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Yosemite National Park
Camping Without a Reservation

Camping without a Reservation

If you plan to camp in Yosemite during summer without a reservation, you are limited to the following campgrounds.

View a list of all campgrounds with this year's estimated opening and closing dates and other information.

October through April (approximately)
From fall through early spring, you may be able to find a campsite at one of the reservation campgrounds or at Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow Campgrounds, which operate on a first-come, first-served basis from October through April. You can also double-check the reservations website to check for any last-minute availability.

May through September (approximately)
Note that very few first-come, first-served campsites are available in May and June (until additional first-come, first-served campgrounds open).

In order to have a reasonable chance of finding a campsite from spring through fall, you should arrive by noon on weekdays and midmorning on weekends. (Camp 4 usually fills by 9 am; Tuolumne Meadows Campground may fill by 8:30 am on Fridays and Saturdays.)

Once you get a campsite, you can register for more than one night. In May and June, you're very unlikely to find a first-come, first-served campsite (until later in June, when additional campgrounds open).

If all else fails, try to find a campsite outside of Yosemite National Park.

Within Yosemite National Park, you may not sleep in your car or RV except in a campsite that you're registered to stay in (except at Camp 4, where sleeping in cars is not allowed because it's a walk-in campground).

Upper Yosemite Fall with spring runoff  

Did You Know?
Yosemite Falls is fed mostly by snowmelt. Peak flow usually happens in late May, but by August, Yosemite Falls is often dry. It begins flowing again a few months later, after winter snows arrive.

Last Updated: July 15, 2008 at 21:42 EST