Camp 4

It’s the place to go if you don’t have a reservation in the valley. For $ 6 per day, it’s a great deal. However, you can forget about privacy and solitude. This place gets annoyingly loud if there are only a handful inconsiderate people. Bathroom can get quite dirty by the end of the day, and people keep washing dishes at the water fountain even though there’s a sign telling them not to.
During summer season, prepare to start waiting in line as early as 4 if forecast is good. Grab a chair and blanket or something to kill time with.

Historic climbing site | Cool camping spot | Kiosk help sucks
$
I used to camp here all the time with my parents and friends. Now, it’s always super crowded and guaranteed tough to get a spot. People line up the night before waiting for a spot to open the next morning… it’s that bad. (First-​come first-​serve basis. no reservations)
CHEAP to stay here, unless they recently raised their prices. $ 5 per person per night
Parking lot was expanded a bit to accommodate more people.
LOTS of bouldering in the campground area.
Some trailheads nearby to go to upper Yosemite falls.
Sites have bear lockers. No pets allowed. Fire pits. Flush toilets.
I was just over here for Halloween and my husband was bouldering on one of the classic routes — Midnight Lightning (V8). It’s located right in the heart of the campground area next to the bathroom. He fell and hurt his ankle (most likely a sprain), but when we went to seek help at the kiosk, the woman’s response was:
«if it’s that bad, call 911.»
Didn’t say any other suggestions.
We went back a few minutes later to ask her where we could get an x-​ray and what our other options were but she LEFT!!! Wow.
We found out the closest hospital is in Mariposa. Either you drive awhile out to the nearest hospital or you call 911 and have an entourage of paramedics and helicopters coming in to get you. Ridiculous.
— — — — — -
UPDATE 1÷19÷16:
So, I just got a message from a d-​head of a climber saying that there is a clinic in the park that provides radiology services and ‘who asks for assistance with rescue for an ankle from Midnight Lightning’? Well, that’s what we were hoping we’d find out from the lady at the kiosk, but she failed to tell us this. And, if any of you haven’t jumped on Midnight Lightning, the general consensus is that the foot holds are greasy and the pocket crimp hold is tough to stick. Certainly a fun and classic route even for us climbers that have been climbing for 8 years. And besides, no matter what type of climbing you’re doing or the difficulty of the grade, if someone is injured, there shouldn’t be judgement passed on trying to find informative options.

Just came back from this campsite. Stayed from Friday ⁰⁹⁄₁₈ till Sunday ⁰⁹⁄₂₀ and it was a Great campsite ! Listen to everyone that says to get there early because spots do fill up quickly! My party and I arrived Friday morning at 5am and we were 3^rd in line. Good thing is that there’s a sign on the front of the window that tells you how many spots will be available the next day so you can get a good idea of whether or not You’re gonna get a spot. Close range to some hiking trails and the view all around you is breath taking (as I’m sure most of Yosemite is).
Hike up to Taft point, the fissures, and the dome for lots of GREAT views! Hike is pretty laid back not too intense, some uphill climbs but the view and experience of all the nature around you is so worth it! It’s about a 4 – 6 mile loop depending on how many stops you make and which directions you choose.
I would love to come back to this campsite everything was absolutely perfect!
Oh and PS the village café down the street is not so great, I would take as much of my own food as possible because prices are outrageous and food is basically high school cafeteria food LOL. But besides that, great experience at camp 4!

Yosemite, in general, is a majestic place. I have never been anywhere that comes close to its beauty. We have been here a few times already and we never get tired of it.
On May 2^nd of 2014 we had stayed a week at Curry Village but we still hadn’t had enough of Yosemite and we were not ready to leave. We had made a plan to wake up in the wee hours of tha morn in order to get a campsite at camp 4. Well, there was a bear that kept me up at night. (My wife said the bear that was keeping us up was actually me snorring, I dont believe I snore tho, I’ve never heard myself snore)
We got up at 8! Heck we were so late we jumped out of bed and left, I didnt even brush my teeth! We got there before 8:20. I was surprised that there was only about 7 people in line. The ranger was super nice, she got there about 8:40.
I couldn’t believe that it was only 5 bucks a person! You get what you pay for.
Im not dissatisfied with the campsite. Ive been to many campsites and this one is still nice.
Cons:
*You dont actually have a campsite, its more like sharing one with 3 or 4 other groups. Yes you also share the fire pit.
*the haul from your car to your camp spot can be very long and there is no way to pull your car up close to it.
*bathrooms get very very crowded in the mornings. Hey at least there is bathrooms and you dont have to dig and poop.
* noisy annoying campers. Its a party site.
*in the date we came I was attacked by mosquitoes. Might be different in other times of the year.
I didnt mind these things. I took off a star because I nicely asked the ranger to wash my clothes and she completely refused. I thought that was mean. She gets a one star for that.
However I would much rather camp in upper or lower pines but this is also a ok option. If this was my only choice I would still come.

