Upper Pines Campground — Attraction in Oakhurst

Really disappointed that we had a bad time here - I'm posting my experience so that other people might know what they're getting into when they book this place. Just for some background, this is from the perspective of an early 30s couple (no kids yet) who came to Yosemite with the intention to hike.

Pros: Site was clean, there is a picnic table, fire pit, food locker, toilet facilities, incredibly close proximity to some great trails, and Yosemite in general is just beautiful

Cons: This is not "camping" - it is a parking lot with tents. I mean, quite literally, your tent is 15 feet from your neighbor and you are surrounded by them on all sides. Not particularly an issue if that's what you're expecting when you come here - the problem is truly the people. With the close proximity to trails comes dozens of hikers that will march through your campsite without any consideration that there are people sleeping or trying to relax. There were multiple campsites in our circle that decided this would be the perfect place to throw a family reunion (20+ people in a single tent campsite) and being loud well past quiet hours. There were a lot of families there who also let their young children have free reign of the campground and we had many of them riding their bicycles in circles around our fire pit and screaming while we were sitting next to it - couldn't find the parents, and despite asking them to stop, they continued to ride through everybody's campsites. There are flocks of aggressive ravens that have been fed by people here. They stalk you while you are cooking, and try to steal your food right out of your hand as you are eating. We had to eat inside the car.

Overall consensus: If you do not mind excessive noise and no privacy, this is a great place to stay. The location is great and overall the place was pretty clean. However, the behavior of a lot of the people that come here is completely out of control and there is no staff here to mitigate it. We came here to do a lot of hiking (as I'm sure a bunch of other people did) and would be exhausted by the time we came back to our campsite. We were at Upper Pines for four nights, and not one of those nights did I get more than two hours of sleep because of the excessive noise. This was arguably my worst camping experience and I would not recommend coming here if you want any sort of peace and quiet at the end...

This was truly the worst camping experience I’ve ever had. Our neighbors were blasting music, getting drunk, screaming and yelling. This carried on until we asked them to turn the music off at 9. They became incredibly aggressive and threatening towards us and we ended up having to leave and stay in a hotel outside the park for our safety and to try and get any sleep. I realize quiet hours aren’t technically Until 10, but this behavior in a campground is unacceptable at any time. There were no signs at check in letting us know where camp host would be. We ended up having to call the non emergency dispatch line and have a ranger sent over. They did turn thr music off at 10, but continued screaming and yelling and causing disturbance. These people had trash and food strewn everywhere - a huge bear hazard right next to us. We spoke to multiple rangers about this the next day who confirmed that since Covid, the valley campgrounds have attracted a lot of “city folk” who come to party and ruin the experience of being in nature. They went to far as to advise us not to camp in the valley again. I hope someone from the NPS sees this review and takes steps to rectify what has happened in the valley. It’s heartbreaking that one of the most stunning places on earth is being treated this way. There needs to be rangers making the rounds and enforcing proper food storage, bear etiquette and basic common decency of people. Partying, excessive drinking, screaming, blasting music shouldn’t happen no matter the time. And if you find yourself in a sadly similar situation, skip talking to your neighbors, and go straight to calling the rangers. We spoke kindly and respectfully to them and were met with aggression, hostility, threats and downright scary behavior (likely due to how intoxicated they were). Do better NPS and keep the valley enjoyable and a peaceful place...

Upper Pines Campground, located on the north end of Yosemite Valley, provides beautiful views in all directions, a variety of camp sites for tents or RV's, and most of the basic services you will need like restrooms and drinking water. Each site has a large fire ring with a grill and a bear proof food locker - use it! There is a stream that runs through the camp ground and many places to go explore nearby. The entire valley is easily accessible via two shuttle services, and there are also tour services for a fee. We stayed in camp site 182.

Campsite 182 in the Upper Pines campground is one of the best you can find. It's spacious and has distance from all the nearby neighbor sites while remaining close to the public restroom. Potable water, quite tasty, is provided as well as bear proof trash.

The area is teaming with wildlife, but watch for the pesky squirrels! They ate through a heavy canvas food bag and dined on my Aunt Hattie's hot dog buns.

This is bear country, and I saw three at a distance - a mama with her two cubs near the entrance to the campground. A deer fed on berries right next to our campsite 182 all day. It ate while we watched.

Go soon as the road to Glacier Point will be closing sometime in 2021 and only a difficult hike will get you to this spectacular view of the valley with Half Dome, Nevada and Vernal Falls.

There are two shuttle systems that can take you just about anywhere in the immediate valley (not Glacier Point though). Beware though, it's standing room only for the busy part of the day. This is an amazing place to visit, and my only regret is that I only...