Hodgdon Meadow Campground

Camping in Yosemite is amazing! Hodgdon is a solid campground. There was plenty of space to put everything. We went near the end of October and there was only about 6 other campsites being used.
The restrooms are near the center of the campground so you can move closer or further away from them I you don’t want to hear the toilets flush.
There aren’t many sticks or wood to start a fire so bringing your own may be a smart move.
The only negative we experienced was the drive to the valley. It’s about 30 – 40 min.
It was beautiful there and I hope to visit Yosemite again soon!

What do you imagine when you think about camping in Yosemite? Serene quiet beauty? Tons of privacy and space? Great views? Other nature lovers basking in the glory of one of the world’s most beautiful places?
I’m sorry to say you’ll get exactly ZERO of these things at Hodgdon Meadow Campground. This is easily one of the worst camping experiences I’ve had.
But to be positive let’s start with what was good about this campground (in particular site 58):
— Short walk to the bathroom.
— Short walk to the road.
— Was inexpensive.
— Running water (that’s potable, even!)
That’s about it. Now on for what I did not like:
— Short walk to the bathroom. Who doesn’t love listening to the toilet flush all night?
— Short walk to the road. Who doesn’t love listening to monster RVs arriving and trying to set up late at night?
— PEOPLE! Oh my god the humanity! The interior campsites are PACKED on top of each other. You are never more than a few feet from another person’s body and there are a lot of disrespectful campers here; awake and making noise well past quiet hour, and well before in the morning too. They also leave the bathrooms repulsive. Shockingly the dirtiest campground bathroom I’ve experienced.
— There isn’t much exciting or very pretty (compared to farther into the park) to do around the campground itself. It’s not close to any grocery stores.
I definitely will not be coming back to Hodgdon Meadow Campground in the future. You just don’t get any of the things you expect to when camping.

This campground was very nice. I tried for a valley spot and didn’t get one so settled for here. I am glad we stayed here though. The valley spots look crowded and on top of each other. One step above parking lot camping. Hodgon meadow is a nice campground and it feels like camping in the forest. WE had a great site that had separation between the neighbors and lots of trees and shade. Bathrooms were pretty clean overall and the rangers were nice and attentive. I will come back! We had a great time!

Worst camping experience ever. We stayed two nights in two different spots & on both occasions we felt as though we were on top of our neighbors. The group sites echo throughout the entire campground & camp hosts do not enforce any of the guidelines set. At all hours of the day the restrooms were dirty with cold water only, no showers (the closest showers & laundry is in the valley at house keeping camp) & if your campsite is anywhere close to the bathrooms expect to hear the door slam all day & all night long. Both the sites we stayed at were on slopes, as most of the sites throughout the campground were, with fire-​pits & a table that was falling apart.
If at all possible I would advise anyone not to waste their money & find another campground.

Hodgdon is right next to Yosemite National Parks San Francisco exit. It is on the opposite end of Yosemite Valley, which has Yosemite Village and Curry Village.
Pros:
–Our camp site was 3k sq ft for 6 of us and 2 cars. We had plenty of space.
–You’re not on top of each other like you would be in Yosemite village camp sites (e.g. Upper, Lower and North pines).
–Bathroom: Lights permanently on, 2 sinks with running water, flushable toilets, male and female separate.
–Outside the bathroom had potable water in one sink and other side has sink for draining dirty/​washing water.
–An army of toilet paper
–Fire and grill spot
–Quieter than Yosemite Village campsites
Cons:
–Other campers were loud! We were next to a group site that had a lot of kids/​youth. This meant they were loud during quiet times. Even adult campers were loud when their voice carried. 2 camp sites over a lady was so loud I could hear every word but couldn’t hear the other person (s) in the conversation.
−30−45 min drive to Yosemite valley. Depends on if you get stuck behind a slower driver who doesn’t use the turnouts.
–No showers
–Doesn’t have level ground. But is level enough to pitch a tent or vehicle.
–Male bathroom stunk before and after it was cleaned. (I didn’t go in the female one but my gf said it was alright)
Important to know:
–Not every bear locker in Yosemite camp sites are the same size. Make sure you check your sites dimensions on the website or your cooler (s) might not fit. We had to scramble 2 days before once we realized our Bear locker would only be 18″ tall.
–White Water rafting is available through Sierra Mac about 20 miles outside of SF exit on the 120.
–Yosemite Village and Curry Village have showers for $ 5 and provide 1 towel. We used Curry Village swimming pool showers because the attendant desk closes at 7pm so you can shower for free. But bring your own towel.
This was my first time visiting Yosemite National Park so I don’t know how Hodgdon Meadows compares to other camp sites. But the ones I saw in Yosemite Valley it looks like everyone was on top of each other and loud. So while this campsite seemed loud after quiet times I guess it’s better than being crowded and loud. Maybe one day someone will invent tents with insulation for noise.