Wonderful campsite. Went here for the first time over this past weekend 8−7−15 to 8−9−15.
Truth be told, all the reviews I read about the wait and limited capacity scared me off. Arrived to the campsite around 4am and two people were already up in line snuggled in two sleeping bags. Around 430, 2 more cars drove into the lot, which drove me and my friend to go out to wait behind the first two people. By 5am there were about 30 people in line more or less. By 630, about 80 and by 8am, well over 100.
After taking a short little nap, i woke up to the first two people out of line! 83 people got spots that day and the process was very easy. If only I had noticed the sign in front of the rangers kiosk earlier, I’d have waited in the car longer (as the sign will tell you how many spots will be available the following morning). I did get rained on during the wait, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ not too much of a big deal.
All in all, a friendly community. The weather was perfect, no bugs! (Perhaps because it’s late summer) the campsite holds the trailheads to both upper and lower yosemite.
Camp 4 is a perfect one mile walk to the Four Mile Trail TH. And there are shuttles that stop right in front.

Very clean place and very nice. Best thing about this campground is that it’s right next to all the main attractions. Like Yosemite falls and the stores and everything. The worst thing is that your super close to each other and there is NO PRIVACY AT ALL! Everyone can see each other so easily.

Wow! Three stars! Now that I’ve got your attention, I want to say that Camp 4 is probably a great camp worth 5 stars (especially for its proximity to valley attractions), but be warned: SPOTS GO QUICK.
***TRYING TO GET A CAMPSITE ON A FRIDAY MORNING***
I read Scott L’s review and expected ~40 spots to open up the morning of July 17^th, but only 20 spots (space for 20 people, not 20 campsites) opened up at 8 AM. Yep, that’s right; arriving at 6 AM (sharp), we were about 25^th in line. I’ve attached a photo to show how the waiting spot is, and how long the line was at 6 AM.
Shortly after we arrived, the line doubled in the span of half an hour. It’s really a crazy rush; had we arrived twenty minutes later, we would’ve been #35 or 40. At 7, there’s about 50 people waiting.
Now I’m not sure what your inclination for risk is, but unless you’re there as the first 20, I’d use the reception available at Camp 4 to wisely search for a backup. The ranger who eventually came at 8:40-ish told us to go to Tioga Road, as campsites there might still have spots; my original backup was White Wolf, but we decided to go further into Tioga Rd. in case White Wolf was already taken. We ended up camping for the weekend at Porcupine Flats. It’s a great spot, and quite a large one, at that (convenient if you’re planning on going to lakes, albeit a little further from the valley attractions).
So my advice: arrive early — REALLY early, just in case — and have backup campsites. Not just one, but two or three — and make sure you know where they are, and how to get over to Tioga Road. Or just skip Camp 4 and head over to White Wolf. The drive is long, from one part of Yosemite to another, but if you’re spending a weekend here, it’s worth it to explore the area.
GENERAL YOSEMITE ADVICE: this is for first-​timers. Those who are experienced probably know this already, but there’s two general parts of Yosemite and it’s the valley and everything down Tioga Road. Tioga Road doesn’t open up during the winter; the valley is where the most typical attractions are. Reservations are paramount, and if you want to stay in the valley, I’d heavily recommend getting a reservation if possible. It’s a little easier to get the first-​come first-​served campsites outside of the valley, but you would then need to drive over to the valley every time you want to visit or skip the valley attractions altogether (as my group did). If you choose the latter, the valley justifies another visit sometime in the future.

Just came back from camp 4 for two nights, Tues-​Thurs in June 2015 and wanted to provide some updated information. You can’t beat this campground — right in the valley, friendly vibe, close to trailheads.
Arrived at 5:56am and was #14 in line. The day I arrived (Tuesday) there were spots for 72 people that opened up, and everyone in line got a spot, though you had to wait longer if you were toward the back since the registration process takes a while. The ranger started the process at 8:20am, and I was on my way on a hike by 10:30am. No need to claim a bear box, as the previous poster mentioned — now they’re assigned.
If you’re coming up from far away, it might be a good idea to stay at a cheap place 1−2h out from the park the night before and then drive in. Crane Flat also had campsites available at the time I was researching campgrounds, so you could also stay there the night before, though I guess then you have to tear down early and then drive over.
Things I wish I knew before going:
– bring a bucket or a basin in which to wash your dishes — there’s no dishwashing at the sink they have there
– bring kindling or smaller pieces of wood in addition to normal firewood if you’re going to start a campfire — you can’t gather wood from the ground
Have fun!

