Wawona Campground

Second time camping here. Mosquitos were insane this year. We can handle an hour of mosquito time, but it was about three hours per night. Otherwise, the two nights here were peaceful after three nights at Upper PInes. Campers were a little more relaxed and the campfire smoke was not suffocating. No lights in the bathrooms.

If you like the outdoors and a quiet location near (within 35 minutes of Yosemite Valley) this is your place.
If you like crowds and noise stay in the Yosemite Valley campgrounds. I feel for me the drive is worth it. Leave early to avoid the crowd and get your Valley stuff done like hiking to waterfalls, etc.
Pros: Sites right on or very close to the Merced River
Fishing
Beautiful clean camp sites
Fire rings
Swimming
Large sites
Fresh water near sites
Quiet, except if you have a family of young kids near you
Very near awesome the giant Mariposa Grove Sequoia, a must see!
Cons: restrooms, needs a light, but clean
Toilet paper rolls, silly conservation oblong style which force you to only
unravel one piece at a friggin time. Yuk!
Most sites you cannot drive a small trailer down to, blocked by boulders.
Would love to give 5 stars, but until the restroom gets a light just cannot.
Oh yeah the dude cleaning the restroom was not exactly courteous. When asked if we could use the restroom soon while he was working on it he kinda gave us the stink eye. Hello Bates Motel…
Will definitely return soon. Great visit on site 38
Secret for anyone reading this far))))))
Site 31 is the best.
You are welcome!!!

Amazing campground, overall when your site is by the river :)
Nights packed of stars, not a noise.
Facilities fairly good.
The worst thing was the bear closet: they are a bit rusty and dirty.

Wawona Campground was like the Ritz Carlton of campgrounds with Camp 4 being equivalent to a Motel 6. Some helpful things to know:
–Reservations for peak summer months are booked six months in advance. We booked our reservations in January for a June stay. They release weekly blocks 6 months in advance and I’m told that the week of June 8^th sold out in a day.
–Plenty of shade in tree lined areas like Loops B and C. But this also means a lot of mosquitoes. A LOT. I counted no less than 22 gargantuan bites and I was pretty good about spraying some deet-​free repellent on me. Actually, now that I think about it, I would’ve opted for some deet instead of these hives I’ve got on my arms, legs, thighs and backs of my knees. Those suckers bit through my leggings.
–Leggings you say? In the middle of summer? YES. It gets down to the 40s at night. You’re at 4,000 feet so it does get cold. Dress in layers, because it also gets to the mid-​80s during daylight hours.
–It is about a 30 – 45 minute drive with lots of hairpin turns to Yosemite Valley. Leave in the morning to avoid the traffic. Well worth it though and stop along the way, esp. after you emerge from the tunnel for some awesome views of Half Dome and a few miles down the way, Bridal Veil.
–Six people to a campsite. Don’t try to sneak people in, those park rangers, they come around and count heads. They won’t tell you they’re doing it, they just do.
–Park rangers were friendly and accommodating so don’t piss them off by sneaking extra campers in or not using the bear box.
–Bathrooms were pristine. It smelled piney fresh and they came around and cleaned once every 24 hours. I know because I saw them. Everyday. Fortunately, the campers were respectful and everyone did their part to maintain its cleanliness.
–Don’t skip the Mariposa Grove. You can do the 4-​mile hike or the tram like we did. Very informative and again, run by very friendly people.
–There are no showers nearby but if you’re feeling bold (like we did, after 3 days of not showering, I would’ve gladly paid a fine if caught) you can sneak one in at nearby Wawona Hotel. There’s a public restroom and private showers with toiletries. (SHHHH! Super secret pro tip.)

Fantastic! We stayed at camp #77. The sites are all well spaced out and there is wonderful scenery surrounding the Merced River. Free hot chocolate in the mornings too.
TOILETS: are in great condition and all within 200m walk away from any site.
SHOWERS: are not here. Nearest showers are located in the housekeeping camp ($ 5) at Curry Village 50min drive away. Though you can clean yourself in the river (no soap allowed understandably).
FOOD: bring your own or go hungry. I would recommend eating at Yosemite Valley, but the restaurants at Fish Camp are all dire — avoid! Stock up before you arrive.
BEARS: we didn’t see any over three days. anywhere. The rangers are really informative and educate all visitors. Nothing to fear here.
In the evenings there is an amphitheatre around a campfire where the rangers tell stories and teach you about the park and its history. Really enjoyable. Only loses one star due to lack of a basic store for the size of the site.

I love love love this camp ground! I’ve stayed at site #78 and I’m coming back this year for another family trip! Pretty much every site at this camp ground you can’t go wrong with! Nice and quite at night and beautiful during the day!
Our families all time favorite camp ground!

