Yosemite National Park
May 10th – May 16th, 2021 (6 nights)
Yosemite is a must see National Park mainly because of its abundance of scenic beauty. Waterfalls, huge granite sheer mountain walls, wildlife, and a beautiful valley with meadows and countless hiking and biking trails add to the immense wonder of the park. If you can reserve a spot at one of the campgrounds in Yosemite, consider yourself very lucky as these spots are extremely difficult to get. For tips on getting a spot, see my previous article “Winning Yosemite’s Campground Reservations Online Lottery”.
The drive from Carlsbad, California to Upper Falls Campground in Yosemite takes between 7 and 8 hours. To make the drive easier, we decided to stop midway both on the drive up and way back home. We stayed at two Boondockers Welcome locations, so the overnight stays didn’t cost us anything (other than the $50 annual subscription fee). We stayed in the driveway of a nice home in Visalia going to Yosemite and at a miniature donkey farm in Bakersfield on the way home (this was our 2nd visit!). Using this subscription is a great way to make trips easier and get some interesting experiences!
Yosemite has several campgrounds and we chose to stay at Upper Pines. This is a fantastic campground nestled within the pines and having a sheer granite wall towering high overhead. There are 240 campsites at Upper Pines and each has a picnic table, food locker and fire pit. Although there are no hookups, there are bathrooms and access to drinking water from central spigots. There is also a Dump Station at the entrance to Upper Pines campground. We found the Dump Station to be completely empty throughout the day. It gets busier around midday when people are checking in. Although the campground has a lot of shade, there was enough sunlight at our site #126 to keep our solar panels out and charging our Scamp battery. Site #126 was rated for a travel trailer with maximum length of 12 feet. It is the responsibility of the camper to ensure that both the travel trailer and tow vehicle fit on the campsite pad and do not stick out onto the roadway. With our Scamp 13’ and our Volvo XC40 (around 14’) we were still able to just fit by angling our tow vehicle slightly to keep the nose off the road. A longer tow vehicle or trailer might have a problem in this short campsite. So, it’s important to read the campsite description before reserving to make sure your setup will fit!
We made sure to use the Dump Station on entry to Upper Pines campground (which also includes a fresh water filling area) so our Scamp 13’ was completely dumped as well as filled with fresh water. Fortunately, we carried our Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution with us so we did not need to move our Scamp 13’ the entire 4 days at the campground! On the morning of the 3rd day, I filled our 4 five gallon grey water tank jugs and drove them to the Dump Station and poured them out there. We didn’t have an issue with our Black tank as it can generally go for about 6-7 days with two people. Our electrical needs were taken care of by using our solar panel briefcase each day.
For just $26 per day, staying in Upper Pines Campground is a fantastic bargain! It’s an easy walk or bike ride to sites throughout the Yosemite Valley, including Curry Village, the general store, Cook’s Meadow Loop, and Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. And, a lot of great trails, like the Lower Yosemite Fall Trail, Cook’s Meadow Loop, Mirror Lake Loop, Valley Loop Trail, Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall Trails, Mist Trail, John Muir Trail, and Yosemite Falls Trail are all easily accessible from Upper Pines Campground. We chose to walk throughout the valley, but bike rentals are also available. Alternatively, for a nice hotel within the park, plan a stay at The Ahwahnee hotel and expect to pay over $500/night!
The campground was very quiet but populated. We had the opportunity of meeting a nice retired couple travelling in a van from Maryland (tent campers). They invited us to dinner at their campsite one night (great salmon and rice dish) and we cooked them pasta on another night. They are on a four month trip across the country visiting National Parks. We were fortunate with the weather and crowds. Every day was clear and sunny and afternoons were warm but not too hot. We experienced dramatic starry nights and enjoyed watching the climbers’ lights as they scaled the faces of some very high vertical walls in pure darkness. Our days were filled with long walks throughout Yosemite Valley and early morning hikes. Our favorite hike was up to Vernal Falls – the most interesting part is a steep stone staircase that goes up to the top of the falls. A rainbow forms across the stairs due to the heavy mist created by the water fall. We ventured out to Yosemite Valley almost every night to enjoy the stars and engage in astrophotography.
Our four nights at Upper Pines Campground went by very quickly. Yosemite is a great place to get outdoors and also relax. There’s hiking, horseback riding, fishing, biking, boating, climbing, and countless other activities in which to engage. We did speak to one of the rangers and he advised us that it does get like Disneyland in the summer with serious crowding. So, if you can arrange it, go in early to mid-May because the weather should be good (although can be unpredictable), the water falls are generally raging, and it’s most likely going to be less crowded than during the summer months. Yosemite National Park gets 5 stars!
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