Re: Can we tent camp on a trailer site?

Hi, I'm new here...


We are planning on a stay in Yosemite, Mon-Thurs, July 27-30 during a month-long, cross-country trip.

The plan is to arrive from Grants Grove Cabins in Kings Canyon and stay the first night in Curry Village or Housekeeping Camp. (We have reservations for Curry, but I am looking for a Housekeeping opening.) Then we head to Tuolumne Meadows to tent camp for two nights.

I was bummed to have missed the date to get reservations for Tuolumne Meadows, but I think I've had a bit of luck...

Earlier this week, I scored a tent site for one night on July 29.

Last night, a trailer/rv site became available for July 28...so I booked it.

So...my questions are:

"Are there any restrictions on staying at a trailer site with a tent?"...and

"Do you think the rangers will let us stay at the same site the second night or will we have to move to a different category site?

Also any general tips you have on campsite selection, or sites to see are greatly appreciated. We (me, my husband, son -12; daughters- 8 and 11) are looking forward to this once-in-a-lifetime trip, and we appreciate your help.

While there are a few sites that may be considered "tent only", every campsite in any Yosemite campground should be able to accommodate tents. If you check the site on Recreation.gov it should be able to give you a firm answer. I have heard of a few federal campgrounds where there were "RV sites" that didn't have any suitable areas for tents. TM campground should [edit] not have any caveats like that.

http://www.recreation.gov/camping/Tuolumne_Meadows/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70926&topTabIndex=CampingSpot

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The family campsites can accommodate tents or RVs. The maximum allowable trailer length is always shorter than the allowable motorhome length due to maneuverability. You are responsible for reading the site alerts, and booking a site that will accommodate your equipment.

I entered that I was looking for a tent site in early Sept, and it came up with RV 18/24/27/35 as well as tent only. All sites can take tents.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/19/2009 11:52AM by y_p_w.

I'll 2nd what y_p_w said, you should have no problems tent camping in any "RV" designated site in Yosemite.
If you want complete piece of mind, you can always phone the campground office (located in the Curry Village parking lot), and ask a ranger directly, the phone number is (209) 372-8502.

Agreed, tents are OK in RV-type sites. (Of course, the reverse is not true.)

To answer your second question: if whoever has the first site booked for that second night shows up, then sure you'll have to move to the second site unless you can talk them into taking it. (Don't know if you need to clear such an arrangement with the people at the campground entrance kiosk - I never stay at any of the 'campgrounds.')

Third question: two nice "classic" dayhikes in the Tuolumne area are (1) N to Glen Aulin (the valley, not the High Sierra Camp, which isn't actually even in Glen Aulin) and (2) S up to Cathedral Lakes.

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szalkowski
Agreed, tents are OK in RV-type sites. (Of course, the reverse is not true.)

To answer your second question: if whoever has the first site booked for that second night shows up, then sure you'll have to move to the second site unless you can talk them into taking it. (Don't know if you need to clear such an arrangement with the people at the campground entrance kiosk - I never stay at any of the 'campgrounds.')

TM doesn't have a site specific reservation system. How do they typically do it? I've only booked non site-specific once at Fallen Leaf in Tahoe. I was told to look for a certain color reflective tape on each site marker that corresponded to my site type. However - the entire campground was reservable and it was fully booked on Memorial Weekend.

Are there certain loops that aren't reservable, or they just put everyone into the same pool of campsites and just stop people at the door if there isn't space for FCFS. Is it a case where the campsites are handed out semi randomly on check-in, or where you check-in and then look for a site? I can't do the math in my head, but could there be cases where it just doesn't work out because of overlaps in different stays?

Eeek also has photos of every campsite at TM, so you might be able to scout for suitable ones. It doesn't state what type each site is though.

http://yosemitecampsites.com/tuolumne/