Two years ago, my friends and I came here on a whim, and without any set agenda or reservations we were pleasantly surprised in grabbing the last spot. After setting up camp, and finishing our burgers, rum, and whiskey, we were in complete «ahhhh» and mystified in how spectacular this campground has become. The smell of pine, redwoods, and subtle aromas of sweet tree sap made our stay undeniably amazing and relaxing. Not to mention the starry night skies and timeless sunrises & sunsets that smile near the meadow floor.
Hodgdon Meadow is one of a kind and make note this is a first come first serve campground. If you are planning to wake up (unlike us we were super hungover) and visit Yosemite’s popular trails like upper falls, misty trail, lower falls, half-​dome, etc. you will need to drive an additional 10−15minutes to Yosemite valley. One may question, why should I (we) stay here?
The solitude and the level of quietness is substantially more prominent comparing to the other major campgrounds (e.g. curry village, housekeeping camp, porcupine pine flats).
Overall, ⁵⁄₅ due to its low level traffic and popularity. Hopefully, some of my pictures can convey a better story… Happy camping, hiking, and R&R everyone.

We got group site A. It’s a huge site and is pretty private. Like many of the other sites, most of it is sloped and hard to get a flat spot for a tent. We had 4 bear boxes and a ton of picnic tables. Bring bug spray as we were eaten alive by swarms of mosquitos. There is also technically only 2 parking spots for the largest of their group sites… which we found odd. However, we found other spots in the area to park. Also bring containers to hold/​carry water as the nearest water is a bit of a hike uphill.

Decent campground. Our neighbors were awesome. Loved that we could collect wood from the meadows. No bear sightings, however, TONS of pesky squirrels and blue jays. You don’t book a campsite in yosemite to sit there all day. It serves it’s purpose well, to sleep and eat breakfast/​dinner. First time campers: KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR FOOD. The squirrels are relentless. Only three stars because the host let the group who had our site after us check in early, they were up our asses while we were packing up. (Check out was 12, they got there around 11:15)

Not the best camp ground I’ve stayed at. but its okay. I don’t expect a 5 start resort. 8^P
Our camp site had a bear box, a barbecue pit, and a picnic table. Site is close to the road… not to close but you can hear the cars. Restrooms were clean. 1 day there were pretty trashed but that was cleaned up pretty fast. There is also drinkable water available.
We didn’t have the best camp site though… We were on a small hill so I would wake up at the bottom of my tent. Haha
Valley is about 20 minutes away. There is also Rainbow Pool which is about 10 – 15 minutes away. You definitely have to check that out.
Okay in my book. I’ll be staying here again in a few months.

Dirty and Noisy and all the RV sites are on a slope! We had three nights planned here in May but bailed after two because we could NOT level our VW Van in site #33, so we spent a horrible night in a tent, plus the neighbors had loud, drunken parties going till way after midnight. The bathrooms were disgusting with garbage and toilet paper all over. We actually decided to leave Yosemite a day early and headed over to Calaveras and a nicer RV park (Golden Pines RV).
We will NEVER camp at this hell hole again.

We went to Yosemite as a last minute weekend trip. No other campgrounds were available and this was one of the only ones open, (Oct-​March no reservation needed) we arrived at 9pm set up camp and a fire, bathrooms were nice and clean. Next day went hiking and explored. Just made a reservation for July to stay here again. Beautiful place, and not far from the valley, maybe 35 – 40 mins.

We stayed at this campsite for three nights. Overall I’d say it’s an «ok» campground — nothing phenomenal, but also nothing that was bad.
The camp site we had was a walk-​in site down a small hill and had plenty of room. We had our choice of a couple of flat spots to pitch our tent. Each site has a fire pit, table and bear box. Since we were down a small hill, things were probably a little quieter for us. The only noise issues we had was a big diesel truck and some motorcycle riders revving their engines at 6AM, but you can get stuck with that at any campground.
There are two restroom facilities with flush toilets and a couple of sinks with a water faucet. Each side of the restroom building has a different function: one side is the men’s room, another is the women’s room, the third side had a faucet for potable water, and the last side had a sink for dumping grey water, such as from dish washing. One thing that was a bit of a pain is that dish washing is not allowed right there at the sink — you are supposed to schlep the water someplace else (back to your camp site?) to wash the dishes.
The rangers and camp ground hosts were friendly enough and were happy to answer questions from my son about wild life and this and that. That was nice — we appreciated it.
As others have noted it is a bit of a drive to Yosemite Valley (~30−40 min). On the flip side, we drove by a Yosemite Valley camp ground and the tents looked like they were practically right on top of each other, so it seems like you get a little more space at Hodgdon Meadows.
We’d be ok with staying here again if the need arose. We’ll probably give Crane Flat a try next time to compare the two campgrounds.

