Crane Flat for climbing?

Anyone stayed @ Crane flat on a trip to yosemite? I hate the camp 4 hassle and, obviously, the pines sites are all reserved. Is the drive back and forth to the valley not too bad? I think it might be worth being a little closer to Tuolumne in June in-case the weather is hot.
Any thoughts? Heading there next week 6/17 - 20

15-20 minutes tops to Yos. Village , even closer to crags like Reed's and five and dime , plus a little closer to Tuolumne . I've heard , and seen , that bears are common in that campground so beware of food storage , and ranger citations .

Alternatively , I would consider just camping outside the (western) park boundary on 120 , free camping , more solitude , less restrictions . There are numerous roads off 120 to explore and camp in . But now you are 25 - 30 minutes from the valley .

Yeah, we based out of Crane Flat on one trip, and were happy with the location. Quieter than the Pines is a nice bonus. Obviously you don't have the great views that you have from the Pines. The drive wasn't that bad, and yes, you are a bit closer to Tuolumne if you want to split time between the valley and Tuolumne.

Wally

I feel Crane Flat is basically far from everything and therefore I would not do it. (How's that for contrariness? haaa) That said, it's better than nothing I suppose, although you will pay extra big bucks to fill up in the Valley or the Meadows after doing all that driving. Then again, you may end up doing a lot of driving with any option so it may be just fine!

That said, others are correct in that it is a quieter location, less of a "scene". But who cares, you are there to climb during mob season, you have to embrace the scene. :)

Also, being closer to Reed's and anything in Lower Merced during this time of year is pooooointlesssssss......heheh.

What Aerili said!
It's time for the Meadows anyway....you can always try to find a bivy between the pass and Lee Vining if you plan on climbing in the Meadows.....

Climb down in the ditch! Why would you want to climb in a bug infested meadow anyways? ;)

I stayed at Crane Flat last year in July for maybe four nights then five nights at Camp 4. The nice part is the significantly cooler night temperatures at Crane Flats due to its elevated position. I slept better at the elevated altitude. The drive seemed like 20-30 minutes depending on traffic.

Awww come on Matt N.....it builds character!....

Crane Flat is anything but....Flat. I haven't stayed in all the loops but the two times I have convinced me to not go back. Worst pay camping in Yosemite is my experience.

So we did it. Stayed 3 nights @ crane flat last week.
Here is my assessment

+ nice to have a guaranteed site that we reserved online. Pretty quiet. Good to have our own site and not have to share. No time spent waiting in line. No stress about getting a site. Easy to unload camping gear and be near the car. Nice and cool at night

- It takes 30 min to be parked @ curry. Basically any valley destination is about 30 minutes away. Many sites do not seem very flat. We were ok but I saw a lot of sloped tents.

We were both glad we stayed there despite the late night drive back up after hitting the pizza deck. Although the driving back and forth was a little annoying I think that over 3 days we spent about 3 hours in transit. We easily would have spent that time waiting in line at camp 4 and then hauling our crap back and forth to the campsite.

Thanks to everyone for the advice!
Kfox

The 200 loop has some stuff next to the meadow, but might as well drive the 30 minutes into the valley.

Cool, good for you, kfox!

Your following comments really ring home for me: "No time spent waiting in line. No stress about getting a site."

Playing Camp Four Russian Roulette doesn't have any appeal to me.