Re: Newbie, and a campgrounds name transfer question

This looks like a great resource on one of my favorite parks, Yosemite. I'm from California, 36 years old and pretty much grew up in Orange County CA my whole life. During the summers and vacations, my parents often took our family up to Yosemite.

With these fond memories, I'm going to try to do the same for my two kids, age 5 and 2. I found an ad for 2 housekeeping camp sites on craigslist, and the seller was letting them go at his cost (well I assume that it is his cost, it is the same cost, $91/night plus fees for each site, that I see when I go to the reservation system). I'm going to purchase them tonight. Seller says that they already took 50% as a deposit on the site (the first night's rate) and that I'd be responsible for the 2nd night payment when I arrive. So I only have to pay him half in cash upfront.

One - is this the typical SOP for a national parks reservation, where they take a deposit of the first night's cost, and you pay the rest when you arrive? Two, is transferring a campsite from one person to another OK within the the reservation system? What info do I want to make sure that I get from the seller, that I don't get ripped off?

Thanks in advance!

I'd give DNC a call and make sure it's ok with them.

Thanks eeek! Is there a different place to call if I'm registered as a republican? I don't really want to call the democratic national convention for help. j/k let me find out what dnc means.

Thanks again.

Quote
kingkong5
Thanks eeek! Is there a different place to call if I'm registered as a republican? I don't really want to call the democratic national convention for help. j/k let me find out what dnc means.

Thanks again.

Delaware North Corporation
801 559-4872

DNC stands for Delaware North Companies. They're a large hospitality services company, and their biggest asset is the TD Banknorth Gardens (home of the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins). They bought out the Yosemite concessions business from MCA when they got bought by a Japanese company, and there was fear of a prime concession being property of a Japanese company. DNC operates the vast majority of the visitor amenities (lodging, stores, restaurants, shuttle buses, Yosemite-only tours, etc) in Yosemite. I can't only think of the Ansel Adams Gallery as being a shop in Yosemite that isn't run by DNC.

They operate Housekeeping Camp, which despite the name is not a campground. They're basically just concrete slab structures with concrete on three sides, a canvas curtain separating you from the outside, and a canvas roof. It's pretty basic and spartan. You'll need something to keep you warm, and you can either rent sleep sacks yourself or bring your own sleeping bags and pillows.



All campgrounds in Yosemite are operated by the National Park Service directly using park employees and volunteer staff. Housekeeping Camp is considered "lodging" and is operated by a private company under contract to the NPS. If you were trying to transfer a campground reservation, technically offering such for resale violates the terms under which the reservation was sold. I don't know what DNC's policy is on reselling reservations, but I doubt that they're as strict as the federal government.

http://www.yosemitepark.com/AboutUs_ContactUs.aspx

Here's the lodging phone number:

(801) 559-4884