We ended up here after failure in finding a good spot in Yosemite. The park is not more than 15 miles from the park. Unfortunately it was not really what we expected. It took us several hours to come into contact with the staff. There was no shower and the toilets were basically holes in the ground. Not a place I would recommend for a family with children. In the evening a trailer did put on his loud generator and disturbed the peace of the whole camping ground. Not a place a would want to stay again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Pine Mountain Lake is an expensive, exclusive retirement/resort community. It seemed obvious that their purpose in having a campground would be to attract friends of property owners & potential new members/owners. Apparently not so! When I made my reservations for May (in January) they insisted I pay in full, by check, not credit card, but then didn't cash the check for 2 months. It took 3 calls before I could get anyone to acknowledge they'd even received it. Upon arrival, the gatekeeper informed me that the campground wasn't part of the lake complex, but was 3 miles on down the road. When we got there, only 3 other sites were occupied & 2 of them not actually inhabited. The site we'd been assigned required a long twisting downhill back-in so we took a different one- no one noticed, there was no 'host' on site. After setting up our trailer, we went to the bathrooms (which seem to be located so as to be as inaccessible as possible from every site in the place) only to discover they had punch-code locks & we didn't have the code. No cell service in the park so we had to drive back to the gate keeper's den to get it. 2 Days later a company truck drove in, gave us a friendly wave & went down & changed the codes without telling us. Again, back to the dreaded gate keeper. No apology for the inconvenience this time either. That night a pleasant young man with a middle-european accent knocked to inquire "Please, how does one acquire the rest-room code?". Obviously it's a closely guarded secret. The park's in a pretty little valley with several creeks through it, but it was a mess. The only "maintenance" that appeared to have been done was to refill the TP & the paper towels in the restroom. The utilities are also on the wrong side for most of the hookup sites There were deer, squirrels, birds & a great nightly 'bat show'. The golf course was very nice, but $65 a round & slopes 133, so be prepared. It's an hour & a half drive to Yosemite Valley. This is a 'never again' place for us because of the (lack of) management issues. We shoulda known when my wife's cousin who lives there asked "Why'd you pick there instead of someplace nicer?". We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
This is a membership style park, although during the winter months the part where members stay is closed and you will be placed in the public part of the park. Member part is open April-Oct then closes to winterize. The public part is pretty level has a fire pit and picnic table at each site and is just across the street from the member section. The member part has tent sites, cabins and RV sites, some sites back the river and are shaded. This park is in the forest and about 30 miles from Yosemite Park via Hwy 120. During my stay there were maybe 10 people and it was very Quiet. Getting here in the summer when it is hot may be hard on your RV as the climb up 120 is steep and slow going. If your are looking for a RV resort this in not your type of place. Camping, fishing, hiking you will like. We camped here in a Motorhome.
If we were in the market for a Thousand Trails membership and this was the first TT park we visited, we would save our money. The lodge and facilities were dilapidated and completely neglected. Reminded us of a boys camp. The walls of the Adult Lodge upstairs were in dire need of paint. Lighting was so bad we couldn't use the ping pong table. The pool table was the worst we've ever seen. Our site was ok, but was in the far end of the park. Very uneven ground with lots of burrowing critters. No grass, just weeds. No cell phone service or Wi-Fi. There was Wi-Fi at the lodge but it was extremely slow. We really felt isolated. On the plus side, it was close to Yosemite. We will never return. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Stayed using a: Ready Camp Go card. Late in season, very few campers here. In a valley so no TV or Cell coverage via antenna. Did use Wi-Fi with antenna from my camp site. Good for limited data: ie email, weather report, etc. Staff friendly and reasonable. Lodge has large screen TV, games, and a fire place. Older but okay. Would stay here again since it is only six miles from Yosemite boundary. Getting here, there is quite an elevation rise from west of Groveland, but certainly do able for most. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We are Thousand Trails members. Nice enough park for Thousand Trails - not a wow. Adult Lodge needs some maintenance. We had a long pull through site which was fine - if park is full the sites are close together and you would have no privacy. Since this was at the end of September all the occupied sites were spaced out. No AT&T coverage. We used Wi-Fi in the adult lodge which was adequate but slow. Very difficult roads to get here, but we wanted to visit Yosemite thus we stayed here. We would not stay here again due to the lack of cell or internet coverage. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This was the second campground of 6 which I had booked in advance for our 2 week marathon and was the one I had most concerns about before we got there given some of the reviews. However, all told it was fine and a great base from which to explore Yosemite. It would have been nice to stay in the valley but I wasn't quick enough to get a site there. On the plus side, we had full hook-ups for the 3 nights we spent there which we wouldn't have had in the valley. The facilities were fine with clean and hot showers and sizeable pitches. It is true that the public part of the site is across the road from the main body and there are no pull-throughs but it was quiet and really not a problem. Main issues were that the Wi-Fi was only available down in a 'lodge' by the reception and the reception staff could have been a little friendlier although they were helpful when asked about things. The river was nice, but not for swimming. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Don't come to this park expecting peace and quiet, it is strictly a vacation get-away and let loose kind of place. Lots of groups, lots of noise. Also, despite the name, don't come expecting lakes. There are none, unless you count the pond of stagnant water you can't get down to anyway. Actually, the best section of the park is the terrace which is set aside for non-members. The tent section is very nice. The "Adult Lodge" is a joke. It's upstairs from the main "Lodge" and the ping pong table and pool table are both up there and so are kids. Like most Thousand Trails properties, this one needs some TLC. It is quite beat up. The only thing that appealed to us is its proximity to Yosemite National Park. The staff were efficient and accommodating. It's a busy place and there is not much time for chit-chat. It's ok for what it is. At least it had full hook-ups. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Very dusty, Wi-Fi is USELESS. Worse than Dial-up. Gestapo will chase you down to tell you to slow down when you're not speeding and let others just fly by. Grass is not mowed. We stayed as guests of a Thousand Trails members. Would never stay there again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
There are two areas of this campground. One for members (Thousand Trails), and another for "public" campers. The public sites are fine, but not as nice as the member sites. (I marked waterfront unavailable because the stream front sites were only available to Thousand Trails members.) The showers and restrooms were okay, but the water pressure was anemic and the temperature was just tepid. Wi-Fi was only available at the "family lodge." The staff were usually friendly, but not enthusiastic. What this park has going for it is it's proximity to Yosemite. It's really the only one this close. I think Thousand Trails should either make this a members only park or open all the sites to everyone. The way it is now, the non-members resent being second class citizens, and the members probably resent the fact that people who did not pay a membership fee are still allowed to use the park. We camped here in a Motorhome.
OK facilities, unfriendly staff, Wi-Fi only in clubhouse, very hard drive in with big rig, no pull throughs for non-members of 1000 trails. We had to leave early after one day of a planned four day stay we tried to cancel the last two - they offered no refund. Gas and food at the store were grossly overpriced. not as much fun as it should have been due to surly staff - they just did not care. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Any approach you make to Yosemite Lakes NACO will be somewhat of a challenge. From the west there is narrow, windy Priest Grade to deal with; from the south you must drive into Yosemite Park and then drive up the narrow, windy grade out of the park to reach Yosemite Lakes NACO. It is worth the effort, and the winter months are "off" season except for a few long term folks who enjoy the snow. Preserve staff is friendly and helpful and the amenities are in good shape and clean. We missed a blizzard by six hours when we pulled out Dec. 18th. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This was a wonderful park, and we stayed for nearly three weeks. It was just 5 miles out of Yosemite National Park. The park has hundreds of RV sites as well as yurts and cabins. Other amenities include a general store, a lodge with cable TV and WiFi, mini golf, horseshoes, shuffleboard, basketball court, nice playground, river with swim hole, and trails for hiking. The only drawbacks were the lack of cell phone reception and the staff which was sometimes less than helpful. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We thought this was a nice campground. The sites are not very private, but it was very clean. The staff was very friendly. The river was a nice place to walk. We enjoyed playing miniature golf, and horseshoes. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Stayed as TTN/NACO members while touring Yosemite. Park was great. Easy to access pull through sites with clear sky for satellite and room for tow dolly. Store was very expensive but prices in Groveland are much better. Yosemite NP in July was a madhouse, but Yosemite Lakes was great. WiFi worked well but only in or adjacent to the great lodge. We camped here in a Motorhome.
