Lower Pines Campground

Lower Pines Campground is well-situated for all your Yosemite Valley adventures. The campsite is clean, quiet, and close to the river. Facilities are well kept, and the Rangers and volunteers are all very friendly. From the campground, you are within a mile or so from popular spots such as Mirror Lake, Happy Isles, and the Mist Trail/Nevada Falls trailhead. You can also walk to Curry Village for snacks and provisions. Be aware of where your campsite is located. Some have fewer trees, and get very hot during summer months. Luckily, with the river so close by and swimming holes within a short walk, you will be able to find ways to cool down.

Camping at Lower Pines Campground in June 2022 brought us a different perspective of the Yosemite NP experience. We had camped in Bridalveil Campground in the past and had to drive or hike to the valley floor. Lower Pines is located in the east end of the Valley right next to the Merced River, hiking & biking trails, a meadow, and Curry Village. We hiked and biked everywhere and never needed to drive our truck or wait in shuttle lines. The campground has gorgeous views all around. June was a great time to camp as the weather was perfect and the waterfalls flowing. Reserving a campsite was a challenge due to the popularity of the 3 Pine campgrounds. We were in site #55. We would not pick # 55 again. It is right next to the trash cans and it has a dead tree stump next to the bear box. Squirrels live under the stump and we believe ticks got on our dog when she went in that area. There are plenty of perfect campsites in Lower Pines. If we get the chance to go back to Yosemite and manage to get a reservation, Lower Pines would be our top choice.

You can't do much better than this campground if you are going to experience Yosemite. This is in the heart of it all! You have Curry Village right next to you for food, showers, coffee and other necessities. You have the Merced River right next to you. A spectacular view of Half Dome. And the campground itself is great. They provide bear boxes (which are essential; we were visited by a bear). There are bear-proof trash and recycling bins. Flushing and portable bathrooms. And it's surprisingly quiet for how many people are there.

What can I tell you that you don't already know – this campground is amazing. It's right on the Valley floor and you can see Half Dome between the trees. The Yosemite river runs right next to the campground and the shuttle to different parts of the park runs from here. There is also a little amphitheater where events happen – so check out the schedule! We were here for Easter weekend and attended service there.

Excellent campground for both tent 🏕 and RV 🚐 camping. We stayed at site 40, and were close to the bathroom/water and had a excellent view of half dome right from our site. The river was also just right across the way from our site. Bring your bikes or rent some during your stay, having a bike makes getting around the valley quick and incredibly enjoyable. Some things to know, there are no shower facilities at this location, so bring some body wipes. The river while a little chilly, can make up for the lack of a shower though. Quite refreshing to take a dunk after a long day of hiking and biking around the valley. The camp host and rangers take the rules around bears, leaving food/trash at your campsite, and quiet hours seriously. Please follow them and respect your fellow camp neighbors!

I don’t know about the other campsites, but this one was glorious! We stayed at campsite 13 our first night and thought it was the best spot, then due to availability, had to change to another spot, this time was number 62, best reservation ever! Campsite 62 is next to the river and in front of this massive rock wall that seems endless for me. It just absolutely beautiful, words can’t say enough about this spot. Yosemite took the believer out of me.