RV Camping in Yosemite National Park: The In-Park Campground Guide

Most RV travelers who research Yosemite end up at the same crossroads: do you sleep inside the park, or do you base yourself in a comfortable full-hookup resort in a gateway town and commute in? Both are legitimate. We cover the gateway-town option in depth in our RV parks near Yosemite guide, and for many big-rig owners that is genuinely the smarter call. This guide is the other half of the decision — the in-park reality for travelers who want to wake up beneath the granite walls and are willing to dry camp to do it.

Here is the honest headline: Yosemite has no hookups anywhere. Not a single electric pedestal, water connection, or sewer hookup exists in any of its campgrounds. Every in-park site is dry camping. The roads enforce real length limits, the reservation system is brutally competitive, and generator hours are restricted so the Valley stays quiet. None of this is a reason to skip in-park camping. It is a reason to plan it carefully, pick the right campground for your rig, and arrive with full fresh tanks and realistic expectations.

We will walk through every Yosemite campground that accepts RVs — the three Valley pine campgrounds, Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow in the lower elevations, Crane Flat, and the high-country option at Tuolumne Meadows — with real rig limits, the no-hookup logistics, dump-station locations, and the 2026 Recreation.gov reservation windows. We will be direct about which campgrounds suit which rigs, and where the trade-offs bite.

The In-Park Rules Every RV Camper Needs to Know#

Before the campground-by-campground breakdown, three rules shape everything.

No hookups, period. You are dry camping. Bring full fresh-water tanks, run conservative on power, and know your battery and gray/black capacity. Most RV campers manage 3–5 nights comfortably with careful use; longer stays mean a dump-and-fill run.

Strict rig limits, strictly enforced. Yosemite caps motorhomes at 40 feet and trailers at 35 feet park-wide, but individual campgrounds and even individual sites are tighter. The Tioga Road and the approach to the Valley are not the place to discover your rig is too long. Measure honestly, including the hitch and any overhang, and book a site rated for your actual length.

Generator hours are limited. Across the park, generators are typically permitted only during set midday and early-evening windows — commonly 7:00 AM–9:00 AM, 12:00 PM–2:00 PM, and 5:00 PM–7:00 PM, with the Valley campgrounds often holding to the stricter morning-and-evening pattern. Confirm the posted hours on your campground’s Recreation.gov page, because they vary and are enforced by rangers and neighbors alike.

Field tip: Dump and fill at Upper Pines or Tuolumne on the way in, not just on the way out. Arriving with full fresh and empty gray/black buys you an extra night or two before you have to break camp for a service run.

The Reservation Window — How 2026 Actually Works#

Yosemite campground reservations release through Recreation.gov on a rolling five-month window. Sites open at 7:00 AM Pacific on the 15th of each month, and each release covers roughly one calendar month, five months out. February 15 releases mid-July through mid-August; March 15 releases mid-August through mid-September; and so on. The Valley pine campgrounds, Wawona, and Hodgdon Meadow all run on this window.

Peak-season Valley sites — especially weekends in May through September — sell out in minutes, sometimes under a minute. Have a free Recreation.gov account created and logged in well before 7:00 AM, know your exact dates and the campgrounds you want, and be ready to click. Weekday availability is slightly less savage but still hard in summer. If you miss the window, set up availability alerts and watch for cancellations, which surface constantly.

Field tip: Build a backup plan into your booking morning. Have a second-choice campground (Hodgdon Meadow and Crane Flat are less frantic than the Valley) and a gateway-town full-hookup park ready to book if the Valley shuts you out.

Yosemite Valley: The Three Pines Campgrounds#

The Valley campgrounds put you on the floor of Yosemite Valley at roughly 4,000 feet, within walking distance or a short shuttle ride of the major trailheads, Curry Village, and the visitor services. This is the most coveted — and most competitive — RV camping in the park.

Upper Pines Campground#

Upper Pines is the largest Valley campground and the most reliable RV option, with views of the surrounding granite through the pines and easy access to the Mist Trail, Vernal and Nevada Falls, and the Valley shuttle. It also has the Valley’s main RV dump station, which makes it the logistical hub for in-park RVers.

