Wawona (Yosemite South)
Yosemite National Park · near Wawona / Oakhurst · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Camping
At a glance
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Elevation
- 4000
- Campsites
- ~90 sites
- Season
- Year-round
- Fee
- ~$36/night
Permits and booking
- Reservation required
- Yes
- How to reserve
- Reserve on Recreation.gov (6 months ahead). A quieter, forested campground near Yosemite's south entrance on the South Fork Merced River, close to the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. Flush toilets, RV sites (no hookups).
What is here
- Setting
- mountain
- Amenities
- Riverside forest sites · Near the Mariposa Grove sequoias · Quieter than the Valley · Historic Wawona Hotel nearby
- Best for
- Quieter Yosemite base + giant sequoias
- Features
- Mariposa Grove giant sequoias nearby · South Fork Merced swimming · Quieter than the Valley · Historic Wawona area
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Camping detail
- Camp type
- developed · rv
- Intl tip
- Reserve on Recreation.gov 6 months ahead — easier to get than the Valley. Visit the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias (shuttle in peak season). Swim the South Fork Merced. Quieter than the Valley (which is ~1 hr away). Store food in bear lockers. Combine with Glacier Point and the Valley day trips. Family-friendly.
The guide
Wawona offers a quieter, more relaxed Yosemite experience near the park's south entrance — a forested campground along the Sout…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Wawona (Yosemite South) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.539, -119.656