American Dimond O Camp Ground

Nicest campground manager around. Very helpful and kind. We were able to get a camp spot last minute and he was very kind toward U.S. military members. You get a camp spot for $ 12 as a military member instead of $ 20. Bathrooms well kept and so close to Yosemite National Park. Great place

A really great getaway that is tucked deep in the forest with ample greenspace for your campsite. Lots of trees, friendly camp manager and neighbours, and excellent toilets, water spouts and trash cans.
Each site has a large bear locker, picnic table, raised dirt bed for your tent, and generous parking space. There is extra car parking available too.
Some of the very old reviews mention an undesirable toilet situation, but I was very impressed at how clean and pleasant the toilets were kept during my stay! Absolutely nothing like the old negative reviews. Very well maintained now.
This is a great campsite that takes only 35 minutes to drive into Yosemite Valley with a beautiful forest drive. So worth the lushness and privacy to be away but close enough to the action.

The campground was great the bathrooms smiled like pinesol
Mike and his dog were very helpful when I didn’t have power bait
To fish with he provided his own for my wife and l
Thank u Mike and dimond o campground

Had a fantastic 3 night stay here. Camped right by the stream. Camp host Mike (& his 4 legged helper Milo) was friendly and helpful. I highly recommend this campground for a getaway.

My Family and I Love Diamond O!!! it is a beautiful campground!!! the first year we camped there we didn’t even make reservations, just winged it, and they did have a few campsites available. Its not to hard to get to as long as you see and turn onto Evergreen Rd and drive back 4 miles, simple, but I suggest you do it during the day and not at night lol. It is about 40 – 45 minutes from Yosemite valley floor but is a beautiful drive down, also very close to Hetch Hetchy which is also very beautiful, had to check it out cause I’m a huge fan of John Muir fan.
The campsites are a great size and have lots of beautiful trees. We had sites 17, 18, and 22, which gave my 3 year old son plenty of room to run around between sites and keep busy. Each site has a picnic table, fire pit, and 2 bear boxes that I thought were pretty small. No showers and the bathrooms yes are pretty awful but we had brought our own shower tent, Coleman shower bags, and portable potty which worked out pretty good. The sites are also pretty close to the Tuolumne river, there is a path right next to the bathrooms that lead you down to a few perfect fishing holes and few spots to jump in and cool off.
The camp host is super nice and everyday during the evening he would come down and clean up and stock the bathrooms, lock up the dumpsters, and check to see if anyone needed firewood, which was donation, there is a donation box at the host site and I believe it was $ 5 donation for a bundle, pretty awesome price for what we’ve paid in the past for a bundle of firewood.
We did have a couple bears come into the campground one night, all they wanted was the dumpsters. What you really have to look out for is the squirrels lol, never leave the bear box open while you make breakfast or lunch or even snacks on the tables, they are sneaky and will take anything that’s edible!!!
We have stayed here twice and will definitely be back!!!

Just got back, did leave early because it’s sooo hot there right now, but dipping in the river is great. Lots of trees for shade. The pit toilets are gross by definition but the camp hosts keep them super clean. The site we were in was surprisingly small (site 15). Couldn’t have fit 2 tents if we wanted to.
We arrived after dark and had no idea where we were going. The turn off Hwy 120 is clearly marked, but then there is a fork in the road eventually, go left towards Hetch Hetchy. There is ice and everything you could ever want at Evergreen Lodge, 1 mile past Dimond O.
There were few Mosquitos and no poison oak which is a big bonus, but there are Tons of other bugs, tons! If we had one of those screened-​in awnings, dinner would have been more enjoyable. I had flying grasshoppers slapping me right and left, plus 2 beetles in my pillow case (unbelievable I know). Maybe insect activity is super high because of the heat wave?
We tried to hike Hetch Hetchy, but didn’t make it far in the 105′ heat. The views of the valley are amazing though.
Everyone we saw was super vigilant about stowing food in the bear boxes. Saw no bears, heard no bears. But we did leave our dog’s food out when we walked to the river, and the squirrels made quick work of that.
We went here based on a recommendation from Sunset Magazine, which I cannot locate now. It’s a quiet, remote campground. I don’t know if we’ll go back, but I’m glad we went this time.

