While I was camping at Upper Pines, I heard that Camp 4 was about to go back to an online reservation system.
At this point, I’d been a little intimidated by figuring out how the off-season ‘first come first serve’ system worked. Making online reservations sounded easier to me.
Reserving a spot at Camp 4 was nowhere near as difficult as I expected it to be. As it turned out, this campground didn’t even start filling to capacity until early May.
Because Camp 4 is a walk in, tent only, group campsite, it functions very differently from any of the other campsites in Yosemite Valley.
All of the campsites are shared, and can accommodate up to six people. Meaning, if you go by yourself, you might be sharing a campsite with five strangers.
On the other hand, if the campground is mostly empty, you might still get your own site.
Individual campsite arrangements are configured, assigned, and inspected by the volunteer camp hosts who staff the kiosks.
Most of the people who shared my campsite were friendly. My favorite campsite mates were a father and daughter from Utah who were visiting a bunch of national parks on their way to Coachella.
My least favorite campsite mates were a group of very young adults who showed up at 2am with an entire film crew.
(I bet the documentary they were creating won’t show how they woke everyone up at 2am!)
I was actually pretty irked by the fact that they did this on one of the ADA sites (but I’ll write more about that in a separate post).
Like all campsites in Yosemite Valley, Camp 4 requires all food, toiletries, and scented items to be stored in the provided bear-proof lockers (aka bear boxes).
Each campsite has four bear boxes, which can become very noisy late at night (if they are repeatedly slammed shut). After my first night, I learned not to pitch my tent anywhere near them.
Each campsite at Camp 4 has at least one picnic table (but most have two or three) and at least two fire rings.
Camp 4 is directly across the street from Yosemite Valley Lodge, where there is a shuttle stop that can take you anywhere in the valley.
The Valley Loop Trail runs behind Camp 4, which is located between the trails for Lower and Upper Yosemite Falls.
In one direction, the Trail takes you past Upper Yosemite Falls, Wahhoga Village (currently under construction), El Capitan, meadows and beaches, and Bridalveil Fall.
In the other direction, the Trail goes towards Yosemite Village, Mirror Lake, Vernal Fall, Happy Isles, and Curry Village.
I’ve been hiking these trails for years, but was still somewhat surprised to see so much snow around Yosemite Valley so late in April.
According to the weather report, it was supposed to start snowing by noon on the day of my check-in.
Luckily, I managed to set my tent up just on time, put my poncho on, and headed to Yosemite Falls to take videos.
During my stay at Camp 4, I learned that strangers tend to set up camp close together, and that anything you leave out might get used by other campers.
On one specific occasion, I had set up the campsite kind of fancy to welcome my cousin.
While she and I went hiking, some German tourists showed up. They thought that the whole arrangement had been left out by camp staff to welcome them, and they used it all.
After several days, I was in need of more privacy. So, I packed up my things, and headed up to Wawona.
The best thing about Camp 4 was the price– currently only $10/person per night (not eligible for pass discounts). There is a camping limit of 14 days per year, only seven of which can be during peak season.
The worst thing about Camp 4 was the food– there was virtually no good food nearby, although there is a Starbucks at the Lodge.
Of course, Camp 4 does allow the use of personal camp stoves and camp fires, so you can always just make your own food.
My favorite thing about camping at Camp 4 was seeing all of the different ways that experienced backpackers configured their tents and sites.
I found it especially interesting to see the various ways that everyone guyed out their tents during the snowstorm.
Because Camp 4 is so famous in backpacker culture, it tends to receive a lot more foot traffic from tourists than other campgrounds in the valley do.
Even though there were signs up saying “no picnicking” and “campers only,” these signs were ignored by literally hundreds of people per day.
Every single time I left my tablecloth out, it had food crumbs on it when I came back. On one occasion, I actually caught British tourists going through my bear box!
Overall, you get what you pay for. Camp 4 is nowhere near as glamorous as any of the other places you could stay in Yosemite, but it is a lot of fun.
Camp Host Diaries 