Camped here Fri– Sun 4÷10÷15−4÷12÷2015
Group of 6 of us.
After doing some research, we decided we were going to do a walk up campsite. It being off season, it seemed a lot of campsites were closed, with only Lower and Upper Pines open, but they are by RSVP only. Speaking with a man on the trail, he said he booked his campsite there 7 months in advance there…
I couldn’t seem to find a detailed guide of obtaining a spot at Camp 4, I read multiple blogs and pieced everything together. So here is my personal guide of going about and getting a campsite at Camp 4:
Thursday night: we drove from San Diego and stayed in Oakhurst that night. We booked the Comfort Inn Yosemite Area for $ 100.00 (2 queen beds). We had gotten in at 1 am and hit the road again at 5:30 am.
Friday: we had another set of friends driving up from SD, but they chose to leave at midnight and drive straight to Camp 4. They beat us by 45 min. Leaving at 5:30, we didn’t pull into Camp 4 till 7 am. By that time, there were about 12 – 14 ppl ahead of us in line. Yes it’s true, ppl pull out their sleeping bags and climbing pads and sleep in front of the ranger kiosk until the ranger shows up at supposedly 8:30 am.
Note, on Friday ⁴⁄₁₀ the ranger didn’t show up until around 10 am. (Rumor was someone went and complained at the visitor center and was advised a ranger didn’t show up to their job so they had to send another ranger to open up)
Steps to obtaining a campsite:
1) obtain an envelope (notate license plate number of your car)
2) find empty bear box
3) stick something inside of bear box like a book, blanket water bottle to claim it
4) notate campsite number on bear box
5) write down bear box number on envelope
6) go sign in everyone in your party and notate campsite on sign in sheet
7) put money ($ 6/​per night) in envelope and drop it into the slot next to sign in sheet
8) attach tag from envelope onto tent
4 bear boxes to each campsite, 35 – 36 campsites. Bathrooms are decently clean. There is a faucet for water in between the restrooms, you can’t do dishes there, so I would recommend bringing a bucket to lug water back to campsite. One fire pit per campsite, has a metal rack you can put a pot on to boil water and what not. No showers here, you have to go to Curry Village. A couple of dumpsters for trash and recycle. You can buy firewood from the store which is a mile away. we paid $ 8.50 for a box. We went through about 3+ bundles.
Since there were 6 of us, and we had to share campsites with others, we set up 3 tents total on 2 campsites that were right next to each other, taking up 3 bear boxes. It didn’t seem like the rangers were not strict on how many people per campsite, I think there might have been 7 people on our campsite. It’s a popular campsite, so be ready to mingle with the other campers. We made friends with ours. I would say if you’re looking for peaceful quiet nature, this camp is not for you or a family with kids.
Our plan B if we hadn’t gotten a campsite here was gonna be Hodgdon Meadow, but it’s outer Yosemite 45 min away.
Another great thing about this site is it’s walking distance to the trail heads of Lower and Upper Yosemite Falls.

OBTAINING A SPOT DURING HOLIDAY WEEKENDS.
Because of the harsh restrictions regarding the amount of time one can stay in Yosemite Valley — and the fact that Camp 4 is the only «walk-​in» campground in the Valley — spots can be exceedingly difficult to obtain during major holidays, such as around the Memorial Day Weekend.
Below is a list of the number of available slots each day during and immediately after the 2013 Memorial Day Weekend as of 8:30am (i.e., immediately before the ranger arrived and distributed numbered cards to those on line confirming who could obtain a space and who could not); a further notation is made of the number of people who were present and waiting to be checked-​in at the time noted.
— Fri, 24 May — 68 Available Spots — 22 People present & on-​line at 5:15am
— Sat, 25 May — 27 Available Spots — 15 People present & on-​line at 3:15am
— Sun, 26 May — 43 Available Spots
— Mon, 27 May — 107 Available Spots
— Tue, 28 May — 63 Available Spots
— Wed, 29 May — 65 Available Spots
— Thu, 30 May — 75 Available Spots
— Fri, 31 May — 78 Available Spots

It is great for a last minute opportunity to find a campsite within Yosemite Valley. When we got to the ranger station outside of the park and were informed that all campsites were full, including Camp 4, I still drive in and hoped to find a spot at Camp 4, which I did.
Basically, Camp 4 is a first-​come first-​serve campsite. You pay $ 6 per person, per night. Payment is placed inside an envelope and slid into a paybox. You detach a flag associated with the envelope and attach it to your tent. You also write down your vehicle license plate. Check out is noon daily, so we arrived at 11:45 AM and just sought a vacated spot.
You will be sharing a campsite with up to 6 others, but it beats not being able to camp, at all.
Amenities include fire ring, bear lockers (there were 4 at our site), toilets, and sinks. No showers here. Yosemite shuttle is across the street at stop 7.