The nightly rate reflects our Thousand Trails membership. This site is very tired. The staff appear to do as they wish. Lots of rules and regulations, most of which were not enforced. If it was not for our membership, we would not stay here again. Neglected is probably the best way to describe the site. Verizon and T-Mobile had no reception. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Wi-Fi is only available at the Lodge. The river flowing at the edge of the rv park is great for kids. Would stay there again, but not in the summer, heat from the valley made the place hot in the summer time. Not too many people walking in the park in the heat of the day. Would be a great place in spring and autumn. Staff is friendly and attentive. There is no over-the-air television and no cable TV. Great place for kids. No cell phone service available. But, has free phone at lodge for members to call the 1-800 numbers for phone calling cards. Recommend buying a pre-paid phone card to use there. There are two coin pay public phones at front outside of the office. Camped there using our RPI membership. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This park was OK. It's located well, close to the Park entrance. You need a reservation - we saw people turned away because they didn't have one. Once you get there, it is a first come, first serve as far as picking a particular site, so be ready to search for a nice one. Nonmembers are located outside the 'gated community', but the sites were fine. Restrooms/showers were rustic but clean. The staff did not seem overly friendly - just business-like. Laundry facilities were good. WI-FI was only at the Lodge, and it was pretty slow. We would only stay here again if there was nothing inside the National Park. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
It seems that 1000 Trails is on the downhill side of their existence. This could be a beautiful park if it was kept up. We selected an open site in the grass to receive satellite TV, which we did. Grass was about 6 inches tall and no one came by to mow in the two weeks we were here. Buildings are just short of dilapidated. Absolutely NO activities, no food facility, no pool, not much to do other than visit Yosemite. Many pot holes and during a rain, they even had to block off an entrance to our parking area as they did not prepare the surface properly and a large sinking mudhole appeared. Many other negative comments written by others still apply. It's run down and in need of repair and upgrading. Personnel were not the friendliest either. Their store, which is on the main hiway and far away from the park, is very expensive with their gas being the most expensive in the area. On the plus side, the price was right for 1000 Trails members. As a member park, I do not appreciate outsiders coming in and taking the nice spaces. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Membership park, but some sites across the road for general camping. Price depends on whether you have membership, camping card, etc. Call for price. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Rate is for Thousand Trails/NACO. We were here in the off season so only one loop was open. Were only about 10 RVs in the park. If full or near full this would be very busy. We picked a site with no one on either side of us and it was ok. If the other sites where full it would have been close. The park could use some maintenance: gravel on the sites, electric box upgrade, fill pot holes, etc. We had no TV reception off the antenna. Lots of shade. Wi-Fi worked great in the club house. No cell service with Verizon. Great place to stay to visit Yosemite National Park. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
I agree with the review of July 2009. Used our Thousand Trails membership for entry. Was so disappointed the I just sent off a letter to Equity LifeStyle Properties to let them know about my experience. This preserve could be a great asset to the Thousand Trails system if they spent a little money to do long overdue maintenance. Next time I visit Yosemite NP will probably stay at Bass Lake RV Resort (a ROD facility) near the South entrance of Yosemite. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Not horrible, just disappointing for a park in the Thousand Trails system. I agree with previous posts about the overall condition of the park. It's understaffed and just looks dated. Buildings need paint and would it hurt to at least water the common areas? Maybe plant some flowers? We used the place as a base to Yosemite and that worked fine. During the week, the place was about 1/3 full. On the weekend it was about 80% full and WAY too noisy. The usual weekend stuff: people drinking and being way too loud at 12:00 at night, people letting their yappy dogs bark frantically for five minutes at anyone who walked past, etc. (Yes, my wife and I drink and travel with a dog, but this was out of line.) Proper staffing would be able to eliminate that type of stuff. There are some nice shady sights next to the river but they're packed pretty close together. I'd stay here again if it was the off season, but NEVER again during the summer, and especially not on a weekend. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We actually stayed here in 2007 but went back to check it out to see if it was better this year. We call this campground the "Land of NO". If you are not a member you are assigned to a hill overlooking the campground. You are not allowed to use the facilities but you can pay lots of money for the paddle boats if you like although I didn't even see the boats this year. The restrooms were clean enough and it is closer to Yosemite than Yosemite Pines and it does have gravel and is less dusty but overall this is a depressed campground fences are in need of repair and it looks like no one has been taking care of the place. Yosemite is so beautiful you might forget the lackluster of this campground just don't expect much when you stay there. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We last visited this park 8 years ago. Then, the park was absolutely beautiful. We enjoyed it so much that we almost didn’t feel the need to drive into Yosemite. Our recent visit was drastically different. The park was unmaintained and understaffed. The grounds are unkempt and dirty looking. The family lodge was nothing like it use to be. Half of it is boarded off, the other half is empty. There are zero activities and no more paddle boats or swimming. Park security is non-existent. The security gate is un-manned and left open 24/7. Anyone can enter the park at their own free will, and roam around unchallenged. This would be an ok place to stay for one night. Personally, we will not return. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is 5 miles west of the Yosemite National Park border, however there is still a 30 minute drive to Yosemite Valley, and we are staying under RPI, so the rate is great. However, being it's not the summer season, there is just one area open to RVs, with minimal amenities available (such as the activity center). There are full hook-ups, free wifi at the clubhouse, a great laundry room with front-loading washers and dryers, a clubhouse with adult area, and the usually book exchange. There are only a few staff here this time of year, and everyone has been very nice and accommodating. We would rate this higher if we had the amenities available to us, but it is off-season. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Nice park, the only reason for the lower rating is the fact that they don't have 50amp service and the WI-FI doesn't really get out to the campsites. We will come back. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Stayed here with our RPI membership. The main part of the park was closed so everybody was staying in the "non" members area. It was OK, and we lucked out as the site next to us was between two trees, so nobody stayed there. 90% full on the weekend, 50% the rest of the week. Staff was friendly and helpful. Very cold at night this time of year! Yosemite was beautiful, but an hour drive away. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We had no problems as we knew about the "no membership, no amenities" rule. It was a slow week and one of the employees said our children could play on the playground even though we were not members. The non member campground is a little dusty but the sites are larger than the member sites. The camp was clean and unfortunately the dam was not in place, so fishing was out of the question. All in all not a bad place to stay if you have your own entertainment. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
If you're not a Thousand Trails member, you'll be placed in the parking lot area and not the lake side. The road to the site is dusty. Only one or two sites has shade. From here, it will be an hour drive to Yosemite Valley. If you're planning to visit Yosemite and cannot get a site in Yosemite, I suggest you stay at Bass Lake area to the South rather than staying here. This location is near the West gate entry. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We chose this park because it was so close to the entrance to Yosemite National Park, but were also looking forward to the amenities. Unfortunately, 95 percent of the amenities are for "Thousand Trails" members only. Their website and staff fail to make this clear, and we were somewhat disappointed. We had made our reservations understanding that our entire group of five trailers would be guaranteed spaces beside each other, but that was not the case. The manager was helpful in finding a solution for us eventually (one trailer had to stay away from the group overnight) and their staff were generally pleasant. The non-member camping area was dusty, not very shady, but clean. For "non-members" this is a no-frills place to stay, and they should make this, and their reservation policy, clear on their website. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Review Rating
[ 2 / 10 ]
June 2006
$35
Yosemite Lakes RV Park is 5 miles from the west entrance to Yosemite Nat Pk. We stayed there in late May - early June, 2006. We made reservations at least 3 months prior to our arrival and were aware that this facility was a membership park that also accepted non-members. We were led to believe that all facilities were available to all guests. When we arrived, we were greeted at the guardhouse by a man who asked for evidence of our membership. We explained that we were not members but that we had reservations (and showed him the e-mail confirmation). He informed us that the park was membership only and that we would have to leave. After some discussion, we were told to back down the 200+ ft drive and directed to an administrative building down the road. We asked if we could simply turn the rig around in the park and exit. We were told: "no". We decided to do so anyhow. At the administration building, we were told (by a somewhat embarrassed hostess) that we would not be able to stay in the "members'" park but on the "terrace" across the road. We were also informed that there were no pullthroughs, no 50 amp service and that we would not be able to use most of the park facilities. The sites on the terrace were dirty, un-maintained and uneven. The firepits and bar-b-que on our site had not been cleaned in some time and the site was littered with trash and hundred of cigarette butts. The "terrace" is, at best, a dusty, dirty parking lot. In general, the rest of the staff was friendly and attempted to cooperate, but had to enforce policies of the management. We were forced to carry our LP tank approx 100 ft to have it refiled, where members could pull there vehicle within 5 ft. Diesel fuel at the store associated with this facility cost $.70 /gal more than the price at the station in Groveland. Visitors to Yosemite Nat Pk might want to consider other accommodations before settling for this high priced parking lot. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Stayed here over spring break they weren't fully opened up, not all services open but it was ok place to stay close to the park. Lots to see. All in all we'd stay here again people were nice and for the most part helpful. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Stayed at Yosemite Lakes in early May 2006 and was excited about touring Yosemite. The area for RVs is basically a flat grassy area resembling a parking lot with no appeal i.e. no trees, landscaping, etc. Other than main entry roads were unpaved. Showers had hair, band aids, and other gross things on the floor. The staff was not very helpful. Will not be staying here again. Real downer after spending a day in the valley. We camped here in a Motorhome.
