chilly in the early morning. Nature never ceases to amaze me here! Whether it would be trees, mountains and wildlife, this place was AMAZING!!!! Will definitely do it again!

I stayed one night at backpackers campgound in Tuolumne Meadow during my John Muir Trail backpacking. Backpacker campsites are first-come first-served, but I arrived here around 6 p.m., so all sites were occupied. So I asked one site and asked if it was okay to share. They welcomed me. Actually the site was shared by 2 groups. A couple in late 50 or 60s from Canada doing JMT, a lady who is a section hiker of JMT. They are super nice and friendly. The couple have been camping in Hokkaido, Japan and we talked about Japan. The other lady and I were solo female backpakers, so we immediately got a sense of camaraderie. What a memorable campground.

FOr a national park...not a good place to stay. For $20, not worth it. There was not only any showers within a 1.5 hour radius, but there also wasn't any soap or sanitizer. I get it, there is bears, but is it eco or sanitary to have piss all over the floors EVERY time I peed over our 3 day stay? Come on...not worth it. I wish we would have just camped with nothing around. This place sucked. It was loud at night, the road had n't been paved for years. On this road trip, we've gone to 10 national parks, and Tuolumne Meadows had the worse facilities. Come on. This is Yosemite. Step it up. DON"T STAY HERE. WORSE $20 EVER!!!!

This is my favorite place in the world. We had a great trip. This year was a bit odd though. The employees and people are not NEARLY as friendly as in the past. We had trouble at the TM store AND at the campground with a sort of 'self righteous' attitude from the employees. I think it is completely UNFAIR that rangers/park workers use their authority to pre-reserve and HOLD campsites for guests. They advertise that sites CANNOT BE HELD!! We were shocked when we requested an empty site and were told that it was taken. Hmn...okay? We followed the guest/camper out the gate, how could it already be taken? Impossible!! We waited and 8 hours later people showed up. Interesting. 1 hour later, the same ranger that told us we could not have that site was having dinner with her friends/family in THAT site. It was site A88 on July 29. I wish that we had complained while we were there. It just does not seem right. Disappointing to say the least. If sites can't be held, they can't be held. Rules are Rules!!! Oh well. I guess we will keep that in mind for the future, rangers clearly can reserve and hold whatever they want. UGH. The A loop is great because it is close to the river, but the G loop is awesome because it is so private. We had G3 one year and it was SUPERB!!

We had two campsites side by side offering a lot of space in which to place 5 tents! The bathrooms are a bit far but very clean. The bins were also a little far but also clean and not overflowing. The campground itself has over 300 sites but the sites are large and therefore reasonably private. It's an easy walk to several hikes as well as the Tuolumne river as well as climbing at the Puppy and Kitten boulders which is nice if you dont want to get in the car and drive. A nice place, even if a bear did rummage through our campsite at 6am!

We stayed here for our family reunion in mid-July. Since we were over six people we stayed in the group campsite. What a joke. No trailers or campers allowed in group campsites for some brilliant reason, though the rest of the grounds were filled with them. It's almost as if Yosemite is inconvenienced by having campers. It certainly feels like they are trying to make you so uncomfortable that you want to leave. Our area had one bathroom for probably 100 plus people. One urinal, one stall, one water spigot, no soap. The bear thing is a major pain. Bear boxes where you have to put everything except your pajamas in every night. We had a baby so we had to go open the bear box in the middle of the night to get formula. The group sites are small with not enough space for the 30 people they said you could have. Maybe 10-15 would fit well. The campsite is very crowded. It rained three days of our stay and the site basically became a river. We sent two cars to the valley to the laundromat to dry all the clothes and sleeping bags. Facilities in Tuolumne Meadows are minimalist. No showers, but we found the TM Lodge and their bathroom with showers. So I sneaked into those to regain a semblance of humanity. The land line and cell service was knocked out by a rockslide so you had to drive to the Valley or almost Lee Vining to get service. I have camped a lot, and there are certain amenities that can really make the difference. TM was lacking just about all of them either on purpose or by neglect. It could probably work ok if you have a nice camper or motorhome with all the amenities, but doing it in a tent for five nights was too much. The surroundings are great and beautiful. But all in all, the minimalist setup and seemingly deliberate neglect really made this trip miserable.

