“Camping in the pines...”
Overview Lower Pines Campground is located in breathtaking Yosemite National Park in Central California's rugged Sierra Nevada Mountain Range at an elevation of 4,000 feet. The site is situated in the heart of Yosemite Valley, an awe-inspiring landscape containing many of the famous features for which Yosemite National Park is known. Within Yosemite, visitors gaze upon waterfalls, sheer granite cliffs, deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, vast wilderness areas and much more. Yosemite National Park's reservable campsite are available up to five months in advance on the 15th of each month at 7:00 a.m. (PT) or 10:00 a.m. (ET). For example, on January 15, the time period May 15 to June 14 becomes available to reserve, and therefore, the full booking window would be from January 16 to June 14. Yosemite National Park Campground Reservation DatesRecreation Yosemite's trails, cliffs, roads and rivers provide endless recreational activities for any kind of visitor. Hiking, biking, rock climbing, fishing, horseback riding, rafting, auto touring and photography are all very popular activities within the park. Hiking trails range from the easy, paved, two-mile round-trip walk to Mirror Lake/Meadow, to the grueling but rewarding 14- to 16-mile trek to Half Dome (permit required). Both of these trails begin near the Pines Campgrounds, and there are many additional trailheads within Yosemite Valley. Rafting the Merced River is a fun way to cool down on a summer day when water levels are sufficient. Yosemite Valley also offers numerous guided bus tours, educational programs, museums, ranger-led activities,and an art center with workshops.Facilities Lower Pines Campground is one of the three reservation campgrounds in Yosemite Valley. It offers paved roads and parking spurs, flush toilets, drinking water, and an amphitheater. Each campsite contains a picnic table, fire ring, and a food storage locker. Yosemite's free shuttle bus stops at the campground entrance. Nearby historic Half Dome Village (formerly known as Curry Village) offers a general store, restaurants and bar, amphitheater, and tours and activities desk.Natural Features Yosemite Valley is forested with a diverse mix of California black oak, ponderosa pine, incense-cedar, white fir and whiteleaf manzanita, which offers a pleasant combination of sun and shade. Through the trees, Yosemite's telltale granite cliffs peek through, and the gentle, refreshing Merced River flows nearby. Nearby Attractions Glacier Point offers sweeping views of Yosemite Valley, Little Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, Vernal and Nevada Falls, and Clouds Rest, among other notable landmarks and a visit to Wawona and the Pioneer Yosemite History Center is like stepping back in time. The Tioga Road offers a 39-mile scenic drive past forests, meadows, lakes, and granite domes. Tuolumne Meadows embodies the high-country of the Sierra Nevada, with its broad sub-alpine meadows and granite domes and peaks and the beautiful Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is home to spectacular scenery and numerous wilderness trailheads.Charges & Cancellations Cancellations more than 48 hours in advance of arrival date only incur a $10 transaction fee. Within 48 hours, $10 and the first night's fee are charged (Exception: 1 night reservations do not incur an additional $10 fee, but do not receive a refund). No-shows will be assessed a $20 service fee along with the loss of the first night's fee.
Reviews of Lower Pines Campground
11 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on May 04, 2018AT&T 5G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on January 05, 2022T-Mobile 5G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on September 04, 2023Reviews
We walked through all 3 of the campgrounds in Yosemite Valley and we were lucky to be camping in what we felt was the best campground.
All 3 campgrounds were packed with large groups and smoldering campfires. Sites are close together and there isn't any privacy. Lower Pines has the most sun and some sites have views of Half Dome.
When I made the reservation, I called to get the site numbers that would fit our 27 foot Airstream, this is what they told me on the phone, I did not verify in person (our site #50 fit us fine).
Lower Pines - 20, 27, 38, 50,
North Pines - 323, 111, 128, 125, 403, 116
There isn't any Verizon service in the Valley and AT&T wasn't usable in the campground (even with a booster) but there is AT&T 4G at the Village Store.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 50
RV Type: Travel Trailer
We rode our bikes through all the three campgrounds and felt we not only got the best one but we very likely got one of the best spots - mostly. There were only a few sites that would take our 28 foot Airstream and this site was a good fit. We were close to the restrooms and fresh drinking water but not too close. We had a view of Half Dome and we didn't feel crowded by our neighbors. The "mostly" comes from the fact that our site was on an inside corner, right next to the amphitheater and everyone cut through the site as a short cut to the front of the park or over to the river. It would have been okay if people would have given us a little respect and walked farther around our spot but they tromped right though. It was a small inconvenience when compared to the view and the openness of the site. We'd book this site again.
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: 36
RV Length: 28 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
A smaller CG in Yosemite Valley.
Reservations are a must and fill up six months in advance.
IMO sites 37, 38, 39, 41 are THE best here. They offer a little more space and back right up to the river.
Bear boxes and fire rings at each site.
There's a dump station in Upper Pines CG.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: -
Site Number: -
RV Length: 13 ft
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Lucked into this spot in Yosemite Valley, working diligently until we obviously nabbed a cancellation. All the Pines campgrounds are great. This spot turned out particularly nice because of the view and the generous solar input. Clearly, this open space was caused by dead / fallen trees, which is a little sad, but the campsite is still awesome!
Bathrooms here are tired, typical of National Parks, but clean enough and feature flush toilets & running water, which is nice.
The location is obviously unbeatable! The campsite is completely full every single night, though a surprising number of people show up at sunset and then leave early the next morning. That is no way to see Yosemite. You need to stay several days to get a real experience here.
Surprisingly good VZW coverage in the valley. This must be relatively new, given Aluminarium's 2014 review saying there was no signal. Booster or directional antenna when inside an aluminum trailer will add to your enjoyment of the LTE, should you need it, but you can get by without it.
Hot tip: Once you get a campsite in the valley for a night, set up camp and head directly over to the valley's campsite reservations office. If your luck continues to hold, you may be able to grab a couple more nights in the valley, even though you may have to move to a different site to get them. We did this and scored two more nights in North Pines, site #506, which everyone repeatedly told us was the best campsite in the entire valley due to its view of Yosemite Falls from that site.
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 50
RV Length: 24 ft
RV Type: Class B
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Love this place. Will be back for sure.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: 23
This is a great campsite and very level. It was a decent amount of shade too which was nice. The trees were not close enough to hang a hammock though sadly. Close to the bathrooms and many trails! The site across from us 38 seems to be an awesome spot though. You would be more in the sun, but the views of Half Dome are unreal! Plus you're on the river side of the campground, so that running right behind you is lovely :)
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 40
RV Length: 16 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T
Of the three main campsites I like lower pines the best- seems to have the most space, can take the boardwalk to curry village.
Nightly Rate: $36.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 18
RV Length: 23 ft
RV Type: Class C
Cell Coverage Rating
T-Mobile 5G
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Lower Pines Campground
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Check In
- 12:00 PM
- Check Out
- 12:00 PM
- Max Length
- 35 ft
- Season End
- November
- Sites Count
- 73
- Season Start
- April
- Last Nightly Rate
- 36.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 20.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 28 ft
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Sites
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Laundry
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Propane
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Showers
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Big Rigs
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Boondock
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Firewood
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Tent Sites
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Cabin Sites
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Full Hookup
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Paved Sites
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Dump Station
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Mobile Homes
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Public Water
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Pull Through
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Water Hookup
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Potable Water
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Age Restricted
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Dispersed Sites
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Open Seasonally
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Permit Required
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Group Tent Sites
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Fulltime Residents
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Standard Tent Sites
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Pull Through RV Sites
Campground, Restrooms
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