• Hookups: None — dry camping
• Sites: ~238 (reservable)
• Max RV length: 35 ft motorhomes; trailers ~24 ft
• Cost: ~$36/night
• Reservations: Recreation.gov, five-month rolling window
• Dump station: Yes, on site (serves the Valley)
• Best for: Mid-size rigs wanting the most central Valley base

Lower Pines Campground#

Lower Pines sits right on the Merced River and accommodates some of the longest rigs in the Valley — this and North Pines are the spots to look at if you run a larger Class A. It is small and books out fast, but the riverside setting and central location are hard to beat.

• Hookups: None — dry camping
• Sites: ~60 (reservable)
• Max RV length: up to 40 ft motorhomes; trailers up to 35 ft (site dependent)
• Cost: ~$36/night
• Reservations: Recreation.gov, five-month rolling window
• Dump station: Use nearby Upper Pines
• Best for: Larger rigs that still want a Valley site

North Pines Campground#

North Pines is tucked between the Merced and Tenaya Creek near the stables, a touch quieter than its neighbors while still fully central. Like Lower Pines, it takes some of the bigger rigs in the Valley.

• Hookups: None — dry camping
• Sites: ~81 (reservable)
• Max RV length: up to 40 ft motorhomes; trailers up to 35 ft (site dependent)
• Cost: ~$36/night
• Reservations: Recreation.gov, five-month rolling window
• Dump station: Use nearby Upper Pines
• Best for: Big rigs wanting a slightly calmer Valley loop

Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow: Lower-Elevation Alternatives#

If the Valley shuts you out — or you simply want a calmer base — Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow are the smart fallback. They are less frantic to book and still inside the park, though both are a drive from the Valley floor.

Wawona Campground#

Wawona sits in the park’s southern reach near the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias and the Wawona Hotel, at about 4,000 feet along the South Fork of the Merced. It is a relaxed, forested campground and a strong base for the south end of the park. Seasonal dump access is available nearby in summer.

• Hookups: None — dry camping
• Sites: ~90+ (reservable in season)
• Max RV length: ~35 ft (site dependent)
• Cost: ~$36/night
• Reservations: Recreation.gov, five-month rolling window
• Best for: South-park focus (Mariposa Grove), quieter nights

Hodgdon Meadow Campground#

Hodgdon Meadow is just inside the Big Oak Flat (Highway 120 West) entrance at about 4,900 feet, making it the natural choice if you are coming from the Bay Area or San Francisco side and want to be inside the gate without fighting Valley demand. Wooded and mellow, it is one of the easier in-park reservations to land.

• Hookups: None — dry camping
• Sites: ~100 (reservable; first-come in shoulder season)
• Max RV length: ~35 ft (site dependent)
• Cost: ~$36/night
• Reservations: Recreation.gov, five-month rolling window
• Best for: Arrivals from the west, easier booking

Renting an RV for this trip? Compare rigs, prices, and pickup locations on RVshare and Outdoorsy — both let you filter by rig size, dates, and location. For Yosemite’s length limits, a rig under 35 feet opens up far more sites.

The High Country: Crane Flat and Tuolumne Meadows#

Higher up, the camping gets cooler, quieter, and more seasonal — and the rig limits tend to shrink.

Crane Flat Campground#

Crane Flat sits at about 6,200 feet on Highway 120, roughly a 30–45 minute drive above the Valley, in a forested setting near the Tuolumne and Merced Grove trailheads. It is a large campground that opens for the summer season and offers a cooler alternative to the Valley heat, though it has no dump station of its own.

