Yosemite campsite advice

I'm planning a trip to Yosemite this summer, and by amazing chance, I noticed that next week, recreation.gov is releasing some campsites for reservation during the exact time I'll be there. The sites they're opening up are: Wawona, Hodgdon Meadow, and Upper Pines sites 1-124.

Can anyone give me some general advice on which of these might be desirable for an intermediate climber? I'll be looking for some easy-to-moderate multipitch climbs – I haven't started scoping out particular areas yet, so I'm interested in your thoughts on which of these campsites is well-located, or where you've had a good time in the past!

If yer climbing in the valley, then you want to camp in Upper Pines. Otherwise you are doing a commute each day into the valley. Wagon and Hodgdon will be "quieter" than Upper Pines.

Good luck. Those sites are usually reserved within 90 seconds of being released, mostly by bots. Sometimes you can snag one but I wouldn’t make plans until you have confirmation of the reservation. 

Yosemite Valley in the summer? No thanks.It's way hot and ungodly crowded. Go to the Meadows.

Yeah I know these sites go real fast, I'm gonna give it a shot anyway. I have some backup options too, and if I end up having to commute a bit, so be it. Thanks for the tips, keep em coming!

Nate A wrote:

Good luck. Those sites are usually reserved within 90 seconds of being released, mostly by bots. Sometimes you can snag one but I wouldn’t make plans until you have confirmation of the reservation. 

What happens a lot is that people will put them into their carts within the first 90 seconds, but if they haven’t actually completed the transaction within some period of time, they are released again. So I was able to eventually get politely asked to stop camping in Yosemite one season by doing the land rush then checking back every hour or so if I didn’t get all the days I wanted during the first pass.

you can also stitch together your trip across multiple sites if you don’t mind tearing down and resetting camp halfway through your trip. It’s a lot easier to get a reservation for a single night than a whole grip of them.

Upper Pines is the only campground of those you listed worth considering for advanced reservations as a climber.

Echoing what everyone else has said. Upper Pines is the spot. Hogdon is like a 35minute drive up thousands of feet. But it will get you closer to Tuolomne. Summer heat in the valley can be brutal. 

I have done a fair bit of mid summer climbing in the Valley. What people say can be true. But, even in normal heat, it can be fun and productive. Upper Pines will provide the full "little beruit" experience and can just be part of it. Just gotta be smart about when, where, and what you climb. Hodgdon Meadows would normally be the opposite experience of Upper Pines,  cool and quiet,  and access to Reed Pinnacle is not much different.  Just a bit further to a bunch of other down Valley stuff. And going to the Meadows for a day is a better option from Hodgdon. 

Bb Cc wrote:

Is the TM campground opening this Summer of 2025 earlier or later. Is the rework done?

It was still all torn to hell last fall. I would be very impressed if it opens this year. Keeping my fingers crossed, but not holding my breath. Tis under a ton of snow currently.

Hogdon would be nice as it's closer to the meadows as others mentioned, just make sure to start your commute either way early in the morning to avoid traffic and get a parking spot.

Just to close the loop here, I managed to book sites at Hodgdon for all of my intended nights except Saturday the 21st! I'll keep an eye out for more sites opening up there or in Upper Pines, since it seems like those two are the way to go. Really appreciate y'all's advice here!