North Pines Campground

We love going to Yosemite and was so happy to get to tent camp in the valley for the first time in a long time. The river was close enough to go to cool off after our day hike. It’s nice to leave our car at our camp site and use bikes or the buses to get to certain places without having to worry about parking.

Great campsite, very conveniently located.

Staying so close to the Merced river is amazing over a hot weekend!

We have an RV and on occasion we need to run the generator. Others in the camp ground also ran their generators, but a few of them were very, very loud. I think the camp ground, probably the entire National Park System should set a limit to the allowed decibels when running a generator.

Stayed in site 404. I would never pick this spot again (at least in the summer). This whole loop is SO tight with 5-6 campsites cramped together. People were bringing 3-4 tents per site and it felt like a civil war camp, sleeping 3 ft away from eachother and no one respecting quiet hours. It was miserable. The only good thing about this campground is the location being in the valley and walking distance to shuttle stops, curry village, popular hikes as well as the views of half dome.

I will only come back to camp here again if it’s off-season. WAY TOO CROWDED.

Absolutely loved this campground! Yes, you get traffic from the public that access the river but we didn’t care. Being so close to the river was the best❤️. We would be lucky to get this spot again.

Beautiful location and wonderful staff, but Site 305 layout is misleading

Overall, we loved being in Yosemite, and the park rangers and campground staff were exceptional—friendly, helpful, and welcoming. However, our stay at Site 305 was a bit of a disappointment compared to what was listed online.

The website stated that Site 305 could accommodate a large tent, but that wasn't the case in practice. The usable, level space was much smaller than expected, and I had to make several unexpected adjustments to our setup just to get our tent to fit.

Additionally, the site had an abundance of dense berry bushes right in the main living area. They took up valuable, usable space and were not at all conducive to having children around, making it frustrating to manage the kids safely and comfortably at camp.

You can't beat the Yosemite location or the great staff, but be cautious if booking Site 305 if you have a larger tent or are traveling with kids.

North Pines offers great campsites, especially if you can get a riverfront spot. Toilets are located across the site, with potable water and water dump sites for dishwater. Make sure to bring a thick pad or even an inflatable mattress if you plan to sleep in your tent as some sites are pretty rocky.

We had site 219 in North Pines. It’s a decent site but it really can only have 1 family size tent. Lots of sun in the daytime.

Pros: in Yosemite and you don’t have to worry about finding a parking spot. Shuttles through out the valley picking you up as close to your campground.

Cons: no shade. No privacy. Very close to other sites. No fire before 5pm and after 10pm. Rangers do not come clean up sites after campers.