Lost Claim

The cows and cowbells were annoying otherwise everything was great

Ok campsite for one night. It’s proximity to Yosemite is nice, but nothing special other than that. It backs up to a cow pasture and the sounds of mooing and cowbells all night made it a little hard to sleep. Bathrooms were clean and camp hosts are very nice.

My husband and I used this wonderful little campground as our jumping off point to visit Yosemite. Our site was well maintained, quiet and clean. I especially liked the hand pump for water. Delicious! The toilets were clean and well stocked. The visiting cows and their cowbells were a plus. A great time was had by all. I highly recommend #3. Shade and privacy.

This campground was beautiful and so close to Yosemite entrance. Will definitely be going there again.

Great view

Very quiet and peaceful. Easy access to Yosemite. Pit toilets very clean. Water available. Ant infestation in our camp (1) at one tent location. Bear box in sun all day so don't put any food in there that will melt (chocolate) or spoil (carrots). Beware of poison oak all around. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay here. We drove into the valley each of our 4 day's stay, leaving camp just after 6AM, arriving at Swinging Bridge just after 7AM missing traffic and construction delays. Spent the day hiking and then returned to camp about 7PM each evening for a leisurely dinner. Mosquitoes were minimal and non-existant once the sun set. I would stay here again this time of year to enable easy access to Spring hiking in Yosemite.

We were at a campsite with maybe 30% shade, which we noted applied to most of the sites. At first we appreciated how easy it was to spread out onto the land outside the site, made it feel spacious! But then we saw that we were surrounded by short, tall, bushy poison oak and poison sumac. It was everywhere. So there wasn’t much relief for shade, since that often meant being in the areas with poisonous plants. It wasn’t even a blisteringly hot weekend, since it was the first days of May! But the toilets were clean and the water pump worked great and the other campers/sites were respectful and very quiet. Definitely rustic, off the path, and an easy distance to Yosemite.

very quite, convenient location, easy access

Great secluded campground! We loved it here. Its away from the hustle and bustle of yosemite, but not too far a drive away. Loved it!

This is a small rustic campground nestled in it's own little valley. No cell coverage. Vault toilets were well maintained 3x per day and very clean/new. The only water is from a well operated by an old fashioned hand pump. Fun for the kids but bring a buddy for the task! Only 10 primitive camp sites with a fire ring and a large bear box. The manager is not onsite but is at the Sweetwater Campground about 10 minutes East.

Very friendly and convenient Mini-Mart with basics, drinks and ICE located on the highway just 2 minutes West. Also in the same area is a Diner open for outdoor dining or take-away during Covid - open for breakfast and dinner.

The sites along the perimeter are nestled amongst trees and offer the best chances of shade. We stayed in Site 4 in the center which was very large, more than enough space for 2 large tents, a shower tent, and a dining canopy. However this Site 4 and Site 1 (also large) which are located in the center are very exposed and offer only early morning and late afternoon shade - bring a canopy to offer some relief and a reflective tarp for the bear box. Sites 2 and 3 offered a lot of shade and space for 2 tents.

Only a 4 minute drive to Rainbow Pool with opportunities to jump off 15-20 ft rocks and also just splash in the river - always welcome after hiking in Yosemite. Avoid Rainbow Pool during the weekends during Summer - very crowded. There are also opportunities to splash in the river along the way to Yosemite. In Yosemite Valley tubing using personal floats is possible with epic views of Valley monuments. The Merced River was low with a slow flow during our visit.

Yosemite Week-long Day Use Passes during Covid Restrictions need to be activated on the 1ST DAY OF THE PASS to be valid - bring a photo ID for the reservation holder. The Yosemite Big Oak Flat Entrance is only 15 minutes away if there are no delays. Yosemite Valley is 45 minutes away. Beware of road works scheduled until mid-October 2020.