I discovered this campground by surfing the web. I was aware they were a membership park but they told me that they take reservations from non-members all the time. When we arrived, they asked me if we were members, and when I told them no they directed us across the street to a vacant lot in front of their maintenance building. If I wanted to camp inside the park, I would have to join. I told the idiot at the gate that this was explained to me when I made my reservations and he did not seem too surprised. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This campground had loads of activities for the children, trailer rides, campfire talks, petting farm, a pool, deli, volleyball court to name but a few. We only stayed a night and only used the firepit and picnic table on the site. We had a pull through site which was mostly flat and had some shade. The hookups were easy and the neighbors a little close! We camped here in a Motorhome.
All around this park was nice. The staff was great, and the very friendly grounds crew does a wonderful job. It had large level spots and they were very accommodating to give us a nice shady back-in. We were here for a week and a couple of days it hit 100 degrees F. The hiking trail with the exercise stations was quiet original for an RV park. Nice pool and the on-site restaurant food was great. If I have any negatives it would be the dust. All of the sites and road are soft dirt so even at the speed limit of 5MPH dust is everywhere. Some gravel or road-base would be invaluable. Also, they should take the "fact" that they offer cable off of the advertisement. It doesn't work. I complained and was told the were "working on it." No fault of the parks: we have Verizon and had no service, even in town. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Park convenient to Yosemite. Lots of children playing and enjoying park activities. The reason for the poor rating is the dust conditions. They have no dust control, and the roads and sites are all dirt, and with vehicles driving around, the dust is swirling and covers everything. Not possible to sit outside and enjoy the weather which was nice while we were there. I spoke with park management regarding dust control, and they just said they were sorry. They do nothing to control the problem. If you have allergy problems, avoid this park. Forget trying to keep your rig or tow vehicle clean. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This was a quiet RV park but it had lots of sites. Activities were not being run apart from the petting zoo which was only open at 8 a.m. and you only fed the animals the hay they already had. I felt it was overpriced for the time of year and its lack of activities. It was raining when we were there and our site was boggy. The nature trail is great around the outside. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
My husband, me, and our 2 kids decided to head out towards Yosemite for a long weekend of rest and relaxation. We usually go to Yosemite Pines for their RV site hookups because they offer a nice range of hookups and options, not to mention some great facilities for the kids. This time, we opted for a premium back in with full hookup and the price is pretty reasonable, in my honest opinion. One of the lovely parts of this resort is the location, it's pretty quiet and close to Yosemite National Park, where we explored for 2 days over the long weekend. We also opted not to drive to the National Park one day in order to take advantage of the various hiking trails that are near the resort, so that's another positive; there are plenty of things to do when we did not feel like venturing out very far. For example, my son just loved the petting zoo and he is still telling us about those awesome llamas! The swimming pool was a very nice feature and was very popular among the young families. The children's playground was a lifesaver when we were tired and just wanted our kids to venture to play somewhere! The convenience store was pretty great as well, because we forgot to pack a few things and with the general store right on the resort, we did not worry about a thing especially when my husband forgot to bring our toothpaste! Overall, my family and I had a blast and I would definitely recommend Yosemite Pines for any traveler. We camped here in a Motorhome.
A nice park with some big rig gotchas. First, if approaching from the south, DO NOT follow GPS directions as it will route you over two roads unsuitable for any larger vehicle, or anything without an engine or exhaust brake. Hwy 49 and Old Priest's Grade are the names of these roads. Fortunately we didn't follow the GPS, and later drove in our Jeep over these challenging roads. Once through Groveland, if you miss the turnoff for Old Hwy 120, you should turn around and use the first entrance for Old 120 particularly for anything larger than a pickup camper. At the campground, inspect your site as many pull through sites have too many untrimmed trees requiring a back-in. Staff is friendly and helpful. In our case remaining after closing for check in. Hookups are fine, no problems. A definite return. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a very family friendly campground. They have a petting farm where they let the kids into the corral to feed the animals every morning. There is a playground, a pool (closed for the winter,) volleyball court, and horseshoes. It's a very rustic place (I think the person earlier who said it was very commercialized was talking about a different place.) The roads are dirt and pretty bumpy, no concrete pads for the RV's, but it's very shady and they allow open fires. It's a 20 minute drive to Yosemite National Park where we spent one day and had a great time exploring. The bathrooms are not glamorous but they are clean and fresh smelling. All in all, we had a great time. No cell service though! We camped here in a Motorhome.
Terrific family location with plenty to keep the family occupied and within reasonable proximity to Yosemite National Park. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We rated this park on the low end (6) for two reasons, (1) Its VERY commercialized, not rustic and quiet at all. The sites are jammed in there like sardines and its a pretty noisy place. (2) The bathrooms weren't not that nice; the concrete paint on the floors was peeling everywhere and there were no mats on the floor; I slipped a couple times. If you don't mind a crowded RV park, with terrible bathrooms, high prices for the spots, this is your place. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Great park for families. Hayrides weekend evenings, petting zoo, pool. Spots are not very private but the evenings have been quiet. My only complaint is there are campfires at almost every campsite and as the campsites are so close to each other, smoke is a real issue for myself with asthma. We ended up shutting all the windows every evening and turning on the a/c. This would probably not be a big issue with most people but it ended up a problem for me. The only other big minus would be a whole lot of dust clouds anytime someone drove by our bus. This is a great park for young families, not for people with breathing issues. P.S. There is no mobile phone reception for most carriers, including AT&T. No phones! We camped here in a Motorhome.
