Yosemite Camping?
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- mg33
Anyone here ever gone camping at Yosemite? I'm brainstorming a vacation there sometime in 2012 and would love to know if anyone's been to any of the campgrounds there, which you suggest, etc.
- jaylarson0
some are more frequented by bears than others. i'd call a park ranger. they'd be more than willing to give their tips. especially with times of year, locations, etc.
- mathinc0
I've camped there a few times. I think my favorite place to camp is Tuolomne meadows area which is on the east side of the park. Its farther away from the Yosemite village which can get pretty packed. But if you're there to see the icons the whole time then Yos Village might be where you'd want to be. If you're in decent shape there is a really great hike called Clouds Rest that's pretty accessible from Tuolomne and it leads you out onto this outcrop that gives you an insane view of the valley.
- that looks awesome.mg33
- WTF on that second link??
"one of Yosemite's most stunning and wide-ranging 360-degree panoramic views, stretching from Hawaii in the west to Nebraska in the east."mg33 - one of Yosemite's most stunning and wide-ranging stretching from Hawaii in the west to Nebraska in the east."mg33
- dummies0
To any of the campers;
At what level will you be camping? Will your car be right over there or are you going to get dropped off then hike in and camp then wake and hike home?
Or will it be like camping where you're "in nature" but there are several amenities available? I'm not familiar with the area so it would be cool to know how you interacted with the terrain and over what time span. A couple days, a week?
- mg330
We'd be renting a car and driving from San Francisco. After two awesome vacations abroad this year to Ireland and Iceland, I'm really eager to see some parts of the US where the scenery rivals what we saw over there - Iceland especially.
We'd probably ship some camping supplies out there, and pick them up on the way at a UPS store or something. We'd probably be staying in typical campground, and do lots of hiking during the day. I'd be all for remote camping if we were with a group.
- dummies0
That sounds cool mg33, I camped when I was in high school in CO. We'd stay at the cabins then hike up the mountain, sleep as far as we got up, then hike back down the net morning. it was cool prepping our packs and leaving marks on the trees to follow back down. I used to rock climb then too... fuck i'm lazy now. :( Was Ireland still foggy ;) and did you see benfal99 in Iceland? I think he went there this year too. (sorry if derailing)
- jaylarson0
Did you ever make it out there? I'm planning on going there finally in August and am really curious about the Tuolomne area especially.
- it's awesome. went out there my first time ever this past summer. you probably saw some instagrams :)lvl_13
- yep. jealous. i hope i like it better than the pics. it looks like a great place—the scale seems distorted and boring in the pics. must go!jaylarson
- first time i was there, i kept rubbing my eyes and asking people to pinch me to see if i was dreaming. unreal and gorgeous.sea_sea
- just gorgeous. can't wait to see your pics jay :)sea_sea
- cool. hopes are high.jaylarson
- utopian0
bring camera with multiple lens!
- nikdaum0
In case you find all the sites booked inside the park, we had a decent time staying at this campground. It's one of the closest to the entrance: http://www.yelp.com/biz/american…
- adev0
If you haven't been before, I suggest either housekeeping or curry village. That way you're dealing less with camping and giving you more time to explore the valley. Plus you can make reservations way in advance to guarantee you a spot. I dried up to half dome last August, and the valley floor was busy. I've also gone a couple times the first week of June.. Both of which have been great. If you stay in the valley it's easy to drive up to tuolomne meadows for a day. Plus you have access to all the awesome day hikes in the valley (highly recommend the half dome trip, or 4mile trail+panorama trail)
While tent camping is awesome, if you want to explore the valley it's nice to have a bed and real showers at housekeeping/curry village if you're staying for many days.
Just note you can't cook at curry village while housekeeping you get a fire pit and can cook all you want. I highly recommend housekeeping.
- instrmntl0
There's a great sign there, that reads, "If you go off the waterfall, you will die."
- jaylarson0
thanks guys. i'll give housekeeping a look. i want to hike half dome and some in the cathedral peaks area—will probably camp there actually to get good sunrise/set pics. other areas I want to check out: kings canyon, sequoia, and stuff around inyo/alabama hills, then swing back through the coast up through big sur and up to santa cruz for a wedding. don't know what I'll miss, but I'm sure I won't see everything—especially with a day hike up half dome.
- Daithi0
I was there a few years back (got the train and bus from SF). I stayed in Curry village. It was October so relatively empty. Curry village was very comfortable, much more so than I had expected. I'd really recommend it.
- Daithi0
PS
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dai… That’s what the tent in Curry village looks like – I did the Panorama trail which was spectacular
- Jacque0
Me and the wife stayed in Curry Village in late May a few years back (actually proposed there under the stars). The valley had above normal snowfall the winter before and was currently a cold snap and it got down to like 25° at night, every night. Needless to say, 7+ wool blankets and we were still freezing all night long. Up side, the waterfalls were flowing at peak capacity and the snow in the mountains made for some killer views.