This campground is intense. We had to be in line at 5 am to assure ourselves of a spot, then had to share a firepit with another family. The demographic of this campground was mostly younger people which is fine if you’re looking to party a bit, but not the best for a quiet family retreat.
Other than sharing a site, it was mostly fine, however I probably will not return. It’s not a bad place to get out and see Yosemite if you’re looking to camp on a whim though.

We just got back from staying at camp 4. We stayed from Thursday until Sunday morning. There are definitely pros and cons to this camp. We arrived Thursday morning at around 7:00am and were probably the 15^th people in line. We waited about an hour and a half before the park ranger arrived.(Thursday morning ranger not as nice as the rest we encountered) We got our site assignment (shout out to spot 22) and had to wait until about noon (check out time) before the occupants packed up and left. Lots of stuff to do to kill time while we waited. So we get all our things set up and took off to explore. Also there are a bunch of slacklines set up just behind spot #22 which we really enjoyed. We brought ours and set it up but realized there was no need for ours and took it back down. There is a little store across the street from camp 4 for ice and what nots! You cannot light a camp fire until after 5 and it is supposed to be out by 10 but they give a little leniency on the weekends. This camp does get rowdy at night but is relatively quiet after 11. Some people take it a bit far and get slammed on the ground and arrested at like 2 am (shout out to Brett Dude). There Is a bigger store and outdoor sports shopping area at Yosemite village that you can take a shuttle to. This is also where you get your fishing and back packing licenses. There are so many striking views everywhere you look, and every time we left our camp we had a new shock and awww moment. We really like swimming in the water holes and cliff jumping, I don’t want everyone to know about these places, so reach out to me if you want to know some of these great spots. Just do yourself a favor and go to Yosemite!

5 Stars because you’re camping in Yosemite. If you have a horrible time here maybe change your attitude!!! I do say that it does get super crowded during thurs-​sun if you’re trying to get a site. But hey, I recommend friending up some people in line and getting a site together because who really wants to drive 3,4,5,6 hours for a first come first served campground and get turned away right? Let’s all get along.
Anyways, most people here have one thing in common, camp and enjoy nature so most people here are very respectful as I’ve come across.
This will always be my number one option as far as staying overnight or for a couple of nights in Yosemite.
Bathrooms available, no showers (Curry Village or maybe Yosemite Lodge for showers).
Village store is a brisk 15 minute walk east, Yosemite Lodge is just across the street and 5 mins away for extra snacks etc.