We were lucky to get a site with two trees to provide shade as it was hot while we were there - some sites are in the full sun. The interior roads are dirt but if people drive the 5mph, it's not an issue. There's a nice "nature trail" that goes around the outside edge of the grounds - perfect for walking our dog. Good Wi-Fi and plenty for families with kids to do (pool, petting farm, volleyball, hayrides on the weekend, etc). I would recommend this park and it's only about 22 miles from the entrance to Yosemite - plan for an hour to get to Yosemite Valley (if you don't stop along the way). We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We were sorely disappointed. They advertised big rig friendly and we have a 40' motorhome. Had trouble getting into the pull through spot and couldn't avoid the hanging branches. When we left, my husband had to prop the branches up with a long-handled RV cleaner, back out and go into the spot next to us (fortunately it was empty) since there was no way he'd have been able to swing out of our spot without hitting the truck parked in front of our spot or the fire hydrant, tree and lamp post. It was definitely NOT 'big rig' friendly. Thought the personnel at the front desk was disinterested, if not rude at times. They seemed to dislike giving change for the laundry room. If that's the case, then have a change making machine in the laundry. Excellent choice for young families with children, they have hay rides, gold panning, movies ~lots of things for children. Best off in a small trailer. The interior roads are all unpaved and extremely dusty. Would definitely not return. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Nice park, approximately 1 hr from Yosemite. All in all a quiet friendly park. Some dust blowing around from the cars on the road through park, but not too awfully bad. Would stay here again. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
It's hard for me to give this park a fair rating because, IMO, it's WAY OVERPRICED. Location, location, location. $50 per day for a "premium" site (non-holiday, $75 three day minimum for holidays), I expect a great deal more. My site is unlevel (rear wheels off the ground by three inches. Yeah I know.) Many sites the same and have trees encroaching on them. All sites need TLC, unless the park wants to be considered rustic. For families, this is a great park with a petting zoo and other family friendly amenities, none of which I need. I was able to get satellite at my site but many won't. The WiFi (free Tengo!) is blazingly fast. As a warning to travellers from Merced: Highway 120, with its switchbacks and SEVERE grades is as scary for a large gasser like mine, as is Red Mountain Pass, maybe worse. I would not consider returning here, but if you don't mind being robbed or have kids, this might be for you. Sorry if this rating is contradictory in spots, but I don't know how else to rate it and be accurate. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This should be a great RV park. It is nestled in trees, far enough off the main road to be completely quiet and large enough to handle big rigs, 5th wheels, trailers and small camp trailers. They also have a bunch of cabins and tent sites. It is about 50 miles from Yosemite and, coming from the West one of the better looking campgrounds. The RV sites are gravel and well leveled. Most of the sites have trees adjacent to them, but you have to be careful not to brush up against them as you pull in. We were able to work around our tree, but saw a large RV scrape up it’s side trying to get set up. The sites and fire pits also needed some clean up and general grounds work. The entire campground is gravel and, when we were there (First week in April), the roads were a mess. There were large ruts in them so deep it was very difficult to drive around and not feel like you were about to loose traction or tip dangerously. They had smoothed out the areas where the owners and service employees drove, but had ignored the areas where the customers had to drive. (seems like that is backwards) They have what could be a pretty nice nature trail. However, it was in very poor condition. The brush had started to over grow some parts of the trail and needed to be pruned. Some parts of the trail were unclear and you were not sure where it went. Like I indicated this could be a great RV park. The owners and staff need to “show it some love” and bringing it back to where it probably once was. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Our family just spent a joint camping weekend with our friends here, with 5 young children and 4 adults. We were met by a very friendly staff who let us switch RV sites (with no problem) to accommodate our young children. Hay ride every night and petting farm was a plus and something our kids really enjoyed. Nature trail and gold mine were a nice walk and also a plus. Pancake breakfast on Saturday (yummy applesauce pancakes) served with a friendly smile and small talk. Our group never left the campground and had a blast. We were very happy that we were allowed to have a campfire. My only issue was the pool: it seemed a bit murky and would have been a super plus if it was heated! All in all we are already planning our next trip to the campground. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
The only good points I have to say about the park is that it is fairly close to Yosemite and the Wi-Fi was adequate. We had a water and electric site. Very dusty but could have been corrected with a little effort. There is a petting zoo for kids. Now the bad points. The most important factor in running a business is customer satisfaction. That factor is totally missing here. Their standard answer is "get used to it" or "take it or leave it". Be aware that there is a $5.00 fee for dumping. So that means you pay the same fee as those who have full hook-ups except you have the inconvenience of having to stop and use the dump station. Maybe I have been lucky, but in 25 years of RVing from coast to coast, I have NEVER been charged for dumping when I was a paying guest at a private park, state park, or Corp of Engineer's park. I will not ever return there and will let everyone I know not to go there. Go with the understanding that you will regret it. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
I am giving this a 5 for a few reasons, good and bad. First the good. Super friendly welcome. The two ladies at the front desk were tops. The pool looked very clean and inviting. A cute little petting zoo. Spaces were pretty darn close to flat. Fire rings and picnic tables in every site. Now the bad. Super dusty roads. Any diesel pusher motorhome in motion was followed by a huge cloud of dust. All cars kicked up a nice cloud of dust even while traveling at a snails pace. My site was of adequate size, but another nearby 40' pusher was stuffed into a really small site and they made their reservations a back in February. Dumpsters were always full. Tremendous potential. Interior road improvements would make this place an 8 or 9. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Pros: Great park for kids. Has nightly hay rides, and a petting zoo. Cons: It's a VERY challenging drive up steep, winding road. VERY scary. Even experienced RVers were somewhat rattled. Had mechanical problems when preparing to leave and descend that dangerous road. Staff was very rude and demanded we leave our campsite inadequately prepared for such a descent. They had ZERO concern for our safety. Recommend camping at the bottom of the mountain instead. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
The park has some nice shaded and level sites. However, the roads are dirt and therefore it is very dusty. Wi-Fi worked well and was available at our site; cell phone coverage was not available. The laundry facilities were large and clean. The staff were helpful; someone came to our site to make sure we knew that a UPS overnight package was waiting for us. There are a lot of kid activities, petting zoo, tractor hay rides, walking trail, pool, etc. My only complaint is the office gave me the wrong lesser amount "discount". When I audited my bill, I discovered they gave me the lessor Good Sam discount instead of the greater weekly rate discount. I understand about not "discount double dipping", but I feel you should automatically receive the better discount! This park is a LONG drive away from Yosemite Valley. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Most of the sites were poorly lighted for night entry back into park. The "roads" to/between sites are poorly defined, more like walking paths. The sites are definitely not set up for the newer, larger RVs with slideouts. The only way to get out of our assigned spot was to drive through the one in front of us. The roads to the campground and around the campground are awful! We stayed three nights, only because there wasn't anything else available. Do not recommend this if you have an RV over 20 feet in length; and, it needs to have high axle!!! We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
What a dump. Sites are small and not level. Pretty filthy and unkempt. Don't bring your big rig here if you have alternatives available. We moved around a bit before finding a pull-through that would hold our 36' plus tow length, but the front of the coach is jacked up so high that we had to put lumber under the portable step to make it possible to get in and out. (We have a diesel so and the door is in the front.) There is no room for a chair or picnic table beside the coach because the sites are so narrow. They are cut into the side of the dirt hill that is the park. This lousy site was not because of lack of available spaces. The place was almost empty. Its because of shameful park management and dishonesty on the part of people who pretended not to know that they have almost no long or level sites. The pool is pretty and a swim would have been nice in this place, where late September (9/29) brings temps of well over 100 degrees. Unfortunately, it closes at 6:00PM. We were told we would have on-site Wi-Fi, but even at the site closest to the office (that we eventually settled into), the signal was so weak that it came in and out. At least the TV is somewhat decent, with clarity on its 14 stations. The owners of this park should be ashamed. The fact that they aren't, speaks volumes about what to expect. Make this the park of last resort. It is the second to the worst campground I have ever been in during my five years of full-timing. We camped here in a Motorhome.
