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Old 05-07-2020, 04:17 PM   #1
Sdexte
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Yosemite NP

Looking for recommendations for a nice full hook up campground to spend 4 nights at close to Yosemite NP. I am not familiar with the area or the park so I am not sure of what entrances there are to the park and what areas are best to camp at. We plan on being there the middle of September. Thank you
 
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Old 05-07-2020, 04:43 PM   #2
SteveandTerri
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RV Parks near Yosemite

I've gone to Yosemite and the surrounding area dozens of times but haven't taken an RV there. However, I've driven by Yosemite Lakes RV Resort a few times. It looks very nice, located just outside the North Entrance. I'd give a try...
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Old 05-07-2020, 06:11 PM   #3
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We spent a few days in that area in 2018. I did a lot of research ahead of time, read lots of reviews, and decided we would not stay in the park. Too many reviews of campgrounds spoke of twisty roads, steep hills, tight turns, etc. This stuff makes us nervous, and our rig is not the largest one.

Allstays is the app I rely on the most. It showed a place to camp which is about halfway between the west and south entrances. It is the fairgrounds at Mariposa. The hookups are water and 30 amp. There is a dump station. Cell service was non-existent, but the wifi was great! They don’t take reservations, but we had no trouble getting a site. This was June 21.

I would highly recommend this as a place to camp. The fee was very reasonable ($35 I think). Part of the fairgrounds is a big open field, part is sites beside each other. You self-register and find a spot. We were in the big open field.

We took a 61 day trip that year and I have to say this was one of the little gems we found along the way.
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Old 05-07-2020, 06:34 PM   #4
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The last time we went we stayed at the KOA near Mariposa. A bit of a drive into the park, but it follows the river so its real scenic.
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Old 05-07-2020, 07:01 PM   #5
Charlie 3931fb
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Hi All,

I haven't been there in a very long time. You need to call to see if they still have the lottery to get into Yosemite. The last time that we wanted to take our kids there they told me 2 thing's that I didn't want to hear.

1 You had to make you reservations 14 to 18 month's in advance. They would put your name down and I guess draw a number of camper's that wanted to go into the park. If they pick your name you got a reservation to get into the park. I heard that if you were coming for out of state (non calif. resident) you have a better chance of getting in to the park.

2 They had a restriction on the length of your rig. I heard and I could be wrong, but nothing over 28 feet. Pop up and tent's were preferred. After we heard that we have never gone back to Yosemite. The last 2 time's we went into the park was thru the eastern side (Highway 395) of the Sierra Nevada's. We went thru highway 4 I think or it could have been highway 86.

What a lot of people tell me is they set up camp up to 25 miles outside of the park and they go in on a day pass. That will be a 2 hour wait in line to get in to the park.

I am not trying to kill your trip for you but this is what I have been hearing for years. I was born and raised in California. Lived there for 50 years. This has happened to me trying to get in to the park.

Sorry for the bad news and let's hope I am wrong.

All the best,

Charlie
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Old 05-07-2020, 07:45 PM   #6
Sdexte
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Originally Posted by Charlie 3931fb View Post
Hi All,

I haven't been there in a very long time. You need to call to see if they still have the lottery to get into Yosemite. The last time that we wanted to take our kids there they told me 2 thing's that I didn't want to hear.

1 You had to make you reservations 14 to 18 month's in advance. They would put your name down and I guess draw a number of camper's that wanted to go into the park. If they pick your name you got a reservation to get into the park. I heard that if you were coming for out of state (non calif. resident) you have a better chance of getting in to the park.

2 They had a restriction on the length of your rig. I heard and I could be wrong, but nothing over 28 feet. Pop up and tent's were preferred. After we heard that we have never gone back to Yosemite. The last 2 time's we went into the park was thru the eastern side (Highway 395) of the Sierra Nevada's. We went thru highway 4 I think or it could have been highway 86.

What a lot of people tell me is they set up camp up to 25 miles outside of the park and they go in on a day pass. That will be a 2 hour wait in line to get in to the park.

I am not trying to kill your trip for you but this is what I have been hearing for years. I was born and raised in California. Lived there for 50 years. This has happened to me trying to get in to the park.

Sorry for the bad news and let's hope I am wrong.