By far, the best thing about this camp site is the river! As an avid user of my white noise machine with ocean sounds, there’s no better way to fall asleep than to the sound of a REAL river. The camp sites were nice and big, we had 2 large tents and an extra cover over the food area (thanks, late season rain) and still had plenty of room for the campfire group! We were there on a quiet weekend (again, thanks rain), so had no problems with loud people. There also seems to be nice space between camp sites.
The bathrooms are not lit, so bring a flashlight, and there are no showers. A bear locker is provided, and MUST be used. You cannot even leave food locked in your car. I was hoping for bear encounter, which didn’t happen. (Yeah people think I’m nuts, but I went camping in Africa and had elephants walking outside my tent, a clan of hyenas come through the camp, and even a jaguar growling about 10 feet away from the tent… so I was hoping to add a bear to the list! But no!)
They do allow dogs, which is good, but they will give you a hard time if you have more than 2 cars in your group, so if you have people meeting you, they may have to park elsewhere. Also, the ranger comes out in the mornings and makes cowboy coffee in the «ampitheater,» so it’s a fun way to meet fellow campers and ask questions.

$ 20 night for max of 7 nights and a limit of 6 people.
We got camp site #50. It was pretty near the men/​woman bathroom. No showers.
There is the Merced River near our camp site so we would hear the «swishing» sound of the water all day long. Refreshing.
I like Merlynda d. reviews. Pro/​Con list.
Pro:
Near Wawona General Store
Near Wawona Hotel

Pros:
1) Close to the south gate of Yosemite
2) Close to Mariposa Grove
3) Next to a river
4) Well kept campsite
5) Close to Wawona Hotel and general store
Cons:
1) No showers
2) No easy access to the river
3) Weekend and holiday campers don’t pay attention to the 10pm quiet time
4) Campsite is very dusty
5) General store in Wawona has VERY limited items

I love Yosemite, but I don’t like staying in the huts. I like roughing it, or as close to roughing it as possible. This place is away from the crowds. Its a little more secluded than the main valley & you’re not that far away from everything. The rangers here were awesome, checking on you daily and giving great advice for activities within the park. They also are quick to hook you up with a spot if people don’t show up for their reservations, even if you don’t have one!
The only drawback is that many of the spots are quite close to each other, so you’ll feel like you’re camping with a bunch of other people if you’re not in one of the more isolated plots. We did get a nice quiet, isolated spot, which is why we LOVED it here.

Definitely worth checkin’ out! Found the camp site to be fairly empty as it was late in the season. During the summer season it’s packed.
This is a great place to do photography in the night as well. It is pitch black at night and you can do some killer time lapse photography.
The one painful part is getting the wilderness permits. You need to show up one day in advance to pick it up. This in my opinion sucks. This means if you want to camp Saturday night you need to make sure you show up Friday before 4:30 to pick up the permit. This is what we were told. Very inconvenient…
Besides this painful rule… Yosemite is an amazing place!
Thanks,
–NP

I have stayed twice at this campground and I like it a lot. It’s about 15 minutes in from the south gate and about 30 minutes from The Valley. The Merced River runs right through the campground just make sure you stay in either loop b or loop c because loop a has hardly any shade. Also, it gets very hot in the summer so be ready for the heat and mosquitos. My biggest complaint about this campsite is that the closest shower is in The Valley. The positive is that Wawona is no where near as crowded as The Valley so you get a much quieter and real camping experience.

The listing is incorrect. This is not called Camp Wawona (for Camp Wawona go to
).
This is called Wawona Campground. It is a campground owned my Yosemite National Park. Visit this website for more information (
).
The correct phone number is: 877−444−6777 or (209) 375‑9535
The address is:
PO BOX 577
Yosemite National Park (Wawona), CA 95 389
GPS Info. (Latitude, Longitude):
37.57 306, –119.665

Yosemite National Forest has GOT to be nature at its peak. I mean it is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous enough to distract from pesky mosquitoes.
Speaking of mosquitoes… I read in an Uncle Johns that it is actually only the females who drink your blood for mating reasons rather than feeding or nourishment. Also, you blondes and redheads are favored by them.
Anywho, Wawona campsite is a good 30 minute drive outside of the main Yosemite Valley. Be prepared to make time for driving if you plan on an early hike. Our campspot was absolutely primo. We booked site 37 right on the river serveral months in advance. The individual site is HUGE and plenty shaded. The downside though to being near a river in the summer? Frikin’ mosquitoes everywhere and they won’t leave you alone! Just be sure to bring industrial strength repellant and a picnic table net. I know I will the next time.
Don’t forget to bring your innertube and float on the Merced River. If you forget, there are natural pools surrounded by sequoias and redwoods to swim in.

++ great riverside location
++ easy to get to from south entrance
++ large size camp sites
++ close to wawona trails
– ground was wet, can make tent very cold at night
– 45mins from main valley (ok if you plan ahead)
– no showers
– nearest food is 30mins away