It is about 30 minutes from Yosemite. As we were staying there toward the end of July, full-hookup sites were at a premium. We had some shade at our site but it was still HOT morning to evening. My son says the restrooms were not clean at all. The petting zoo at entrance to park with llamas, goats, donkey. The swimming pool was small and crowded. The desk staff gave us a hassle when we had a legitimate complaint about our RV site. Yosemite doesn't have hook-ups so we had little choice where to stay. We'll look elsewhere if we visit Yosemite again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We came in at night on highway 120 which the campground recommended. It was VERY scary. We have a 40 foot motorhome my husband actually kissed the ground when we got there. This campground is all dirt. Our site was TINY and short and sloped so much on the sides there was no room for our chairs or a picnic table. Basically this was a mound of dirt with hookups. When I asked if we could move I was told "NO" even though just the previous day I had been assigned a different site and decided to extend so they moved me. I guess that was a Big mistake. We were there for 4 days I kept looking around thinking maybe if we were in a different site I could review this better. Nope. The dust, the staff, the laundry room the distance from Yosemite it all factored in to my score. The staff on arrival was "prickly" and I'm a happy go lucky type! This is a good distance from Yosemite took us about an hour to get to the valley floor. The laundry room had 2 dryers that worked, 4 washing machines with one that was broken. When we asked if they could be fixed the lady in the office said that is not their responsibility they contract that out. The grocery store and restaurant next door in town were excellent. Just stay somewhere else. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Dustiest place I have ever been to. Roads are dirt not gravel. This area is having a hot (100+) stretch of weeks and way too much dust. Spaces are mostly tight for big rigs. Pool looks nice and many activities for the kids. Good location for visiting Yosemite. Pricey for what you get!! We camped here in a Motorhome.
Very attractive lay-out, many sites with shade trees, very children-friendly with special on-site programs for them. Showers got a lot of use so cleaning did not keep up - a minor irritant. Park is 22 miles from Yosemite Park boundary but please know that from Campsite to Yosemite Village and Visitor Center takes about 90 minutes along slow and rather edgy roads. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This was a very nice campground. Wide spaces. We stayed here for 5 days and did not have any problems. The entrance to Yosemite was about 16 miles away as I remember, but wasn't bad. We would return. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
I would describe this campground as just enough. Just enough cable channels (about 14) to claim cable TV. Just enough Wi-Fi (make sure you understand the slight of hand 2 hour rule) to claim free Wi-Fi. The sites are tight and close together. I was in section B and had to snake out of my site and then try and fit a 33 foot trailer between two VERY close trees to leave the campground. It is still a good drive to the Valley floor so it is just close enough to claim it is close to the entrance. The pool was nice and my wife who grades the restrooms rated them as only average. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
I stayed here 4 years ago and the management has changed since then. The campground is definitely worse! The rates are much higher (they were Passport American before) and the sites have not been improved or changed. It is on a terraced hillside and alot of the sites are very unlevel. They are narrow. They do have a nice pool area, laundry (although I was accosted by a worker when heading to do laundry and asked "are you registered here??"). Other activities also that I had no interest in. I had orginally reserved 16 nights as they said they were booked and I could not get 3 weeks (21 nights). When I arrived, I asked if there were any vacanicies and if I could stay 21 nights. I was told there were vacancies but the manager would have to be asked to authorize an 'extended stay'. The next day, I was told that I could not stay any longer than 16 days. This is at a $40 a night rate with no discounts!! The front desk told me that they had 'just about gotten rid of the riff-raff in the park and could not allow extended stays' I was asked twice if my stay was 'vacation or something else'. I am a full timer. I found several encounters with the personnel in the park to be unhelpful and unfriendly. My truck and fifth wheel are very clean and less than 4 years old, hardly what anyone would call 'riff-raff'! Several of the employees and camphosts have very old and unkempt campers with junk all over their campsite. There are also several old ratty campers that are occuping spots with no one staying in them. I was very displeased in general and will not stay here again. It is 50 miles and a good 45 minute drive to Yosemite Valley. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We were delayed by mechanical trouble and arrived one day late. We asked to have our stay extended one day in exchange to the lost day and showed our repair receipt. The park was nearly empty so extending our stay would not have cost them anything. Answer: No Refunds. Driving around the park, we were accosted by a surly and crude employee who threatened us with eviction because he did not like our driving (we were under the 5 mph speed limit and had a kid in the bed of the pick-up). This park is a big dust bowl, the roads are not paved and the dust gets into everything. I will not be going back and suggest you too find another nearby RV park. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
May 2009
$45
This is a great place to stay. Staff very accommodating and helpful. Nice little store. Lots of stuff for kids to do including petting farm, playground / park. hay rides, and campfire stories / movies in the evening. Great feel. Good safe feeling. Felt like I was able to enjoy great outdoors without loosing my amenities. Getting there was hard using New Priest Grade Road on Hwy 120. There are a lot of fun things to do in the local area. Good eats in Groveland. Note: When reserving a site, be honest about the length of your rig. If you low ball your rig size (like we did) they will put you in a small site. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We stayed at Yosemite Pines with my husband and three children. The campground and rv resort is set among pine trees and terraced into the hillside with gravel roads. Great place for the kids as they thoroughly enjoyed the petting zoo, gold mine tour, and movie night! The resort has a really nice pool and tot lot. Although they didn’t have a gym my husband worked out on the fitness bars which had pull-up and chin-up equipment out in the woods. Although the resort is about a half hour to 45 minute drive to Yosemite National Park, it’s a very scenic drive. The waterfalls were great and the whole family had a great time. We returned each night to Yosemite Pines exhausted and either did the movie night or told stories around the campfire. The bathrooms and laundry areas were clean. Yosemite Pines had a small store where you could buy basic foods, snacks, and beer. The town of Groveland is a neat little historic town and we usually bought groceries there. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Great campground with lots of fun activities. We enjoyed the pool, walks, and proximity to Yosemite Pines. Natural setting with amenities. You've ot to love it! We camped here in a Motorhome.
The location is superb: towering pines, great topography, forested mountains, close to the most spectacular park in the world. The cabins are to die for. We've never seen better lodging of its type anywhere. (We didn't stay in one, but the manager showed us a couple since we were interested in seeing them for a return visit.) The park is large with lots of varied areas, and the sites were comfortably level and sized, with steady voltage from the pedestal, great water (very clear ice cubes), top-notch Wi-Fi, and a great store on-site. It's a solid "10." We love the great outdoors, dramatic natural beauty, and off-the-beaten-path places, and Yosemite Pines was about as good as it gets from our point of view. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This place knows that they have very little competition, especially for lodging near the north entrance of Yosemite. We stayed one night in Oct. 2008 in a cabin, very small in size for the money. I agree totally with the earlier reviewer who said "When a park requires you to pay in full before you arrive, a red flag should go up." We brought our dog, thinking the $25 we were charged for her was a refundable cleaning deposit. Warning, it's not. IF YOU BRING A DOG, THEY WILL CHARGE YOU A $25 "CLEANING FEE" FOR A CABIN. The clerk was indifferent and unapologetic to our surprise and unhappiness over this charge. We will not stay there again. We camped here in a Campground Cabin.
Throughly enjoyed our stay at Yosemite Pines. Yosemite Pines is a scenic park set in a woodsy setting with sites terraced into the hillside. The park is located about a half hour drive to the western entrance Yosemite National Park. Free Wi-Fi worked great. Our kids loved the petting zoo and gold mine tour. Even tried panning for gold. Next time we may stay in one of the nice cabins or yurts. The on-site staff was very helpful. Showers and laundry room were clean during our stay. We camped here in a Motorhome.