Camp 4 is amazing. The history behind it is great, the location is ideal, and all the coolest people stay there. Get up early (really early) to get your spot, or better yet come in April when the Valley is not packed.
I’m sorry, were you looking for luxury? No. there is no luxury here, except for the luxury of awesome company and the ease (necessity?) of making new friends from all over the world while staying here. The bathrooms are spartan, the registration process is archaic, the neighbors are the fun kind of noisy, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I got on Unilocal before my trip and learned some helpful things, but not EVERYTHING I wish I could have known. So this review is that.
First of all, the line. Will you get in? We stayed at the Yosemite Valley Inn in El Portal 15 minutes outside of Yosemite Valley so that we could get in the valley early to get in line. We were 2^nd in line on Tuesday, August 6^th and we got there at 6 am, which is when people are allowed to start lining up. There’s also a sign in the kiosk that says how many spaces will be open the next day. The parking lot requires a permit (comes with camp registration) and has plenty of space for everyone. The people in your spot have until 12 noon to leave, so plan on something to do while you wait. EVERYONE must have ID to register! The ranger let one in our group register without one, but I had to assume responsibility for her.
The camp is great. I read reviews complaining about the kind of people there, but really there are all kinds from families to hard core hikers. It’s like any other campground, so plan on a little bit of noise (ear plugs if you need them). Campfires are allowed only between 6pm-​10pm. You can light charcoal fires anytime. The camp ranger shows up at 8 am in the morning to deal with the line, and then the line starts moving at 8:30pm so bring something to pass the time (cards). At around 9:30am, the ranger comes around to inspect the camp, sooo if you have your fire out by then you should be fine.
A word about the shuttle. Don’t. It’s great they’re trying to reduce the use of cars by providing a free shuttle, but it’s a pain to have to circumnavigate the entire park before you get to where you want to go. Use the car. To go to Yosemite Village/Visitor’s center, don’t follow the signs to the parking lot, you’ll end up parking a 10 minute walk away and nobody wants to do that after hours of driving. Instead of turning right to enter the parking lot at the stop sign, turn left, head up the street to the end, and park in the village store parking lot on the left, walk through the store and up to the right is the visitor’s center. Might I add that there’s actually more than one shuttle line, which the maps don’t show. The El Capitan shuttle is NOT the shuttle you want that’s shown on the map. If you are going to take the bus from camp 4, you have to cross the street from the parking lot via the crosswalk, and you’ll see straight ahead just down the street, it’s NOT the El Capital bus stop right in front of the camp.
No, there are no showers in camp 4. They’re in Housekeeping Camp and Curry Village (both basically right next to eachother). Again, drive there, don’t take the shuttle. We used the housekeeping camp. The parking lot is permit free. Park right next to the «Do not enter» traffic sign and walk down that road. The showers will be to the right. My first shower was in the evening at around 5 pm. And I got in free without knowing we had to pay. My second time was 7:30 am and the said I had to pay $ 5 to use the shower, but they provide soap, shampoo, and a towel. Reasonable.
Recommendations:
–Sentinel Dome for sunset– park at glacier point. a moderate hike, not bad at all. prepare for the most spectacular display of color you’ve ever seen. doesn’t matter what time of year, bring a jacket/​pants!
–Inflatable raft on the Merced river at Sentinel beach– put on some sunscreen and sunglasses, lay back, and drift with mountain giants as your view, ridiculously relaxing.
–Star gazing on the hood of your car. Park on Northside Dr. at Cook’s meadow for a tree free view of the milky way clouds. I’ve never seen the stars more beautiful.
So, 4 stars for no showers, but it definitely hits the mark for a non-​reservation stay in Yosemite.

We camped here in March so it was busy but not completely full. There was no one working at the camp entrance so we just chose a site, filled out the paperwork and attached the ticket to our tent.
The food bins were pretty packed, I find it hard to believe that during the summer there is enough room for everyone’s food to be locked up.
$ 5 per person is pretty good for right in the valley and you don’t need reservations months in advance like some of the other valley campgrounds.
We were just happy to be staying in the valley to avoid the 45 min drive from some outlying campgrounds. We even saw a bobcat right at the campgrounds entrance!

Yosemite National Park is a pretty amazing place to go see. The downside on this park is the campgrounds. So, we get to the park around 5 in the morning and stood in the freezing cold weather for two hours hoping that we get a spot to camp for a couple of nights. When they opened around 8am, they came out and give out tickets to about 5 people. Luckily we were the last people to get a ticket.
So, we get to the campground and our camping site was about 10×10 space with a little fire pit and was right next to the bathrooms. Our neighbors that we had kept looking at us almost the whole time, it was really weird. But we make do and had a great time exploring the park for a couple of days. My favorite thing was the tunnel view and the El Capitan Mountain.
Yosemite National Park is one of the seven wonders of the whole. It is definitely worth coming to. So, if you are ever visiting San Francisco, you should head over to Yosemite National Park for a day.

We got there at 6am to get a spot for 2 people. There were more than 20 people in front of us already. I think that day 50 people were able to register. Ranger came at 8:30am. By the time we finished registering it was 9:30am, and our numbers were 24 and 25.
I did not like this camp ground much because there is no private space since 6 people are sharing one site, and too many people in this camp ground.

I loved Camp 4! It’s a first-​come, first-​serve walk-​in campground across from the Yosemite Lodge. At $ 5 per person per night, you just can’t beat the value! I mean, all I really needed was a place to set my tent. This place ups the ante by providing picnic tables, a fire grill, and some toilets. Of course, no camp site in Yosemite would be complete without bear lockers. There are five lockers per site and each site allows up to six people, so there is plenty of room for your food and anything that might smell like food.
There is a dedicated parking lot for Camp 4 residents. It’s a «walk-​in» campground because you can’t park your car right next to your tent like some other places. You have to schlep your gear to your site, which can be a little haul, depending on where you decide to reside. Of course, you may not have a choice. My Yosemite trip was in February, so there were plenty of spots. If you plan on going in the summer months, though, you’d better show up extremely early to guarantee a spot.
Oh and another awesome thing? Camp 4 is right at the trailhead for the Upper Yosemite Falls. It’s also a fairly short hike to the Yosemite Village. Camp 4 really makes a great base camp for your Yosemite adventures.