Yosemite Valley Winter Camping

On our recent trip to Yosemite we camped one night at the Upper Pines campground in the Valley. During the winter there are only two camping choices in the Valley, Upper Pines or Camp 4, neither of which take reservations during the winter.We decided to go to Upper Pines. There was no ranger or volunteer at the entrance, simply a note to pick a campsite and pay for it in the morning. The recent storm had left a lot of snow in the valley. Only two loops in the campground were open. The first loop had nothing available but there were a few sites in the second loop. We picked one on the corner that looked good. We had to clear some snow just to be able to park our car. The picnic table was covered with snow and the fire ring was buried. As usual you have to go over to curry village for showers, but at least the restrooms in the campground are heated during the winter. We setup camp and walked over to Curry Village for some hot chocolate. Also stopped at the campground reservation office in the Curry parking lot and paid for the campsite since we would be leaving early in the morning. By evening all the sites in Upper Pines were taken. We are guessing that's pretty rare in the winter.

Upper Pines Campground

View of Half Dome from Sentinel Bridge

Yosemite Falls