Camping Near Tioga Pass Outside Yosemite

[sambieni]

Hi all -

Does anyone have suggestions for easy car camping / back of car camping just outside the park near Lee Vining/Tioga Pass (coming from the south)?

I have a permit for next week out of Tuolomne Meadows. I intended to sleep in back of my car in the backpackers camp or worse case set up my tent. But the wilderness permit meeting w/ park service indicated they will not permit you to sleep in car and social distancing is a challenge in the still crowded backpackers campground. They strongly encouraged folks find alternative location.

Anyone have suggestions for a 1 night stop over before starting out?

[rlown]

Tioga Lake Campground or Ellery Lake Campground. Saddlebag has campgrounds as well.

[sambieni]

Much appreciated. I noticed fair number of cg along the entrance into Yosemite. Good to see those folks recommend. Thank you

[rlown]

My go to the night before is Tioga lk. $22/night.

[c9h13no3]

This is a long standing topic, and we should probably just write up a thread we can link to, but in general, here's the rules:

1) The closest place the forest service encourages you to dispersed camp is south of Mono Lake. See here and here. And of course you can always pay for a campground for the toilet & picnic table.

2) There are perfectly legal spots to camp west of 395. But they get a bit crowded sometimes. The closer you get to the Yosemite entrance, the more discreet you have to be. Camp 9, for example, is probably a fine spot to sleep in your car. But if you put up tents and whip out a camp stove, you might get asked to leave given that it's close to the entrance. Lower down, the Log Cabin Mine road is fine for tent camping, but the good pullouts can be full on busy weekends.

3) There are closer places, inside the park, that if you are discreet, you can generally sleep in your car. Most people won't give up their secret spot, and your odds of getting woken up are certainly higher. But if you arrive late, leave early, and are in a low use area, you have a pretty good chance of getting away with it.

[rlown]

The stables parking lot comes to mind as not really being checked. That was our route out to Virginia lake for decades.
Not the ones next to the wilderness permit station.

[c9h13no3]

Oh, and if you have a permit, just stay at the backpackers camp. Unless you're trying to avoid people :P

[MichaelRPetrick]

Oh, and if you have a permit, just stay at the backpackers camp. Unless you're trying to avoid people :P

Yeah it is filthy with people... Way too crowded for my taste near to a weekend start point. Mid-week, a little more tolerable, but still not my cup of tea.

[bobby49]

Camp 9[/url], for example, is probably a fine spot to sleep in your car. But if you put up tents and whip out a camp stove, you might get asked to leave given that it's close to the entrance. Lower down, the Log Cabin Mine road is fine for tent camping, but the good pullouts can be full on busy weekends.

Some people call it Camp 9000, since that is the approximate elevation. I've been up the Log Cabin Mine road, and it gets pretty rough unless you have high ground clearance.

[grampy]

Yeah it is filthy with people... Way too crowded for my taste near to a weekend start point. Mid-week, a little more tolerable, but still not my cup of tea.

Well, THAT’s not good news - I was planning a night there early next week myself. Now I may reconsider.