When a park requires you to pay in full before you arrive, a red flag should go up. The people are not very nice at all. It's unkept and red dust got into everything. There was a family of 5 RVs there for a reunion and they had a blast. We were happy that most of our time was spent in Yosemite which was still a good 30-minute drive away, just to get into the park. If you can't stay in Yosemite, I guess the best thing you can say about this place is that it's one of the closest parks to Yosemite. The town nearby is quaint. We had great Mexican food at a restaurant on main street and good pizza from the local pizza joint. Good luck. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We camped here over the 4th of July weekend, which is a good test on how well a campsite is maintained. First the positives: Location, within 1 hours driving distance to Yosemite Park, Mercer Caverns, Sonora, Lake Don Pedro, and minutes from Pine Mountain Lake. If you stayed on the grounds, the pool, playground and petting farm were a hit with the kids. There was also a really cool cave/former mine at the top of section C. I had limited interaction from the staff, but they seemed friendly, kept the place quiet and were helpful. Areas of improvement: The restrooms/showers were cleaned daily, but with the crowds, should be cleaned more often, as they got pretty dirty in between cleanings. Yes, it's dusty. However, I don't think there is much the owners can do about it. The rec room was closed, and some of the playing apparatuses were broken. Our site, and from the looks of things, many of the other sites, were not level. Our site was about 20 feet from our neighbor's hook-ups, and yes, we could see their big red sewer hose. The owners should plant some bushes or something. The pull-through sites seemed pretty tight. But our back-in site had plenty of room for our trailer, awning and a 10 x 10 pop-up canopy. Living just 3 hours from this Yosemite Pines, I'd stay here again. The kids really enjoyed it, which I guess is the whole purpose for going. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
I stayed here 5 days and 4 nights. I will not be staying here ever again. What a total let down for what I was expecting from the website about this Park. Sites VERY DIRTY, UNEVEN, AND LOTS OF ROCKS!!!! Hook ups were located at the front of the site, not very practical. The only good thing about this park was the WiFi, NOTHING ELSE!!!! Pass this park by, you'll thank me later. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a terribly sardine packed city with a LOT of dust. There are gravel sites (semi gravel), mainly dirt roads with no speed bumps for the 7 out of 10 people going over 5 mph., thus creating more dust. We also enjoyed stepping out the door of our motorhome and having the neighboring RV's sewer pipe within 8 feet. Nice view ain't it - no sitting out along side your rig enjoying yourself here folks. Owners: Plant a bush or re-design, or put big rigs in bigger sites, ie restructure your CG. Lose a couple-three sites to make larger ones! Go ahead and charge us more, but give us some room. Why this one item wasn't designed as most campgrounds have it, (hook-ups at or near the rear of the site- not towards the middle-front), is the main reason why we wont be back. Big rig back-in sites are very small. Why I'll give them a three rather than a one: The kids enjoyed themselves, restrooms were clean and the Wi-Fi worked good. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We stayed here on our visit to Yosemite. Everything in the park is okay. The bathrooms and showers, nothing fancy, but clean. Everything is gravel, not much grass anywhere. Everything is dusty, even without wind. Wi-Fi works good. We drove by the petting zoo, and really couldn't stomach the smell. There are lots of tents around, but not in the RV section, which is up a hill, around the store, through the cabins and in the back, which is okay, just don't spin your tires on the loose gravel. The reason I give this place a four is management. We checked in, and the lady working the front desk was friendly. She helped us with information on locations or restaurants, etc. When coming back from eating out, we drove up the graveled hill to our site, the management, pointed at us and gave us a, "hands down" gesture, meaning slow down from 7 miles per hour. We slowed then tried to get up the hill and our tires starting spinning in all the loose gravel. He promptly continued his gestures with a nasty scowl on his face. That was our first experience with the happy people here. Next problem: the things you see on the website aren't as they appear. In the pictures you see lots of green grass, I don't know where this is. Next, the closing of the General Store: before 7:00 p.m. and the pool closes at 8:00 p.m. promptly, at the end of June. Check his hours at his website, pool hours until 10:00 p.m. not so. We questioned the front office, we were told just about word for word, there were no pool hours, the owner closes it when he wants. This was true, the pool had about 20 or so people in it and lots of people around the pool. The owner kicked everyone out as we arrived at 7:55 p.m. It also appears there is a youth camp or group in the lower part of the park close to the laundry facilities: at least 30 or so kids running around unsupervised. When we did laundry 2 of the 4 washers were broken. It is sad as this isn't a bad park. I just wish their website would update with some honest pictures and times for their facilities. If you go through all the rules they try to enforce you would hope they follow them too. Unfortunately they know there is nowhere else to go once you are in their park and that's how we were treated. That cute little guy on their website, is just a poorly painted picture on a board in the park, I think it is supposed to be the owner, but don't expect the smile. We will not be back. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This park was nearly as good as the other listings would lead you to believe. We had one problem with our initial campsite, but the management quickly rectified the situation. The biggest problem is the distance from Yosemite. You might think otherwise by reading the website. It takes nearly 30 minutes just to get to the entrance of Yosemite. If you are going to the village, it's at least another 30 minutes. We put over 300 miles on our truck in four days just driving to and from and around Yosemite. Overall, the park was nice. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We were here 2 nights. Some bathrooms were closed, and the swimming pool was closed. we were not told at the office when we registered. WiFi was not working for us. Spaces are tight. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Nice park with easy access to all sites. Wi-Fi is free and can be picked up at all sites. Pads are dirt and gravel leaving the potential for leveling. Some “grassy” areas for pets. At least 1 hour 20 minutes from RV park to Yosemite Village. Would have rated park higher if it had better grassy areas. Any rain here and you’ll have a big mess. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Web site states Big Rig friendly, not so. First site they put us in was smaller then RV and RV hung over in back and front. Site was not level either. Went to upper camp area and site was hard to get into with larger RV. Had to back up and pull forward several times. Quite area and nice surroundings. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Park had very few campers so was very quiet. Nicely maintained, friendly staff. Trail wraps around the park for walking in the woods. They picked the space and spaced the campers far apart for privacy. Free WiFi worked great. Reservation website didn't have a box for AAA discount but they offer it and we're supposed to get a credit. I would stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
The sites are excellent, panning for gold was fun and included in the price - yes, I found a few flakes of gold. The petting zoo hours are very limited from 8 to 10 AM. The pool was very nice, in fact all of the facilities were clean and in excellent condition. Each hook up area had its own small light on it to help you hook up in a late arrival. The crickets were wonderful to listen to at night! There is an actual gold mine on site - just be certain to take a flashlight as it is pitch black in there - also you need to crouch over. One other thing that I really appreciated was they had a free marshmallow roast at the main pavilion, They even drove a tractor around with a trailer (hay wagon ride) and took people to the roast!. Do they go out of their way- yes they do! I hope to return here very soon. Oh yes, the note about the road being tough for big rigs - it's true. I pulled a car behind my motorhome, and there were times I was nervous, but DO follow the campground directions from Los Angeles, they were spot on, I took both ways here (drove it on the second day). We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a good spot for trips into Yosemite, although there is a good 45-60 minute drive to the valley. The campground was clean, same for the red dirt that covered our spot. We had a spot within eyesight of the bathrooms (where one of the WiFi antennas was located) and WiFi worked well. With a small petting zoo and a hay ride on most nights, my kids were entertained. We would stay here again. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We got a nice pull-through spot close to one of the Wi-Fi antennas, so we got great internet service. But the park is in an area where we could not get any cell phone service (AT&T) and they have only one pay phone at the office. The park is in the forest and most of the sites have plenty of shade, and there is a nice walking trail with a par course. The laundry is small and pricey; the cable TV only has about a dozen stations, which we thought was really strange; and there are no newspapers available. They have a nice pool, but the week we were here, it was always packed with a large group of teens from France. They also have a small petting zoo, which is nice for the kids, but adds to the general bad smell around the campground. We couldn’t figure out why we would often get a whiff of a garbage smell as we walked around the grounds and even when we were at the pool. We finally discovered that the staff was moving the garbage from bin to bin with a tractor loader and then shoving it down as far as possible to make room for more garbage! During the entire 8 days that we were here, not once did we recognize that there had been a garbage pickup. Unfortunately, if you want to go to Yosemite, this is the closest campground to the north entrance. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
