Camp 4: How early?

How early should i plan on being at Camp 4 to have a decent chance at getting a spot on a Friday in October? And what time does the ranger show up to register people? 

Specifically Oct 7, which is kind of a holiday weekend for some people.

Debating whether the time wasted in line will exceed driving out to Hardin Flat and re-setting up camp 3 times.

There is no dispersed tent camping in El Portal right? I see forest service campgrounds but assume you'd have to be there early/mid morning to get a spot as well, and unlikely people would be leaving on a friday.

Check online. The situation is different right now. Lottery to get campsite. There’s no longer a line. You also may need to book entrance into Yosemite. Otherwise you have to enter before certain times like 6am or after 4pm. Good luck figuring that out- info should be online

Granite andPow wrote:

Check online. The situation is different right now. Lottery to get campsite. There’s no longer a line. You also may need to book entrance into Yosemite. Otherwise you have to enter before certain times like 6am or after 4pm. Good luck figuring that out- info should be online

Thats only during the summer until Labor day, which has passed. I believe its back to Ranger registration now

There is no line, it's just a free for all to put your stuff down in a spot that seems to have less than 6 people. It's very unpredictable what time of day a space will actually free up since the check out time isn't really enforced. In October every spot will likely be taken on Thursday night and only a few people will leave Friday morning. Ranger comes by somewhere between 8 and 10.

I just saw email from NPS that said they are extending reservation system for camp 4 thru October, and potentially into November if demand continues to be high. 

Thanks a ton Paul, this is great news that you can just directly reserve camp 4 now (no lottery). basically best case scenario 

From the Yosemite website:

2022 Season

September 7 through October 31, 2022

From September 7 through October 31, 2022, campsites will be available only by reservation. Beginning September 7 at 7 am PDT, campsites will become available via recreation.gov for arrival dates September 8 through October 31. Up to 6 people can be registered for a site per each reservation transaction. The camping fee is $10 per person per night.