We stayed at site #34 for four nights over the weekend. Site 34 is squeezed in between two other sites… very little privacy. Like most other sites in this campground, this one is on a slope. The fire pit and picnic table sit at an angle. Be careful with the kids (or drunk friends) around the campfire. From our site, the restrooms were up another hill nearby.
Watch out for the animals. Squirrels are a constant nuisance.
It’s about a 35 – 40 min drive to the valley, so plan on spending some time on the road. Most of the landscape on the drive in has been burned by a recent wildfire and a majority of the access roads away from the main road have been closed due to «fire danger»
If you can’t find another available campsite, this one will probably be fine. There are better out there…

This site was great if you can’t get a spot in the Valley (just like us). It’s within a 30 minute drive of the Valley (as long as you don’t get stuck behind a camper on your way in) and very close to the park entrance, which is great if your coming in late, like we did, after a long drive from LA.
The one thing that struck us all about this campground was how quiet it was. Even in the day time, it felt very peaceful (this could have just been the weekend we stayed, of course).
We had a «walk in» site, 103, though besides having a little difficulty finding it in the middle of the night when we arrived, this was hardly a walk, and kind of nice to be away from the cars. We were on a little bit of a hill in this particular site, and had a hard time finding where we could/​should pitch a tent. Though I did feel pretty big, which was nice because our tent is rather huge. Plenty of room in the bear boxes for all of our food, and the bathrooms were well maintained with a LOT of toilet paper all the time.
Overall, I’d absolutely recommend this campground.

My boyfriend, two small dogs, and I just came back from camping at Hodgdon Meadow. It is a great place to stay! Close to the entrance and a short and beautiful drive to the Valley.
Since Yosemite isn’t too dog friendly, we checked out Carlon River and Falls just a 10 minute drive outside Hodgdon Meadow. Very pet friendly and we even did some fishing.
The site itself is very pet friendly. The rangers are knowledgable on great fishing spots and where to go.
Took a short 20 – 30 minute drive to Yosemite Valley. Very close to the site and the roads were not crowded at all.
The only downfall about the site was that we had a lot of bees. None of them were stinging, they we’re just annoying. Not sure if it was just our site, but be careful with the bees! On the bright side, no mosquitos… Well, barely any.

We just got back from 4 nights camping here over 4^th of July weekend. Like most, we got this as a second choice campsite, but after spending a day in the valley with the enormous crowds and looking at the packed-​in campsites, I have to say I was thrilled to be at HM. I had stayed there for 1 night a number of years ago and it was fine then, too.
We had sites 78 and 87. 78 was on a hill with a small slope, but a flat space for a tent and 87 was close to the bathroom and flat. Both were RV sites but we tent camped in the huge amount of space with the car right by. The bathrooms were cleaned once daily in the morning, so were pretty pristine (for campgrounds) then. Over the day, of course they get dirty, so suck it up people.
As with all campgrounds people are rude and noisy. However, on our second to last day rangers talked to our neighbors about a noise complaint (not from us… we didn’t talk with anyone). Our hosts were new that weekend and had never hosted before, so not sure if they knew the protocol yet. But they were very nice people.
There was a couple of campground ranger activities which were excellent (like I’m sure most of them are). One was a night-​time walk and talk that was free, but you have to pay for in the valley.
The only downside was that it wasn’t near anything per se, but driveable to both the valley and Tuolumne Meadows area, and close to Hetch Hetchy. Carlon Falls is 5 minutes away with a stream for wading/​swimming/​fishing. Nice place to cool off.
I would stay here again, unless I come in off-​season, then maybe I’d try the valley.