• Hookups: None — dry camping
• Sites: ~160 (reservable, summer season)
• Max RV length: ~27–35 ft (site dependent; verify per site)
• Cost: ~$36/night
• Reservations: Recreation.gov, five-month rolling window
• Best for: Cooler summer camping, sequoia-grove access

Tuolumne Meadows Campground#

Tuolumne Meadows, at about 8,600 feet along Tioga Road, is the park’s high-country crown — sweeping subalpine meadows and granite domes. It completed a major multi-year rehabilitation and is expected back for the 2026 season, snowpack permitting. It is a short summer window (typically opening only once Tioga Road clears, often July, and closing with the first snows), and it has its own dump station — valuable up here.

• Hookups: None — dry camping
• Sites: large campground (reduced/phased post-rehab; confirm 2026 count)
• Max RV length: ~35 ft (site dependent; high-elevation access via Tioga Road)
• Cost: ~$36/night
• Reservations: Recreation.gov, five-month rolling window (confirm 2026 opening)
• Dump station: Yes, on site
• Best for: High-country summer trips, cooler weather, Tioga Pass access

Field tip: Tioga Road’s opening date swings wildly year to year — anywhere from late May to early July depending on snow. Never bank a Tuolumne reservation without a Valley or gateway backup, because a late-melt year can delay or shorten the high-country season.

At a Glance: Yosemite’s RV Campgrounds#

Campground	Region	Cost	Hookups	Max length	Reservations
Upper Pines	Yosemite Valley	~$36/night	None	35 ft (trailers ~24)	Recreation.gov
Lower Pines	Yosemite Valley	~$36/night	None	up to 40 ft	Recreation.gov
North Pines	Yosemite Valley	~$36/night	None	up to 40 ft	Recreation.gov
Wawona	South (Mariposa Grove)	~$36/night	None	~35 ft	Recreation.gov
Hodgdon Meadow	Big Oak Flat (Hwy 120 W)	~$36/night	None	~35 ft	Recreation.gov
Crane Flat	High country (~6,200 ft)	~$36/night	None	~27–35 ft	Recreation.gov
Tuolumne Meadows	High country (~8,600 ft)	~$36/night	None	~35 ft	Recreation.gov

Planning Your In-Park Yosemite Trip#

Best months. Late spring through early fall is the practical window. May and June bring the biggest waterfalls and the fiercest reservation competition. July through September is reliably warm and open across the high country once Tioga Road clears. October offers cooler, quieter Valley camping. The high-country campgrounds (Crane Flat, Tuolumne) are summer-only.

Reservation strategy. Treat the 7:00 AM Pacific, 15th-of-the-month release as a hard appointment. Book the Valley pines if you want central access and your rig fits; pivot to Hodgdon Meadow or Wawona if the Valley is gone; use Crane Flat or Tuolumne for cooler summer nights. Keep a gateway-town full-hookup park as a backstop.

Rig size. This is the single biggest filter. Under 27 feet, almost everything is open to you. Around 35 feet, you are fine in most campgrounds but watch per-site limits. Over 35 feet, you are looking at Lower Pines and North Pines in the Valley and little else — and at that size, basing in a gateway town and day-tripping is often the better experience.

Budgeting. In-park sites run about $36/night, which is a bargain for the location, but factor in no hookups: you will spend on a dump-and-fill cadence, generator fuel within the allowed hours, and the time cost of breaking camp to service the rig. Many travelers find a hybrid trip — a few nights inside, a few nights at a full-hookup gateway park — gives the best of both.

Inside the Park vs. the Gateway Towns#

To decide between camping inside Yosemite and basing outside it, weigh comfort against location. Inside means dry camping at $36/night with the Valley at your doorstep and no hookups, limited generator hours, and a brutal booking race. Outside means full hookups, 50-amp power, hot showers, and easy big-rig sites in Groveland, Mariposa, El Portal, or Oakhurst — at the cost of a daily drive in. Our RV parks near Yosemite guide covers those gateway options in full. If you are also weighing the southern Sierra, see our Sequoia and Kings Canyon RV camping guide and the head-to-head in Yosemite vs. Sequoia RV camping. For the bigger picture, our best RV parks in California guide and the California state hub tie it all together — and if you are heading to the southern half of the state, our Southern California RV parks guide picks up from there.