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Updated July 2026 · 12 min read
Yosemite Valley’s three drive-in campgrounds — Upper Pines, Lower Pines, and North Pines — book through recreation.gov on a monthly release schedule: the next month’s dates drop at 7am Pacific on the 15th, and summer weekends are typically gone within minutes. If you miss the release, your best shot is a cancellation, which happens constantly as other campers’ plans change. Camp.land watches all three Pines campgrounds and emails you the moment a site opens, so you do not have to babysit the booking page yourself.
These are three of the hardest reservations to land anywhere in the National Park System. Here is how booking actually works, what each campground offers, and what to do when the calendar shows nothing but red.
All three Pines campgrounds book on recreation.gov, and Yosemite Valley uses a monthly release schedule rather than a rolling window. The next month’s inventory becomes available at 7am Pacific on the 15th of the prior month — for example, August dates release on July 15. This is one of the few genuinely canonical release windows in the whole park system, and serious campers have an account ready and a reminder set for that exact minute.
Once the window opens, popular dates — especially Friday and Saturday nights from late spring through early fall — are typically claimed within minutes. If you are not logged in and ready to go the moment the calendar updates, you are already behind.
None of the three campgrounds have hookups. Upper Pines has 235 sites (202 standard nonelectric, 29 RV no-hookup, and 4 tent-only) and is the only one of the three open year-round. Lower Pines has 74 sites (62 standard, 12 RV no-hookup) along the Merced River. North Pines has 81 sites (63 standard, 18 RV no-hookup) near the Yosemite Valley Stables and the Mirror Lake trail. All three sit on the free Valley shuttle line within walking distance of Curry Village.
Missing the 7am release on the 15th does not mean your trip is dead. People cancel Yosemite reservations all the time — plans change, flights fall through, someone gets sick. Those cancellations post directly back to recreation.gov, and they can open up any night of the week, including the exact Saturday you wanted.
The problem is timing. Cancellations can happen at any hour, and refreshing recreation.gov by hand for weeks on end is not a realistic plan. Camp.land watches Upper Pines, Lower Pines, and North Pines around the clock and emails you the second a site opens for the dates you want, so you can grab it before anyone else even sees it.
If no site opens before your trip, Mariposa and El Portal — the two gateway towns on Yosemite’s west side — both have cabins and vacation rentals you can book today. It is not the same as falling asleep under the Valley’s granite walls, but it keeps your trip alive while Camp.land keeps watching for a cancellation.
Prefer a cabin or cottage nearby?
Cabins and vacation rentals in Mariposa and El Portal are worth booking as a backup if Upper, Lower, and North Pines are all full.
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Upper Pines is the largest of the three and the only one open all year, so it carries the heaviest demand, especially in winter when it is the only game in town. It sits closest to Curry Village and the trailhead for the Mist Trail, Vernal Fall, and Nevada Falls, plus the Half Dome cables trailhead for permitted hikers.
Lower Pines is smaller and quieter, with several sites backing right up to the Merced River. It is a good pick if you want the same Curry Village convenience with less foot traffic through camp.
North Pines is the shadiest and most secluded of the three, tucked near where Tenaya Creek meets the Merced River and close to the Mirror Lake trailhead. If you want more tree cover and a bit more separation from the crowds, this is the one to watch for.
Every site across Upper, Lower, and North Pines is nonelectric, so plan for dry camping no matter which one you land. A cooler, extra water, and a fully charged battery pack go a long way. Bear boxes are provided at every site and are mandatory for all food and scented items — there are no exceptions, and rangers do check.
Yosemite Valley camping is some of the most competitive in the country, and that is not going to change. The 7am release on the 15th will keep selling out in minutes, and most people who wanted a summer Saturday will not get one that way. Cancellations are the real second chance — they post to recreation.gov constantly, you just need eyes on them at the right moment.
Set your alert, keep Mariposa or El Portal in your back pocket as a plan B, and let Camp.land do the watching while you plan the rest of the trip.
Set a Yosemite Alert