On the last night of our epic 19-day road trip of July-Aug 2010 we did NOT camp at Tuolumne Meadows...but still some good helpful info to share. I have to say that this part of the trip was really NOT well-thought out in advance. It actually took me until the start of the trip home to convince my husband that we should return via the Yosemite/Nor Cal route. So we were being pretty optimistic about this Yosemite jaunt. But none of our kids had been to Yosemite yet, and I have been wanting to camp out up here in Tuolumne just about forever. We woke up super early on a Monday morning thinking we would get into the park early (from June Lake!) and pounce on one of the non-reservable campsites (like half of the 304 campsites!). We figured that would be a no-brainer since it was a Monday and all...so we're driving along Tioga road, making good time, still only about 7 am, minding our own business "OH MY GOD K I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MASSIVE LINEUP IS FOR BUT YOU BETTER GET IN IT!" my hubby shouts. So I jump from the moving car and run to the line. Sure enough, it's the line for campsites opening up. I strike up a conversation with the woman in front of me, who has also been on the road for many weeks with her husband and kids and whose husband said almost word-for-word what mine did as they were pulling up. About 7:45 the ranger comes out and announces that the has like 22 campsites opening up (and we are at least 40th in line!) and that she would start handing them out at 8 am and anyone who didn't get one could get wait-listed and return at like 2 pm to see if any more had opened up. Apparently once you get in there you can just stay like, forever, so not many of those 152 non-reservable campsites actually open up on any given day. Oh and by the way, even though it's July/August it gets COLD overnight up here so shorts and flip-flops might be a little underdressed for the early morning. Speaking from experience. So in the mean time fellow road-tripping woman and I have both decided to send our husbands and kids on down the road another half hour or so to see if they can get us campsites at Porcupine Flat (unmanned by rangers and totally non-reservable.) (I will be reviewing Porcupine Flat campground next.) We both get wait-listed...if you don't show then you don't get a campsite so no worries about cancelling here. Then the waiting...for our families to come back. This is a good chance to get some hot tea at the little Tuolumne grill/market, maybe shop for some provisions, and sit on a sunny rock and warm up. It took like an hour and a half, but the husbands and kids finally showed up back at Tuolumne Meadows. They actually ended up getting the only two open campsites right next to each other (although you don't have to be out until like 10 or noon so more sites opened up after that.) So by now our two families felt like old friends. That would seem like the end of the story, but we did come back the same evening for the ranger program which was excellent (I highly recommend attending any ranger programs if you have kids - they are usually informative and fun and tend to take place around a campfire and if your kids are doing the Jr. Ranger thing, a chance to talk to the ranger and check off some of those activities.) We were running a little behind, and WOW! I was shocked at how hard it was to find the campfire circle. It is really buried way, way, way back in there in the maze that is Tuolumne Mdws campground. The reality of "304 campsites" sunk in at this point. 304 is A LOT of campsites. And A LOT of people. And a LOT of RVs and A LOT of noise and chaos. And this is when I realized how happy I was that we ended up at Porcupine Flat!

The campground itself seemed decent. I wish we could have stayed more than one night to get a better feel for this place. I can't give more than two stars though as we were made to feel uncomfortable right away. Our site was right next to the camp host which is fine with me because we are good/clean people. However, when we first arrived and were unpacking things, the hosts just sat there and stared at us. When I would look over, the man would move his head back so it didn't look like he was looking. If I looked over long enough, he would slowly creep his head back out to see what we were up to. I didn't appreciate that. Especially because there really wasn't anything to see. Haha and you really don't need to be so suspicious! We left to go explore the area and came back without any issues. We then left early in the morning. The campground is quiet but chilly so bring a lot of blankets. We also loved waking up to the sound of rain hitting our camper. The trails around are lovely and there's water near. Although beware that some trails are no dogs allowed.

We camped for 2 nights here. It is a really nice campground. The bathrooms are clean. No showers. Ample room in the bear-box. The campsite we had was very spacious (I believe we were E12?). We were here in late August 2015. Since this campground is ~8,000 ft up, it is much cooler than the valley, which is about an hour drive. It was about 80 degrees during the day and (what felt like) 35 degrees at night, so bundle up (the valley hit 95 degrees and pretty hot)! The hikes around here great! It seemed this campground was away from the hustle and bustle and very quiet. We even had a part of the John Muir Trail right behind our campsite (rarely saw people hiking it, so still very private). I highly recommend this campground!

