Backpackers Campground

I stayed at the backpacker’s campground the night before hiking from Porcupine Creek Trailhead back down into the Valley. It’s only $ 5 per person, has a lot of room, and doesn’t require (nor take) reservations.
We stayed on a Thursday night in the summer and had to share our site which ended up being fine as there is plenty of room. The guys that shared our site were cool and we stayed up and drank a few beers and chatted until about 10 pm. There definitely aren’t enough sites for everyone to have their own, but considering how difficult it is to make reservations, the backpacker’s site was great. There are porta-​potty style bathrooms in there, and potable water is located in the upper pines campground which is only a five minute walk away.
One great feature about the backpacker’s campground is that the parking lot for backpacker’s is about a 10 to 15 minute walk away, so if you want to bring some stuff to use and leave in your car before heading out on the trail you can. Curry village is about a 10 to 15 minute walk away which provides many dining and shopping opportunities. We filled up at the buffet and grabbed a six pack to enjoy the night before heading out to the high country.
4 stars for no water in the campground and primitive bathrooms. However, I will definitely stay here next time I go backpacking in Yosemite and I recommend it to any other backpackers.

When you are backpacking, plans often change. Instead of doing the snowed over Clark Range loop, my friends & I opted to do Half Dome once again. We returned early & headed down from Little Yosemite to the elusive Backpackers’ Campground in the valley.
Technically, backpackers are allowed to spend one night prior & one night after the dates that appear on their wilderness permits. We showed up a day early but it wasn’t a big deal. it costs $ 5 per camper so make sure you bring cash. There is a loading area for cars but no actual parking lot. There are bathrooms (which I didn’t use), trash cans, & non-​drinking water.
There is a nice foot bridge with a nice watering hole (perfect place to filter if you’re too lazy to walk over to North Pines for potable water). There were also plenty of bear boxes. In the morning, I saw plenty of bikers & a little deer family– a doe with two fawns.
Why the three star review? The people at Camp Curry were generous enough to guide us but even they said they have a hard time explaining directions to the campground. There simply needs to be more signage. It can be quite difficult to navigate without a map & especially at night.
When we got there, the campground was full but we set up camp anyway. We tried to be as quiet as possible but opening & closing bear lockers can be quite loud. As expected, it wasn’t a quiet campground. There were people yelling at 5am even though quiet hours end at 6am. However, it is a nice, cheap place to camp for a night. Just make sure you get solid directions & a map.