North Pines Campground

This campground is truly incredible. Good facilities, a lot of space, and breathtaking scenery.

The backpacker’s campground was clean and beautiful! We love Yosemite!

Loved that once my permit was collected at the Wilderness Center it was easy to use rec.gov app to scan the QR code to pay for my space in the North Pines backpackers camp. My only gripe was it was not clear that once at the camp I needed to mark which site I had. It caused a bit of polite confusion. If those instructions were on the app it would help. Regardless, the North Pines backpacker's camp is a great place to launch out from. Since most of the campers are staging for hikes, there is a sense of community, swapping of information, and most importantly a quiet night ;-)

320. Decent spot and good amount of space if you don't have a lot. Pretty close to bathrooms and the river sounds beautiful from it. Grateful I got the spot.

We had a wonderful time. The camp hosts and volunteers this year were exceptionally polite and helpful. A noticeable difference compared to ‘21 and ‘22. They were helpful when we needed them and checked in to make sure we were having a nice time and had everything we needed. I want to give a shout out to the host, Lance and the NPS volunteer, Bob.

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Great site, next to camp host and two bathrooms. A creek and river surround the area, so easy access to swimming. Bus stop right outside the entrance to the campgrounds. With AT&T, I had 1-2 bars for mobile service, but unreliable for any time of data.

North Pines is one of the three campgrounds in Yosemite Valley and there is a shuttle stop at the stables, right at the front of the campground, but during our recent trip the stables were closed and shuttles didn't stop. I have stayed at Lower and Upper Pines on several occasions but this was my first time at North Pines. The access to the Merced River is all dependent on where you can grab a campsite, although there are some open beaches that allow access for everyone. Some of the sites are river side (unlike Upper Pines which has no sites that butt up against the river), but there are also some really nice sites that are next to the forest (the outer and upper loop come to mind). Most sites are solid, but a few are very small and very close to neighboring sites. Do your research. Read reviews. Check YouTube and CampSitePhotos to look at potential sites ahead of time. Bathrooms were clean and well-maintained, although the campground closest to us didn't have a water filling station. All of the other restrooms did, which comes in handy when you are starting off for a hike or just staying hydrated while at the campsite. No matter what, you are in the valley, and that's all that matters when you are spending the night in Yosemite.

Great camping system for backpackers! Just roll in and pay on the spot the days before and after the backpacking adventure. Very well thought and the space is safe and taken care of.

I stay in the backpackers campground before and after my backcountry backpacking trips. Enjoy the space, just wish the outhouse smells didn’t permeate the campground. Also, using a QR code to pay for sites is a great idea except when you don’t have cell service you can’t complete transaction. Not sure what the work around can be.