I give it a 5 because I will blame the heat for some of the misery I felt, after all it was 105 degrees. The staff was not the friendliest, one of the caretakers yelled at me about something and said "I told you about this yesterday", the irony is I had just arrived to the campground that day so I still have not idea what he was talking about. We had some loud rowdy neighbors that were up until about 3 a.m. and nobody shut them down. It was an ok stay but I will probably not stay at this campground again. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Nice place, but a crazy drive to it. Big rigs beware the twisting narrow mountain approach. Plenty of room for each campsite, especially for a private park. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Being close to Yosemite was our first reason for staying here. Yes it's in the mountains and is somewhat dirty but overall pretty nice. The gravel sites are flat and the petting zoo was a favorite for our young children. The people were great to us and we enjoyed staying here. Again, since a lot of this is in the trees and the lots are gravel you can get some dirt in your RV but it was not a reason to dislike the place. In fact we will come back to Yosemite Pines. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Campground is located on a hillside with individual spaces terraced along the access roads. Our November, off season, visit found the park quite empty. Rainy weather provided rather muddy conditions. The parking spots are graveled and supported our coach properly, but keeping muddy footprints out of the coach was a problem. (A little more generous width to the gravel parking pads would have been nice.) Wi-Fi service was spotty -- the signal would be lost from time to time, then, when resumed, I'd often have to log in again. I was disappointed that this campground had dropped out of Passport America, as we found them through the Passport catalog. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We just returned from a stay of a couple of weeks at this campground so I'd like to do what I can to straighten a few things out. This is a very good campground that has had it's problems over the last few years. It has had different owners over the past few years but has now been purchased out of bankruptcy by a management company determined to bring the camp back to life. The present owners have had it less than a couple of years but they are already putting money in. The pool, which received several complaints, has been rehabbed with new plaster, tile, and a big new filter. The sites received bad press because they are all dirt. That is true. A guy they hired to level things off scraped all the gravel off, leaving red dirt. The managers know this and are trying to reestablish the sites by bringing in gravel and doing all they can to spread it and compact it in. The facilities are very good. There are clean restrooms, a neat club room, a small store, and a 24-hour laundry. The wi-fi worked great. For the kids, there is gold panning and a cool petting zoo. My kid went to feed the animals every morning and they (the humans and the animals) always treated her well. Sites were good. We are on the top level, area B, and our site was very level. My jacks went down only to stabilize, not to establish level. Hook-ups worked well and I had no complaints. Each site had a fire ring, a table and plenty of room. If I sound like we liked this place, we did. We had stayed here years ago and after I read the bad reviews, we nearly passed on it. I'm glad we stayed here. The managers are obviously trying to improve the camp and the owners are spending money to improve things. We will go back here in the spring to enjoy Yosemite after it wakes up from winter. I recommend you try this camp. We camped here in a Motorhome.
After being mislead by another campground in the area, my family and I had to scramble to find another place to stay. The folks at Yosemite Pines were very accommodating and they helped salvage our vacation. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This park is on a red clay hillside with very little gravel in the sites and if there's any moisture, you'll have to leave your shoes outside or face terrible, permanent carpet stains from the sticky clay that will mound up on your shoes. We had to use 4 wheel drive to get into our site because of the way the sites are positioned--but not all sites are as difficult. The bathroom by the pool and rec. room was filthy, but the upper one by our site was clean. The staff is curt and acts as if they couldn't care less if you ever return--which we won't be doing, even if we do come back to Yosemite. I called for reservations and was rudely told to "hold on", while I heard the clerk carry on a lengthy conversation with a camper. I finally gave up after using way too many cell minutes and made reservations online--but beware, if you make them online, they're totally non-refundable which was not a problem for us--just a warning. We needed quarters for the dryers to finish up our laundry and asked to buy a roll. The clerk told us we'd have to drive to Groveland to get quarters. Apparently the campground doesn't own the machines and they don't care whether you can use them or not. While it's probably not the worst campground we've seen, we have been on the road for 6 weeks all over the West and have stayed in so many wonderful ones that this one was very disappointing. On a positive note, they did offer free wi-fi and had very basic cable. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This place is not what their web site advertises it was a muddy mess! Pool was green, their petting zoo was ankle deep in mud. I can understand just getting going from winter but man! r.v sites are all on side hills very little gravel no concrete. We left did not stay there and we won't be back! We camped here in a Motorhome.
After having a bad experience at Yosemite Lakes, moved down the road to Yosemite Pines. Yosemite Pines is about a half hour from the main entry to Yosemite Valley. The park has a rustic, woodsy feel, with gravel roads and a terraced hillside setting. The staff was very friendly and helpful and a campworker guided us to our site. The campground has a very well stocked convenience store, pool, and a tot lot for kids. My kids really loved the petting zoo which featured a pair of lamas. They also have a number of cabins and yurts which seemed pretty neat to stay in next time. The free wi-fi is great. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This campground only looks good in it's own advertising. The sites were small, cramped and very dusty (no stone base or grass). The pool was a disgusting dark green and my kids would not go near it. Restrooms were dirty, showers were cold, paper towels not refilled. No working machines in laundry. Staff would not honor the advertised AAA discount-said it wasn't valid if I booked online! Campground is an hour to Yosemite. Would only reccomend this place as an absolute last resort We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 3 / 10 ]
June 2005
$32
This is one of the worst RV parks we've ever stayed in. I had read good reviews about this park and was really excited to try it out. It started off bad with the rude staff. The sites were dirty and uneven. I was never able to level our trailer. The pool was so disgusting my girls didn't want to swim. After all that it takes an hour to drive to Yosemite. We will not be returning and recommend you find another RV park. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
The staff was friendly and the amenities were nice. There was a nice rec room with free air hocky, ping/pong and a big screen TV. There was also a nice new playground and the pool was nice. The only real complaint were the actual sites. Ours was very small and very off level. We could not even find a level spot to put the picnic table, which made frying scrambled eggs next to impossible. Also the sites are just dirt. Some had gravel but ours did not. So we tracked dirt in everywhere. Don't even think of staying here if its raining. Also it was too hilly to bike ride around the park. We've stayed at nicer places for less. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
I agree with most of the previous comments re: the improvements made by the new owners and better management staff. The one major improvement that I hope is high on the list is to asphalt the dirt/gravel roadways servicing the camp sites. It gets quite dusty with vehicles driving by. The restroom/showers were adequate but not the most modern. No matter how often they clean the restrooms, the red clay dirt that people drag in because of the unpaved roadways creates an immediate dirty situation. The new yurts and cabins are nice and offer a good alternative for tent campers. I camped in a trailer with water and electric only. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 5 / 10 ]
May 2005
$33
Getting to this park requires climbing a very steep grade from hiway 49. I would not recommend descending on hiway 120 unless you have an exhaust brake. The turn off to the park is not well marked. I found the sites to be adequate but very dusty as none of the access roads are paved. During my stay, the park lost all water pressure and it was not restored before I left. I was not impressed with this place. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Nice wooded type spots with friendly staff . Easy access to camping spots with a big rig and had a great time with our 5 y/o at their new playground!!! We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Yosemite Pines has undergone a major improvement since we stayed here three years ago. The facilities included a well stocked general store, clean bathrooms, and best of all free Wi Fi! The park has a very woodsy feel and it's terraced into the hillside. We even saw a couple of deer in the morning. The cabins looked great but they were booked when we stayed there. Lots of amenities including a tot lot and pool for the kids. The park is about a 20 minute drive to the main entrance. Will come back next year. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 3 / 10 ]
December 2004
$32
We went to this park specifically because the website stated they had internet connections
at some sites: this is patently untrue. Management did direct us to a phone jack in the rec room, but that's hardly the same. In addition to this irritation, the men's bathroom had standing water, the office has *three* different sets of operating hours posted, and you get to figure out which is correct. In the rain the entire place turns into a muddy disaster that you will track into the motorhome no matter how much you wipe, and that red mud looks so good on the carpet: if the sites were properly gravelled this would not happen. The "arcade" has two video games, one of which does not work. We won't be returning. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 7 / 10 ]
2004
$32
Overall, I was very happy with this campground. Staff was pleasant and facilities were well
kept. Pool was in need of restoration. Internet access was a kiosk in the camp store. I do not know if there was a modem hookup for your own computer. Campsite trees give a nice woodsy feel but need to be pruned to avoid scratching vehicles. After reading the negative reviews I was fearful of trying this place but was happy that I did. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
2004
$35
If you do not need hookups and want to stay in Yosemite, check "yosemitesites" for space availability. Unfortunately, the summer months are usually booked. If you are driving from the Bay Area or Sacramento I would recommend Yosemite Pines RV Resort and Campground in Groveland. There are new owners and managers of Yosemite Pines and they have put a lot of money into the park and campgrounds, bought a number of new cabins, tents, etc., and renovated the clubhouse and store. Bathrooms are clean and the place now looks great. Lots of great amenities including pool, petting zoo, gold mine tour, clubhouse, etc. In addition, campground has hookups. If you want to stay in a little more luxury than an RV or tent, they have cabins for rent as well. If you are coming from the south entrance, try High Sierra RV Park. High Sierra is located in the heart of Oakhurst and is walking distance to shops and restaurants. It has a great location and is a quaint little RV park and campground situated on the banks of the Fresno River.
