Staying in the Yosemite Valley Backpacker’s Campground

Yosemite National Park provides several backpackers campgrounds that are for the exclusive use of backpackers on the night before their trip. There are several throughout the park. The most complicated one to use is in Yosemite Valley. It takes some effort to camp there, but it’s a great resource for backpackers in Yosemite.

The backpacker’s campground is not a “car camping” campground. When you arrive, you have to park in a temporary parking spot, hike your overnight gear in a short (4 minute) walk to the camp, then return to your car and move it to overnight parking, then hike about 10 minutes to get back to the camp. You can not leave your car overnight in the temporary spots, or inside the North Pines Campground.
In the morning you have to pack up your things, and hike back to your car.

This map of Yosemite Valley shows the location of the backpacker’s campground in red, as well as the locations where you can park overnight in blue. If you park along the road, all four wheels need to be outside the white line. If you park in the Trailhead parking lot, there will most likely be a “road closed” sign you will drive past. It’s a good idea to park in the Trailhead Parking Lot if you’re on a Half Dome trip, as this is where you’ll meet your guide. Otherwise parking along the road or at Curry Village is a good option.

Getting to the Backpacker’s Campground in North Pines Campground:

Google Map Pin for the Yosemite Valley Backpacker’s Camp The backpackers camp is part of the North Pines Campground. (Google Map Pin for North Pines) Finding the temporary parking and the backpackers campground are easy tasks during the day. It gets much more difficult once it’s dark. There are a couple of small signs noting the temporary parking area. If it’s dark and you’re hiking to the campground, know that it takes a few minutes to walk in. You’ll cross a bridge..keep going…and the camp will be on your left. It’s unlikely that you’ll miss the camp. There’s almost always someone with a headlamp on in the camp. If you’re walking in for more than 10 minutes…you’ve missed it.
You need a wilderness permit to camp in the backpackers campground. 

Important details:  

You need to know our wilderness permit number or permit reservation number to camp here:  Make sure you get the wilderness permit reservation number from us, if you’re staying at the backpackers campground. You need to show you’re going to be backpacking the next day to stay in the camp. The rangers prefer the actual permit, but telling the ranger the permit reservation number and that you/your guide is picking up the permit in the morning is typically sufficient.

You are not camping close to your car for the night: You need to park, hike your gear in, then repark farther away, then hike back to the camp.

You need to pay $8/person to camp here and must use the Recreation.gov app to make that payment at the campground

We’d be happy to reimburse you for the $8, but you’ll need to download the recreation.gov app now to pay when you get there, using their “scan and pay” feature. You must pay using the recreation.gov app, which will work at the campsite. 

This is a brand new “feature” that adds a layer of complexity to the process, but doesn’t require you to carry cash. 

 Let me know if you have any questions about using the campground…or about the trip. And have fun!