This is a lovely park, but RVers beware. The folks at the kiosk don't have a good grasp of what is required to get an RV into a site. When we pulled up they said they had several nice sites that would accommodate our fifth wheel trailer. True. What made the effort challenging was that the terrain was incredibly uneven, the sites are wickedly uneven, and there are trees in the worst possible places for backing a trailer. The road in is only wide enough for one vehicle, so as I attemped a campsite backing miracle, I had also stopped traffic in both directions. Lovely. Bottom line, gorgeous area, amazing national park, but make sure you visually see the site before you take the word of the young folks selling you the campsites appropriate for an RV. Bathrooms were mostly clean, but definitely a high use camp area and it showed. This place is probably very, very appropriate for tent campers.

This campground doesnt do anything wrong, they have all the amenities. Although there arent great views or anything around here. Firepits are low- which is a sort of a good thing. The space for tents are usually flat although you may have to drive on dirt to reach your campsite. Nothing too bad. Rangers are friendly. We had plenty of wood lying around in June so we didnt even need to buy wood. There is a store less than a mile away where you can find everything you need. We wanted a site close to the stream but the prime spots went early and the others had some amount of walking so we skipped it.

PROS Nice location, Tenaya Lake nearby is awesome, the meadows are gorgeous and there are a few domes in the vicinity. The Grill and Visitor Center are very nice and worth a visit. We stayed 3 nights in one of the group sites. The site was decent, could fit 15-20 people but not 30 as is stated on the reservations site. CONS Overall the condition of the campground is below average. Bathrooms are old and get clogged up easily (at least once or twice a day), there is no light in the bathrooms so make sure you bring flashlights and headlights with you. The entire campground has potholes everywhere and when rain came the road was full of muddy potholes. The bear boxes at our site where quite small and older than bear boxes I've seen in other campgrounds. We were vigilant about keeping our food in the bear box and we made sure no food was left outside at all times. However, when we woke up in the morning and started preparing breakfast, I noticed that some of our snacks that were stored in packages or ziplock bags overnight in the bear box had tiny holes as if a critter had chewed on them. I also noticed droppings in various bags that were stored in the same bear box. We checked all the bear boxes and noticed that some of them had a small hole completely uncovered, the hole is small (3/4") but large enough to let a mouse through. I was bummed because I had to throw away a bunch of snacks. But most of all I was worried about Hantavirus. All around the bathrooms you see signs about Hantavirus warnings and the place where it's supposed to be the safest place to store food proved to be unsafe. When we reported that to the Camp Host he said that some bear boxes have these holes and some don't. He told us he is a volunteer and will report this to the rangers. I am quite disappointed because of that incident. This is such an easy fix. The rangers could cover the holes in all these bear boxes or at least bring this to campers' attention so upon arrival they know to cover the holes somehow. Exposing campers to mice who might be carriers of Hantavirus is not to be taken lightly.

Stayed here June 19th, 2014. Paid for two nights and left after the first day. Bathrooms were horrible!! No lights, no soap, cold water only, no showers, dirty floors. For a national park, I expected better. Our camp site (A12) had pieces of wire and other 'litter', like they don't get cleaned often. Super dusty and dirty. Crowded. Unfriendly people. Roads throughout were deeply rutted. I guess I'm spoiled by the awesome MN state parks, home sweet home!!

Amazing place! Yosemite is great, but the Valley gets too crazy during the summer months. Tuolumne Meadows is a great place in the summer. A beautiful high country meadow and huge granite cliffs and domes everywhere you look. There are dozens of amazing hikes to high country waterfalls. It's only open for a few months (June-Sept). The rest of the time it's snowed in. You can get up there in the winter if you're hardcore. You have to cross county ski uphill 16 miles from Lee Vining (there's a ski hut you can stay at for free if you do make it). The campground is like most others in Yosemite, sites a pretty close together, most sites you will see other campers in adjoining sites. It's the car camping thing with clean bathrooms nearby. Some folks like the outer campsites because they are more remote, but with remote comes bears and mosquitos. Sites closer to the center a more crowded, but less bears and mosquitos. There is a great store very nearby and a grill for lunch. Both very reasonable all things considered. One caution that doesn't get mentioned much, the campground is at high elevation, 8,500 ft, so you may experience some altitude sickness on your first day, stay hydrated and take it easy.