Booking rules by system
Yosemite campground reservations
How far ahead you can book, what time dates open, and the rules that trip people up.
The rules
- Upper Pines, Lower Pines, North Pines, Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow open a month of arrivals at a time, on the 15th, at 7 a.m. Pacific. NPS calls it "five months in advance". Source, checked November 2, 2026
- NPS's table: arrivals January 15 to February 14 open September 15; May 15 to June 14 open January 15; July 15 to August 14 open March 15. Each block runs from the 15th to the 14th. Source, checked November 2, 2026
- They sell out within minutes. Set your clock, be logged in to Recreation.gov before 7 a.m., and know you can make only two reservations per visit or call. Source, checked November 2, 2026
- Camp 4 is different: one week ahead, one day at a time. Half of Tuolumne Meadows opens two months ahead on the 15th; the other half and the high-country campgrounds open 14 days ahead. Source, checked November 2, 2026
- North Pines sold its 2026 season through an early-access lottery first (applications November 24 to December 14, 2025). NPS hasn't posted whether it runs again for 2027. Source, checked November 2, 2026
- No entry reservation: Yosemite dropped its peak-hours reservation system for 2026. You still pay the entrance fee. Source, checked November 2, 2026
Book on Recreation.gov, the official system run for the National Park Service (Yosemite National Park).
Check a Yosemite campgrounds campground
Pick a campground or permit and your date. You'll get the day and time it becomes bookable, and a calendar reminder.
Campground guides: Upper Pines Campground (Yosemite), Lower Pines Campground (Yosemite), North Pines Campground (Yosemite), Camp 4 (Yosemite). See what opens in the next seven days on What opens this week.
Get the reminder by email
One email the week before the big California dates (the Mount Whitney lottery in February, the Half Dome lottery in March, and North Pines' early-access lottery once NPS announces it). Nothing else.
Before any reminder, you'll get one email asking you to confirm. It comes from New England Reservations (hello@newenglandreservations.com), our sister site. Unsubscribe anytime. See the privacy policy.
Sources
- NPS Yosemite: Campground Reservations, checked November 2, 2026.
- NPS Yosemite: North Pines Campground Early Access Lottery, checked November 2, 2026.
- NPS Yosemite: Entrance Reservations, checked November 2, 2026.
Rules change. Always confirm on the official site before you rely on a date.