All the best,

Charlie
Thanks but I wasn’t planning on staying in the park. We usually look for a private CG close and use that as our base camp.
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Old 05-08-2020, 03:48 AM   #7
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We had no wait getting into the park on a day pass in June 2018.
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Old 05-08-2020, 08:46 AM   #8
Hblick48
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We stayed at Yosemite Lakes a few years ago. Nice campground but no cell phone reception. They has satellite internet at the clubhouse, but it was very slow.

Cell reception is great inside the park at the populated areas.
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Old 05-08-2020, 09:27 AM   #9
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You can't get into the park from the north entrance. To many tight turns and its very steep. Also there is a tunnel that you would have to go through. I didn't find any campground that i could take my 34' into. The southern entrance is flatter and takes you into the valley of the park. I would go to good sam and check out the campgrounds in the area. I live in Livermore and go there when it snows. We just love it there. Late in the year the waterfalls are not as magnificent as early spring. Since the park has been closed i would think the wildlife is going back into the park. You will love going to this park if you have never been. Lots to see. Get up early because the park gets really busy after about 10 and the traffic is nuts.
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Old 05-17-2020, 01:25 PM   #10
craigb
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Staying near Yosemite

Check out Bass Lake RV at Yosemite. It in Bass Lake. About an hours drive time from the actual valley. Not real far but windy mountain roads. Lots of things to do.
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Old 05-17-2020, 02:39 PM   #11
StageCoachDriver
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Yes, Yosemite Lakes is very nice. It was a membership park when I stayed, but they probably have room for non-members.
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Old 05-17-2020, 02:50 PM   #12
sohclover
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Black Oak RV Park
Touloume, Ca.
Casino park nice place
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Old 05-17-2020, 03:04 PM   #13
jmb98
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Black Oak RV Park
Touloume, Ca.
Casino park nice place
Agree! Nice casino park. We stayed there last May for a few days. The casino is on the Valley shuttle line & offers reasonably priced transport to Yosemite. Saves all the stress of driving the 47 miles of winding roads to the park. Our driver made for a great tour guide, too!
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Old 05-17-2020, 04:36 PM   #14
chapman
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R V Park near Yosemite

In Lee Vining right on 395 there is a nice r v park , full hook ups . Can walk into the town of Lee Vining. But it is a bit of a drive to get down to the valley floor but scenic !
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Old 05-17-2020, 06:09 PM   #15
Wirewon1
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Yellowstone Camping

We stayed too far away (Madison Arm, Hegben Lake) for you to consider as close but the one thing we did made it a spectacular trip.
We got up really early and entered the park at 5:45 am. Got to Old Faithful for the 7:30-ish eruption. NO traffic, great parking, very few folks out at that time. NO tour buses....
Really recommend you do that.
Enjoy your trip.
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Old 05-18-2020, 06:34 AM   #16
Slow Hand
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Originally Posted by Wirewon1 View Post
We stayed too far away (Madison Arm, Hegben Lake) for you to consider as close but the one thing we did made it a spectacular trip.
We got up really early and entered the park at 5:45 am. Got to Old Faithful for the 7:30-ish eruption. NO traffic, great parking, very few folks out at that time. NO tour buses....
Really recommend you do that.
Enjoy your trip.
Old faithful is in Yellowstone, OP wants to go to Yosemite in California LOL
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Old 05-18-2020, 12:26 PM   #17
Cindy and Ray's Grand Tour
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We had a reservation for Yosemite Pines RV Park but cancelled the trip due to the virus. Has anyone ever stayed there to advise on if it is good for a big rig or not? We plan to make the trip next year.
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Old 05-18-2020, 02:28 PM   #18
prndl
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We stayed in El Portal a few years back, on 140 about 10 minutes to the park.
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Old 05-20-2020, 05:12 AM   #19
Alice Austiff
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We had a reservation for Yosemite Pines RV Park but cancelled the trip due to the virus. Has anyone ever stayed there to advise on if it is good for a big rig or not? We plan to make the trip next year.
We stayed there last year. Great TV park! But CA 120 to get to it is a very twisting road going up the mountain! No guardrails! A real white knuckle! Town of Groveland is cute! Lots of barn quikts.
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Old 05-20-2020, 08:05 AM   #20
Loneoak
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When we were planning our trip, I looked at the reviews of all the campgrounds and a lot of them mentioned twisty roads, tight turns, etc. This stuff makes us nervous. When I found the fairgrounds in Mariposa as a campground, I was very happy. It suited us very well.
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