Bridalveil Creek Campground

My favorite campground in Yosemite. NOT CROWDED! We stayed in LOOP A, Site #11.
–DEER everywhere!
–A first-​come first-​serve campground.
-$ 18 a night. CASH ONLY
–Get here as early as 6:00 am. Sites are usually full by 8am.
–NO CELLPHONE COVERAGE. (Both ATT&TMobile)
–Toilets are bad. Clorox wipes are a must!
–NO SHOWER room! I suggest you bring your own porta camp shower or pay $ 5/​person at HOUSEKEEPING CAMP in the valley.
–bundle of bonfire woods in the valley cost $ 15/​box. YES, it’s that expensive. So we picked up woods around the valley on our way back to the campground. So, never forget your machete or ax.
–Camped from August 7 – 9, 2015. Summer days. But it was still cold throughout the day. 60 – 75 degree in the morning & 28 degrees at 10pm when i checked.
–NEVER provoke the wolves. Don’t try howling in the middle of the night. Because they’ll be howling back the entire night. Some were really close to our tent. It gets kinda scary.
–Bring a good lantern and flashlight. *close your eyes*
Dark, right? Yep. It’s that dark in that campground.
–Close to GLACIER POINT.
–Stores are 45 minutes away. So, double check everything.
–The only gas station they have is CHEVRON. By WAWONA. 45 minutes away from the campground. Fill up!

Great camp ground outside the hustle of Yosemite Valley. Yosemite camp grounds book out up to a year in advance and you will only have 2 options when it comes to «walk on» camps, Camp 4 in the Valley and Bridalveil Creek. This camp has larger sites that are also slightly more private than Camp 4. Bathrooms are kept clean (by camping standards). Nightly fee is $ 18 unless you have an Access Pass $ 9 (Veteran/Military/handicap).There is available water for drinking and cooking.
There is no electricity or cell phone service.

This was a great location for first-​come-​first-​serve. We arrived at 6am on a Saturday to get our spot. Campsite 58 was large and a little secluded. Best for RV or large groups.
The creek behind the campsite is dry, so don’t expect to see water there. The place was pretty packed by that time as well, and lots of people drive around and scope for one throughout the morning so rest assured, you wont be the only one looking.
The earlier you arrive, the better chances you have at getting a spot. Campgrounds include fire pit, table, and food locker. Running water behind the bathrooms.
Rangers on site were super nice and knowledgeable. Need a map? Ask them.
PS. Bring an axe or a hatchet with you to cut wood. You will be asked to toss out any wood pieces larger than the fire pit. Also, we went in August and night temperatures were COLD here. Low 40’s high 30’s. Bridalveil is at a higher elevation so it’s going to be colder than other spots. Prepare for that.

$ 18 a night. I camped here for 3 nights. Arrived Wednesday morning around 8am and there were a few empty sites. Towards the weekend, sites definitely filled up but groups are always leaving. I suggest coming early and seeing if anyone is leaving in the morning. Check in with the campsite host to see how many groups are suppose to be leaving. Otherwise you can ask people to share a campsite.
I stayed in site 22. The outside border of loop A has scenic views of the forest and meadows. The maps show a creek but it’s tiny. Otherwise the bathrooms were clean and in working condition. Although I didn’t bring any firewood, I found enough dead branches to have a fire. It does get cold at night! My car recorded 37 degrees in the morning. There’s also about a ten degree difference between here and the valley. Bring your cold weather gear. The nice part of the higher elevation is the short distance to Glacier’s Point. Definitely recommend going there at night. Great view of Yosemite and clear view of the stars.

Beautiful location! We arrived in the afternoon and there were many wonderful camp spots open still even though it is first come first serve. $ 14/​night too! Private beautiful spots near hiking. A little chillier than other areas of the park (in aug).

For first-​come, first-​serve, we got pretty lucky and found a couple good spots right away, but this campground was PACKED. I would definitely recommend getting there nice and early (before 8am) to grab a good site.
My friends and I had originally planned to stay for 4 nights, but our stay ended up being cut short due to fire evacuations (El Portal Fire). Be aware of situations like this because there are NO REFUNDS as is stated several times on the envelope you use to pay for your site, so I lost half of what I paid for our stay since I paid in full. Now, our campsite wasn’t yet in danger, but they use this campground for the firefighters to stay at, leaving us frantically packing our things in the morning hoping to get a spot somewhere in the valley.
This is overall a great campground, generally spacious spots (since RVs are okay here), which is great for tent camping, as most do. There is a bathroom in each loop and they’re never really crowded.
I wish we had gotten to stay as long as planned! I really did like this campground and I hope to stay here again.

For access to Yosemite you really can’t beat this campground. It’s the only no reservation campground with running water. It’s also close to glacier point and sentinel dome and both give you remarkable views of the park. Bring a light and a roll of toilet paper for the bathroom at night. Also ear plugs a must for noisy neighbors because the campgrounds are close together. 14 dollars a day for access to the nations top national park is a steal.

The best campground in Southern Yosemite!
Each night stay is $ 14 or $ 15, there is more than 90 sites available
(no reservation required)
*There is one bathroom building in the center of the campground, its decent looking
*Each campground comes with its food locker and fireplace
On my stay there, deer would come out of the wood and eat grass right next to our campsite. Pretty Amazing!

Loved it! Went there for our honeymoon and the camp host totally hooked us up! It’s clean, the toilets FLUSH. And it’s the perfect distance away from the valley for a day drive.

This campground is by far the best kept secret in Yosemite!!!
The campground is only open at the most 3 months of the year so alot of people dont even know about this place. It is the only campground south of the valley with exception of wawona. It’s high elevation so it is cold at night, but you’ll see your stars at night and have peace and quiet. It’s also a perfect place since they campground is laid out in a way that you wont see your neighbors. The creek runs right by the campground (hence being on top of Bridalveil falls) so it’s an added bonus.
You also have nearby trailheads down the road, glacier point and sentinel dome. Sentinel dome is the perfect hike for those people looking to do a hike, but not dying of exhaustion at the end, with a 5 star view of the whole valley.