Tuolumne Campground closing until 2025

Yikes. As if camping wasn't hard enough.

https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/Yosemite-largest-campground-Tuolumne-Meadows-close-16626629.php

Perry Norris wrote:

Yikes. As if camping wasn't hard enough.

https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/Yosemite-largest-campground-Tuolumne-Meadows-close-16626629.php

Yikes is right. The closing of Crane Flat (during Covid and now for this) is also a major bummer - it is a good overflow campground where you could actually get a reservation, that allowed reasonable access to the Valley and TM. Its a pretty useful spot that keeps your options open for a weekend outing.

Yes, it will suck to not have the campground open for a few years, but I think an overhaul was long overdue. 

Yosemite climbing is over 

Cole Darby wrote:

Yosemite climbing is over 

Oh stop. That campground desperately needed refurbishment 25 years ago. 

Marc801 C wrote:

Oh stop. That campground desperately needed refurbishment 25 years ago. 

Out of curiosity what did you find lacking? It had dirt to sleep on and flush toilets. What else do you need?

Max R wrote:

Out of curiosity what did you find lacking? It had dirt to sleep on and flush toilets. What else do you need?

and the toilets flushed so well, that they'd keep on flushing and flushing or overflow - either way a shitty experience to be near 

There were talks of it all summer, and when confirmed, we made a last-minute, last-weekend trip. Closed out the TM CG in A-loop. Good times. Some of those sites will not be around next time:

https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=91588

This project was selected for implementation in the 2014 Record of Decision for the Tuolumne River Plan (TRP)/EIS (PEPC 14043). This project must adhere to mitigation and stipulations specified in the Final EIS/Record of Decision; the standard NHPA Section 106 process, the Biological Opinion for the TRP, and permit requirements.

This project will relocate campsites and roads out of the floodplain, add restrooms, formalize campsites, improve the trail system, upgrade the amphitheater, and overhaul water and wastewater lines in the Tuolumne Meadows Campground. The design will retain the current capacity of 329 sites (including 304 tent/RV sites, four horse campsites, and 21 backpacker sites) and seven group sites.

Campground improvements include:
• Add two restrooms and upgrade existing restrooms. Add two 500 square foot Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standard (ABAAS) compliant restrooms, one at Group Camp and one in campground Loop C. Repair or replace leaking water and wastewater lines and install low-flow fixtures in new and existing restrooms. (FINALLY!)
• Convert the east side of the Campground A-loop from a vehicle/pedestrian route to a pedestrian trail (about 2,960 linear feet). Relocate 14 Loop A campsites within 100 feet of the edge of the Tuolumne River to a new Loop H. Relocate 5 additional Loop A campsites to the new Loop H for access road improvements. Park crews will restore the riverbank and floodplain to natural conditions.
• Repair campground roads. Though the campground roads were paved in 2016, new road work will be required with the addition of new campsites, restrooms, drainage improvements, and changes in grade with new parking pads.
• Formalize camping spaces to reduce resource damage. Campsites will be enhanced with hardened parking pads, new picnic tables, fire rings, and food storage containers. The project will improve paths of travel from the parking pads to the tent sites.
• Overhaul water and wastewater lines. Completely replace 16,000 linear feet of the failing water distribution system. Replace 2,450 feet of the antiquated sewer collection system along with 15 manholes.
• Convert the pit toilet for winter skiers located behind the campground office to a vault toilet.
• Formalize the trail connection between the campground and the John Muir Trail and provide a new trail connecting the campground with the store and grill.
• Upgrade the deteriorated amphitheater. Repair and replace warped, splintered, and missing wooden amphitheater seats; replace the cut logs used for Junior Ranger amphitheater seats as needed; repair eroded and unstable access routes to the amphitheater and repair fire ring.

Sounds great.  But 3-4 years?  In China they’d get it done in a week.

Bring back Tioga Pass Resort !

Darin Berdinka wrote:

Sounds great.  But 3-4 years?  In China they’d get it done in a week.

Consider that there’s only a 3 - 4 month construction window each year. 

At one time a while back I spoke with a guy who was a ranger there and had been a caretaker for the Meadows and campground in winter. One thing he told me was that the campground opening each year was highly dependent on having the sewer lines not buried  by snow or frozen. Many years the road would be open but the campground would take a lot longer to open, and it was at least partially because the antiquated sewer system took longer to be usable because of the ground water and or temperatures and snow pack. So I don’t know if part of the rebuilding here is to also help modernize the sewers to help with this? There were definitely a few problematic bathrooms in that cg.

Just another example of the govt restricting access to public land. No apparent effort made to compensate in any way for the loss of what probably amounts to half of the campsites in YNP, one of the nation’s most visited parks. They’ll probably use the construction as an excuse to double or triple the camp fees on remaining campgrounds. Better up the wilderness camping fees and reduce the number of permits issued also! Are permits to climb for the day next?

Why close the ENTIRE campground? I think the TM campground is the largest in any National Park. Why not upgrade half at a time to allow some camping continuously?

Every year I treasure the freedom we enjoyed in the park in the early ‘70’s more and more, and feel sorry for climbers that have to deal with the current situation.

As to sewer line renovation - shit flows downhill, the entire campground is on a slope - how hard can it be?

Darin Berdinka wrote:

Sounds great.  But 3-4 years?  In China they’d get it done in a week.

Yep. With slave labor. And when done, the ground throughout the campground would be laced with toxins and most of the trees so badly damaged that they'd die within five years.

No reason that digging trenches would be toxic to the trees. Get a prison crew (slave labor) in there with picks and shovels for low environmental impact. If I was incarcerated I’d be stoked to get out for some exercise! They obviously already have a treatment plant for the waste. 

Matt N wrote:

, four horse campsites, 

I think they should prioritize humans tbh

The restrooms and the sewers have been a National disgrace for the entire 40+ years I've been going to Tuolumne. & anyone that has spent any time there knows that! 

Kevin Worrall wrote:

No reason that digging trenches would be toxic to the trees. Get a prison crew (slave labor) in there with picks and shovels for low environmental impact. If I was incarcerated I’d be stoked to get out for some exercise! They obviously already have a treatment plant for the waste. 

OK Donald

complete BS; they could easily do TM in several stages and keep most of it open while doing the work

Speaking of toxicity, the reason that the Lembert parking lot was closed this year is because they were surveying it and found that the gravel used to page it many years ago was contaminated with asbestos.  Turns out all of the old paving is in a similar state and now they have a ton of mitigation to do there as well.