Every park employee we encountered had a big smile. The campground was very clean except for the bathrooms which have tp but no seat covers no showers or soap. Bring your own. We stayed in site 18, lots of tree cover. One bear box per site, pay attention to the height of your cooler and read the website info closely. You have to secure your food at all times… the squirrels are mischevious but thats what my five year old is for! We had a bear tear open a backpack that had tiny chip crumbs from going to the beach a week ago. They really will find your food. We had a great time in june. Lots of bugs, about 5 pm these small flea like things swarm you but I don’t think they bite. Most of the sites are on a hill, bring a shovel to level things out a bit. This site is pretty far from the main tourist spots down in the valley of yosemite, so plan on driving alot. There is a gas station about 20 mins away that has most of the necessities you will need. We brought a rolling trash can with our fire wood in it from home. It helped move the wood to the site, and it helped with hauling the trash uphill to the dumpster.
If u want to get wet you can head down to rainbow falls, it is ten miles OUTSIDE of the park on the 120 towards San Fransisco. It is a local spot with a small waterfall and pools with local kids cliff jumping. Aside from the garbage, bumpin bass coming from the parking lot and the smell of weed, its an ok spot to cool off, but not recommended for small kids.

I’m not sure if there’s any point in reviewing Hodgdon Meadow because while it’s not a bad campground, I think it’s probably a «last resort» choice for most people; if you have the foresight to book earlier, you’ll want to get a campsite closer to the valley. At any rate, my wife and I spent three nights there and found it to be decent, but not great.
First off, this campground is pretty far away from Yosemite Valley. It will probably take you about 45 minutes (one way) to drive into the valley depending on traffic, construction, etc. This can really make a difference in terms of the character of your trip. I had never been to Yosemite before, so previously, when I thought of it I thought of the valley with its majestic granite cliffs. I’d suspect most people who haven’t been have the same impression. But it turns out that Yosemite National Park is very big, and most of it bears very little resemblance to Yosemite Valley. So just keep in mind that you’ll be driving up to 90 minutes each day to get the full valley experience if you stay here.
We were in site 18, which had the advantage of being close to the parking spaces, so we didn’t have to carry our gear and food very far. However, that was about the only advantage it had; I’d recommend trying to find one on the edge of the campground for a bit more privacy. We were surrounded on all sides by other campers, and the nearest site was probably only 30 – 40 feet away from us.
Most of our neighbors were only there for one night each, so we camped near many different people, and while most of them were friendly and considerate, others were… less so. One family had a young baby that cried all the time, and another group talked loudly long into the night (well past the start of «quiet hours») and then somehow managed to wake up at 4:30am and continue to talk loudly and slam their food locker door shut several times. Great. It’s not that these people were trying to be jerks, of course, but with so little space between campsites even quieter neighbors can cause disturbances. I’d recommend looking at the map and trying to find the most isolated spot possible, because the distances between sites are very small.
As other reviews mention, the campsites are nowhere near level. The best spot we could find for our three-​person tent was only approximately level for about half the width of the tent; after that it was on a hill, so we had to both sleep on one side of the tent and prop up one of our mattresses with a blanket underneath to make it more level. Even the picnic table was not level.
The washrooms were fairly dirty, but the actual fixtures (sinks, toilets, etc) were *mostly* kept *fairly* clean, so that’s nice. At a campsite I’m really just happy to have flush toilets and potable water, so I didn’t mind too much that some things were dirty or in disrepair. There are no showers, though, so prepare to stink unless you get a chance to go into one of the villages/​camps in Yosemite Valley that have showers.
We had an incredible amount of trouble with wasps. I’ve done my fair share of camping and I understand that insects are just something you have to deal with. However, I can’t recall a time when I ever had so much trouble with wasps. It was literally impossible to eat at our site unless we constantly moved around or waited until after sunset, because otherwise we’d be swarmed by 3 – 4 wasps. I killed several, but more just took their place instantly. I think there must have been a nest near our site. Perhaps this is less of a problem in other areas of the campground.
There are a lot of less-​than-​excellent aspects about Hodgdon Meadow, but there are some redeeming features, too. All of the rangers I talked to were very friendly and helpful. One even came around to each campsite one evening to ask if anyone had any questions. He provided some valuable information about the giant sequoia groves in the area. Two of them, the Tuolumne Grove and the Merced Grove, are very nearby. They’re worth checking out if you want to see some really big trees.
The single best feature of Hodgdon Meadow, in my eyes, is something that’s not actually in Hodgdon Meadow but rather 11 miles west along highway 120: Rainbow Pool. It was very hot when we arrived at Hodgon Meadow, and my car doesn’t have air conditioning, so we asked the ranger at the check-​in booth where to cool off. He recommended Rainbow Pool, and I am so glad that he did.
Rainbow Pool is a deep pool along the south fork of the Tuolumne River which is accessible by road and has a few parking spots and a bathroom. It’s a deep pool fed by a waterfall, and you can go swimming in it and jump off the cliff above the waterfall. The water is cold, but it’s the perfect way to cool off on a hot day. You can even swim behind the waterfall and climb up on to the rock face underneath it for a cool secluded spot to sit. It’s a ton of fun. If you stay at Hodgdon you HAVE TO go to Rainbow Pool!