Just went camping at the Dimond O Campground and had a good experience there, along with the fellow campers I went with. It’s not that hard to get to. All you need to do is look for the tiny Evergreen sign off the highway 120 and make a left. (if you’re coming from Manteca.) The sign is hard to see if you’re not looking closely.
These campgrounds are nice, large, and appears to be well kept. There are a lot of trees that makes for heavily shaded camping spots. Its perfect for warm summers. There is also a trail that runs from the campground to the river. You can make reservations online, and choose the spot you want to stay. (if you reserve early enough.)
Manager of the campground: He’s a nice guy and very personable. He gives excellent tips for people who are new to Yosemite. I felt he had really good customer service. He also gave some advice about not leaving food in the bear boxes during the day time during the summer. In 90 – 100 degree weather, the food can cook in the bear boxes, so its best to keep them either stored somewhere else.
Restrooms: You can’t really complain. It’s better than digging up a hole in the woods with a shovel. The restrooms are reasonably clean and well stocked with toilet paper. However, they had gotten more pungent each day which can happen anywhere else on any camping trip.
Bears: There is a sign at the restroom that warns everyone that this is Bear Country. Make sure you have your food or anything that smells like food locked in the bear boxes over night. There was a mother bear along with two cubs that paid a visit to the camp. They began checking out the garbage cans, and was jumping on someone’s picnic table at night. As we flashed a light at one of the clubs, it tried to quickly climb a tree. The mother bear was close by keeping an eye on here two little ones. We were very close to the bears, within a few feet. The bears didn’t try to attack us or attempt any harm. Their purpose on the campsite was only to look for food, that they shouldn’t be eating. The next day, I heard that one of the cubs was stuck inside a garbage can and had trouble getting out. The mother bear was trying to help. It was caught on video (not by me.)
Random notes: If you’re coming from Yosemite to the camp, and happen to use a GPS use this note as extra caution. If the GPS tells you to take a detour and make a turn on Sawmill Mountain.
DON’T DO IT!
We easily missed the Evergreen road sign on our way back to the campsite at night, and was directive to make a right turn on Sawmill Mtn. We quickly noticed that it was a very narrow road where the trees grazed the car every five seconds. The ground had many pot holes of different sizes. It was a very bumpy ride. We had also used a Cell Phone map to double check where we were and how far we were from the Campsite. All of the signs of the unknown had been a good reason to turn around, but since we’ve driven so far, might as well keep going. We tried to check the list of directions for the GPS for the turns we were going to make, and it seemed to have a fair reason to how it was going to get us back to the campsite. There were supposed to be a few routes that would take us back but we had not seen them. It did not seem like a good idea to keep following the GPS due to the narrowness and how far we were from civilization. Finally, the GPS told us to turn around and make a safe u turn on the extra narrow road. When we did, the GPS directed us to turn right approximately 500 yards later. This would have led us through some trees and down the mountain for a roller coaster ride of our lives that we would have last expected.
We later found out that Sawmill Mtn was about 15 –20 miles past Evergreen so it took us an extra 30 – 45 minutes for that GPS fiasco. It might have led us back to the camp, but it was much easier backtracking and using highway 120.

This is a decent, if extremely basic, campground just outside the hustle of Yosemite.
Campgrounds: We had 10 people on two connected campsites, and it was a little cramped but also really fun. Each site has a picnic table, a fire pit, and two bear boxes.
Facilities: These bathrooms are HORRENDOUS! There was literally feces on the walls and toilet seats and they smelled from 10 feet away. We ended up just using the great outdoors for number 1 (though we had a corner lot leading down to the creek — others were more surrounded by more campsites, so this wouldn’t be an option) and just used the bathrooms at Yosemite and at gas stations for numero dos. Really, for the amount we spent on the campsites, you would think that at least SOME of that money would go towards cleaning these bathrooms up on a regular basis! There are no showers, but in mid-​August the creek was brisk and refreshing, so we donned swimsuits and took advantage of this beautiful little creek. The creek was only about 50 yards behind our site.
Bear boxes: each campsite has two boxes about 2 feet x 2 feet x 4 feet, so even with food for 10 people our four boxes were plenty.
Location: It took us about 20 minutes to get to the park entrance and another 40 minutes to get to the central areas (Misty Trail) of Yosemite park, so it’s definitely a good launching point if you can’t get reservations inside the park. A word to the wise: Plan on getting here before dark! The turnoff from 120 is easy to miss, and after that it’s about 6 miles of very twisty and narrow road to Dimond O.
Fire pit: The pit was pretty basic with one of those wide– spaced grills that swings over the top (common at campsites). It’s clearly not ideal for cooking, so stoves and BBQs are recommended.
Bears: Definitely present! One morning around 4 AM we were woken up by at least one bear rifling through the middle of our site. Nothing bad happened since we didn’t have any food out, but you’ll want to bring a blowhorn at the very least.
Animals: This site is dog friendly! If your dog isn’t well trained, plan to keep him on a leash, and if he’s a barker, well, leave him at home. Sound carries here very well.
Overall, I might be back if significant improvement was made to the bathrooms, but otherwise I’d look around for a more updated campsite.