Yosemite RVing

[KeninAZ]

Getting older and would like to make one visit to Yosemite NP.
Never been there. Had reservations years ago but they were canceled due to late snows.
We have a 31' class A and tow a 16' trailer for a car and have a small dog.
I am thinking April might be a target month for us to go. I understand it really gets crowded later.
So what campground would be good for my rig and month of travel?
Don't need power and such but it would be nice to have.

[rexlion]

Even if all the sites are reserved now, cancellations can happen. If you really want to camp in the valley, check back a few times per week on the reservation site and you might hit an opening that will work for you. I had a specific 5-day window I was trying for during one July, and just a couple weeks before departure I snagged two different sites (one in North Pines, one in Lower Pines) for a Fri and Sat. On Sunday am I got up early and drove to one of the first-come CGs (Bridalveil, which won't be open in April IIRC) and easily found a site for a few more days.

[profdant139]

If you go to Upper Pines mid-week in winter with a smallish rig and get there early in the day, there are first-come, first-served unreserved sites available. We have done that several times. Otherwise, it is too crowded.

Another idea -- stay in Lone Pine at Mono Vista and take your toad up 120 to the high country of Tuolumne Meadows (after they open the highway). Much more spectacular (and cooler and less crowded) than Yosemite Valley. We do this pretty often.

[KeninAZ]

Wow, I just did a check of the reservation website. What a bunch of BS.
No park is worth all that to us. Life is just to short at our age to worry about lines.
I will pass.
I can remember years ago when we lived in CA having to be on the phone at a given minute (if you could get through, to get one of some 30 sites at Wright's Beach in N. CA.
Funny, never have regretted leaving CA.

[KeninAZ]

Wow, TNX for the advice and replies.
I guess the park is really popular.

[Gonzo42]

Took DW in our new (to us) and first RV at the end of March. Stay for 4 nights. Had one house battery die in the cold and then we got snowed in and had to exit via the only open road, toward Merced.

Other that that it was a very good trip. DW had never been there, but I have tent camped there for decades. There are NO hookups whatsoever inside the park.

[NCWriter]

Thanks, we've booked Long Key the same way.

[agesilaus]

No that's how it works. IIRC they let the sites go in 2 week blocks 5 months in advance. You must be online, on the reservation site with the specific site that you want active. At 8 AM PST, actually maybe 2 minutes early, you need to start clicking the button to reserve that site. It doesn't hurt to have two sites open in different tabs, if you lose one, tab to the second one. Also having someone else in the family doing the same on a different computer for a different site might make sense. The two minutes early idea is that you do not know if your clock is synchronized with the website.

I got my first choice when I did it. But all the available sites go within minutes. They check ID cards when you show up so reservations cannot be passed on to someone else.

[NCWriter]

agesilaus wrote:
The only CG in the valley that can take RV's is the Pines CG.
And only a few sites in each CG is RV suitable. There is a lottery system to get a space. 5 months in advance you need to be online at 8 AM PST on ReserveAmerica and try to get your site. That means you have already missed April 2017 unless there are still some open sites for that month. Check that right now, do not wait.

I'm hoping to book a site in Yosemite and I'm confused by the references I've seen on this forum before to a "lottery" system. Do people have to buy a ticket or make a deposit of some sort in advance of a drawing?

Or is it just a similar system as booking a site in the Keys at a Florida state park?

From what I read, there is Just a date specified when you can book specific dates (with a lot of competition) which seems fairly straightforward. But maybe I'm missing something?

[kalynzoo]

Also recommend Mariposa/Yosemite KOA. It is about 30 minutes from the South park entrance, but the entire drive in is similar to the park itself. The KOA has all the amenities expected, indoor pool, full hookups, and level clean sites. We've stayed a few times. The indoor pool is a treat if April turns out to be a cold month. Enjoy.

[donkeydew]

if you are a member of escapees they have a wonderful park in coarsegold.
it will pay to join them for what you save on a week stay.

[Billinwoodland]

I've seen A's in the valley, but what a pain, especially on a weekend. If you are entering via 120, I stayed at Yosemite Ridge Resort. There is also a thousand trails park a bit closer to the valley. My wife and I had a very nice stay at the ridge resort, and simply drove into the park each morning. Find a parking place, then take the shuttles around the park. Parking spots, especially on weekends, are treasured.

[Drbolasky]

I can tell you one to avoid: Indian Flat RV Park in El Portal. Cue soundtrack from "Deliverance" here.

Cramped, cluttered, dusty.

[Finally_Time]

Here's a link for RV camping in Yosemite. RV Camping
You have already missed the first date for making April reservations. https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/camping.htm
If you keep checking back on Recreation.gov you might be able to reserve a site that has been canceled or just released.

[agesilaus]

Like most of these huge parks it's always better to stay near the center of the park in a nps CG if you can get a site and can go without hookups for a while. Otherwise you'll be spending an hour or more in your car every morning and afternoon driving to and from the outside CG. Yosemite is just about the toughest of all to get site reservations tho.