Yosemite Valley backpackers campground to shrink drastically

[SSSdave]

A minor correction. Backpacking no camping zones are not all at least 4 miles from any roads. In much of the park it is one mile. The below link shows the official park No Camping zones.

https://public-nps.opendata.arcgis.com/ ... ta/explore

With Photoshop and map skills, one can with file magnification, overlay those areas onto an ordinary small scale USGS topographic map. That is how I figure out where I might camp in locations near roads.

For instance, instead of going 7 miles all the way to Beehive Meadows as so many do, one could hike in from O'Shaughnessy Dam and at 5.4k at 3.6 miles go off trail east then legally set up a camp either at 5360 along the nearby Tueeulala Falls stream (early summer) or at 1.3 miles along Falls Creek above 5350 feet.

And as that government map shows, one might also hike up from SR120 at Tenaya Lake up the Murphy Creek Trail and at 8.4k just 0.8 mile and 250 feet vertical climb, go off trail due west a short ways and camp.

[balzaccom]

Of course those would require a specific permit to camp there. Doesn't actually solve the issue of hiking in from Lyell Canyon or Glen Aulin or the PCT and having a place to camp for the night before catchting the shuttle, for example. The whole point of the backpacker's campgrounds is to give backpackers a place to stay either before or after their backpacking trips. Your suggestions would actually involve another permit and another trip, unless you were specifically hiking either the Beehive Meadows or Murphy Creek trails.

[SSSdave]

Thanks, true. Any such permit just a mile from a road in a legal zone requires a normal backpacking permit. Note was not in regards to the thread backpacker's camp but rather just general info regarding where it is legal to backpack camp.

To do this type of trip may involve parking at rough roadside pullouts not at official trailheads as I have done numbers of times. I always add a special note to the permit with my vehicle license number so park police know why a vehicle is roadside overnight with the permit number on my dash. Otherwise they may wonder if it is another person illegally tenting just off a short ways.

[Jim F]

I just (April 25) phoned Campground Information in Yosemite NP. (The call was answered after a single ring.)

The traditional Backpackers Campground in Yosemite Valley is currently open and will remain so at its location adjacent to the North Pines Campground. The Backpackers Campground season coincides with that of North Pines (typically mid April to early October).

With the opening of North Pines this week, I noted campsites near the 15 minute parking zone and bridge over Tenaya Creek leading to the Backpackers Campground remained temporarily unreleased on rec.gov. This was due to food risk of the road and these campsites from Tanya Creek. Park Inspection today reveals that the flood risk is now very low. It appears that these sites will soon be released for reservations.

I just emailed Olivia Hebert at sfgate to update her. Her interest in the welfare of backpackers spending a night in Yosemite Valley was applauded. I am sure she will publish a timely update in sfgate.

Looking forward to a wonderful upcoming hiking season in the High Sierras.

Jim

[Cloudy]

I agree that anything that gives walk ups more opportunity to get a permit is a good thing. SEKI still uses the true walk up permit system. Walk ups are issued on a first come first served basis starting at 1 pm the day before. I plan to do most of my backpacking in the SNF and SEKI in the future. Permits are easier to obtain. Though no backpacker campgrounds in SEKI, you can camp anywhere in the adjacent SNF. Even just by the side of the road in some places. As for stealth camping, been there done that in the past.

I only have one hike left that I want to do in Yosemite. Not a popular trailhead and permits seem to be readily available. Probably do that late August of 2026.

This is why SEKI will always be the People's Park. The quality of some of the dispersed camping options in the national forest is simply unparalleled, and other than Rae Lakes, permits are never an issue on weekdays for any west side trailhead. While I can't deny it's beauty, I've always found visiting Yosemite with its permits, reservations, lack of good stealth camping options, and crowds to be too stressful. To me it's the sacrificial lamb of the Sierra; we had to ruin it so that Sierra enthusiasts could enjoy all the other wilderness areas undisturbed.

I absolutely agree with you. Quite a few years back, I climbed Mt. Whitney in a day, and then drove to Yosemite the next weekend to climb Half Dome in a day. There were zero places left to camp so I parked after dark in a lot, curled up in the back of my Subaru and pulled the luggage cover over me and got up before daybreak with no issues. The traffic that I encountered leaving the park was the worst that I've seen in Yosemite - nose to tail as far as one could see. Don't remember what weekend it was but it was obviously a popular one. I have no plans to return now (except to stay at the Ahwahnee...) SEKI & SNF were my favorite stomping grounds. I do have to say that I used my lifetime park pass for the first time last May in SEKI (just to show a friend around) and I have never seen more people in the park than at that time. Yikes! It was the front country of course but shades of that time in Yosemite danced through my head...

[c9h13no3]

Yeah, I'm really surprised that the 6th most visited (and maybe most crowded) national park gives backpackers this benefit right smack in the Valley. Doesn't exist in SEKI, and I'm unaware of it in Glacier NP or other backpacking areas.

I've often considered getting a wilderness permit solely for the privilege to camp in the valley legally, never actually planning to use the permit to sleep in the wilderness. Never done it, but given peak season weekend sites in North Pines are snapped up in seconds online, you can see how it is a little ridiculous. I think the big wall climbing permit there also affords this camping privilege and is free & self registration.

[bald tires]

Well not free. $8 per night and you can only stay the night before your permit start date and the night after your end date. While it has been years since I stayed there, Park Rangers came through every day checking permits.

[c9h13no3]

Well not free. $8 per night and you can only stay the night before your permit start date and the night after your end date. While it has been years since I stayed there, Park Rangers came through every day checking permits.

Sure, whatever. But if you're going to be in the Valley on a busy May weekend, and you don't want to bother driving back out to Hardin Flat Rd to camp on Saturday night, an $8 campsite that you didn't have to reserve in advance is pretty appealing. You fill out a self-reservation permit, pay your $8, and laugh at the people shelling out $36 per night and waking up 6 months in advance to stay in North Pines.

Yes, I'm going "big wall climbing" Sunday, I promise. My portaledge is in my other backpack.

[Schleppy]

I've often considered getting a wilderness permit solely for the privilege to camp in the valley legally...

..if you're going to be in the Valley on a busy May weekend, and you don't want to bother driving back out to Hardin Flat Rd to camp on Saturday night, an $8 campsite that you didn't have to reserve in advance is pretty appealing

All true, though not something many people are willingly going to sign up for. Crowded...loud....sleeping very close to random people. Sometimes there are drunk gutter punks or inconsiderate groups of thru hikers. Car alarms, late arrivals, early departures, etc.

Something to tolerate for the utility they offer.

[wildhiker]

Getting back to the original thread...

A couple of people have posted on the Yosemite sub-reddit that they have just received emails from the park stating that the Yosemite Valley backpackers campground is open again in the usual spot next to North Pines campground. So, was the first "relocation" a mistake? A response to a problem that went away? Who knows?