We can choose to be negative or positive. Using a positive (Zen) approach we have camped everywhere without reservations including Yosemite in late June/July. At 7:00 AM at the Ranger Station in the Valley they assign the cancellations, we always got in for at least a few days. In San Francisco we spent a night on the parking lot of the USS San Francisco Memorial over looking the Pacfic, Seal Rocks and the SF Bay. All along Route 1 and Big Sur, we passed night after night in pulloffs overlooking the sea. We occasionally stayed in California State Parks. We never made a reservation, we were never bothered. Don't worry, relax, stop early. We did camp at a camp ground on the approach to Yosemite and then drove in early to get the site in the valley. Reservations are for sissys.