(Close to what a middle american middle aged woman with an accent would say, «Now I just had myself a wonderful stay at Hodgdon Meadows!»
Remember folks, this is a camp ground. Which means: yeah the bathrooms won’t be as clean as the Clift Hotel. You will have to walk a decent distance to a garbage can (which I’m grateful for), and you are responsible for your food, your waste and for having a good time.
My only complaint is that there seems to have been quite a bit of logging throughout the back sections of the site. This slightly takes away from the feel of remoteness, but does give you the opportunity to grab a bundle of wood that’s already laying on the ground.
Don’t get me wrong there is a decent amount of privacy. Which is more than you’ll get in the valley. Though its gorgeous views make you wish you could move in the next day, Yosemite Valley is very populated. Hodgdon Meadows is a short and scenic drive away from all the commotion, making your trip more of a camping trip and less of an amusement park tour.
I only wish there was shuttle from the valley to the surrounding campsites…

I like Hodgdon. We arrived midday on Friday and it wasn’t too packed (check-​in/​check-​out is at 12pm). It got pretty packed Friday night and Saturday. It’s a little further away from the Valley (about a 40 – 45 min drive) and can get ‘busy’ in its own rite but not as ridiculous as Curry Village or other places in the Valley. You’ve got pretty much everything you need: running and potable water, bear locker, fire pit w/​grill, picnic table, and [depending on what camp site you choose] a decent amount of space to setup your tent (s), etc.
The first night, I grilled up a tri-​tip roast and some garlic bread on the grill. It worked well for that since the grill could be elevated and lowered. We brought our own firewood (purchased a box at Smart & Final for $ 7 – 8) — NOTE: do not use any old wood, especially pine, to try to cook your food over. It’s not a good combo :) We brought way too much in terms of food; fortunately it all fit into the sizable bear locker.
Not having showers wasn’t too big of a deal — it’s camping, are you really expecting to shower every day? You can bring a solar shower, but have fun trying to find a place to shower. We opted to shower at Curry Village ($ 5) after our long Half-​Dome hike. It was well-​worth it.
Oh yea, it’s probably a good idea to bring some 5-​gallon buckets or an extra cooler to use as a wash basin or whatever. It’s a pain having to dump gray water all the time, but better to keep bears and other animals off your site at the end of the day.
The water here is potable/​drinkable, so you really don’t need to buy ten 2.5gal containers of Arrowhead from Costco! Just bring one or two and refill them. Or bring a larger portable water container w/​a spout.
There were a lot of RVers around and also a fair amount of dimwits who seemed to think they were the only ones at the entire campsite — they must have thought that nobody else would want to sleep earlier than they did and had their fire going full force while talking boisterously well-​past quiet hours on our last night. We even yelled «Goodnight» several times but were mostly ignored or laughed-​off. Idiots… I was going to complain to a Ranger the next day but they ended up leaving before we did. I guess you don’t get much privacy or solitude when it’s crowded there.
But if that’s really what you want, you’ll probably have to work for it a little and backpack your way up to the backcountry with all your gear and a wilderness permit.
Hodgdon Meadow is right after the Yosemite entrance from Stanislaus off the 120fwy. Easy to miss if you’re going too fast. It’s not far from the Carlon Day Use Area, which didn’t seem to be all that crowded. There’s a short 2 mile hike to Carlon Falls which I hear is pretty nice — we didn’t get the chance to do that. Instead, the guys tried our luck at fishing — there are a good number of trout in the stream flowing through this day use area. We caught a couple rainbows the first day (released) and my buddy took a non-​native brook trout the second day, which we ended up steaming in some foil set by the fire. If you want to, you could supposedly hike 1.5−2 miles downhill to the Carlon Day Use Area from Hodgdon. I didn’t get to try that out due to time constraints but was hoping I’d get to. Maybe next time. Further up the Evergreen Road is Hetch Hetchy. This was another place we didn’t get to check it out due to time constraints.
Next time, I’d probably research other campgrounds nearby that might be less crowded. I would even potentially consider staying outside of the park if it means being around less people. Of course, we did go on a summer weekend, so I guess you can’t get away from all of it.