We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2004
$35
We stayed here several years ago and am surprised how nice the park has turned out. The owners have apparently put in alot of money and hired new on-site management. The park offers a nice, woodsy feel with many shaded sites. It's about a 30 minute drive to the north entrance to Yosemite. If you are coming from the Bay Area this is the place to stay if you need hookups as Yosemite National Park does not offer hookups. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2004
$30
We had a great time. Was here a few years ago and the place NOW looks great. Always like the location. Now the park is looks great as well. May be new managers - something changed. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
2004
$25
I saw this park listed as one of the eighth best RV parks to see in the country by Travel
Explorer. I had read some of the older reviews and was a little suspicious. Since my wife and kids were coming fom San Jose to Yosemite for the weekend we decided to check it out. By far the nicest park and best location to Yosemite from Route 120. The new owners have completely renovated the park and they have a great amenity package. It's one of the newer parks and they have a petting zoo, huge pool for the kids, cabins. Next time up we will probably stay in a cabin and they are pretty neat. I would definitely recommend this place and will come next year. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We liked this campground because of the good location close to the west side of Yosemite National Park. Some of the sites are tricky and close together. But overall, I think the people who work at the place truly care about it and try to take care of things. The shade was nice, our site was fairly level. My only complaint is that when I called about reservations, I was told they only had one site left that night. When we woke up the next morning, there were only 5 campers in the park. So the "only one site left" story was definitely a lie. I didn't even go in the bathrooms, so I don't know anything about them. They only have a couple of washers and dryers, but they did a great job on the loads we needed to do. There really aren't any amenities like a park/play ground for the kids, but we basically used this as a basecamp for Yosemite so we didn't miss it. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We have been camping here for about 5 years now. I thought it was about time to share how great this place is. We travel in a group of RV's with children ranging from 7-16. Our kids can not wait to get back to this family friendly place each year. There is plenty of grass area for a game, places to bike ride, store full of ice cream, horse shoes, tether ball, they even turned the sprinklers on one day and came and found the kids to play in them. With this much fun and activity going on, it allows the parents some wonderful down time to relax outside under the shade trees enjoying the nice open spaces. We have a 40 foot fifth wheel and have enjoyed at least 3 different sites at this camp ground. Each has shade and space. We are always escorted to our sites by friendly staffers and asked if we need anything else before we start our stay. Shortly after arrival, our Direct TV boxes are delivered and we are hooked up to satellite and enjoying the down time. Sites are spacious and fairly level with gravel parking and grassy surroundings. We have noticed that with each year they have made additional improvements to make this place more comfortable and relaxing for all who stay. It is small and quaint. We will be back for many years to come. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
The park is about 13 miles from the entrance to Yosemite making it a good base camp for day tripping into the park. However, big rigs should note that hwy 120 near hwy 49 has a very steep grade with lots of hairpin turns so the drive is not for the faint of heart. The campground hosts were extremely friendly and helpful. Although there is no cell phone, air card or Wi-Fi service (they say there is but we were never able to connect), they do provide you with a box to connect to Direct TV. There are a lot of nice cabins and park models for rent. The owner is in the process of adding more cabins so RV sites may become more limited. Although they have a small general store, gas station, and restaurant onsite, I'd suggest gassing up in Big Oak Flat and getting groceries in Groveland. All in all a nice park and we'd return when in the area again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Great campground with a good location. Close to park & town. Staff was friendly, campground was clean. Even a wonderful restaurant next door. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a very small campground with only fourteen gravel sites. There are only two pull-throughs. There are several cabins and cottages as well. Everything is clean. The price seems high for no pool, playground or Wi-Fi. The person who checked us in seemed confused as to which site would be best for our rig even though the park was deserted. Most RVs here are on the smaller side. We had a back-in site that was very wide with a ditch in the back. Upon backing in, a tree branch scraped the roof. We stayed closer to the hook-up side of the site because the hook-ups are all at the rear of the site behind the back of the RV. Unfortunately, the RV was leaning so much to the passenger side, there was no way we could level. So, we pulled forward and moved over. The tree branch scraped again. We moved over and backed in again which made us more level, but still had to use every leveling block we had, plus the hydraulic levelers to get close to level. Unfortunately, this put us so far from the hook-ups that our sewer hoses would not reach, and we had to go without a sewer hook-up for the week. On the day we left, we had to pull forward and back in closer to the sewer to dump. There is no Wi-Fi here, and our Sprint card did not work at all. They say you can go to the restaurant down the street that they own, to get Wi-Fi, but I could not get a signal there. I could get the signal from the hotel parking lot, though. There is no cable, but they have Directv. The cable is hanging on a tree and since we already have Directv, but couldn't use it because of the trees, we had to run the cable through the window to hook it up to our box. If you don't have a box, they will lend you one and hook it up for you. The bathrooms and showers were clean, but the lights were very dim. Each shower has a light on a timer, as does every sink. The showers have cement walls and ceilings and are painted a steel gray with a caged light at the top. There are two washers that cost only $1. The picnic table is painted, clean and nice. There is ample shade with many large trees. There are people who live in private residences in the campground, some around the perimeter and others in a larger section with their own driveway. I did not sleep at all at this campground. Dogs bark constantly throughout the night and early morning hours, mostly coming from the permanent residents. Also, the owner's two dogs roam around the campground unleashed. They sell gas and diesel here, but if you go ten miles down the street you can save a lot. We saved over $20 by doing this. The location is great for visiting Yosemite. The roads to get to the campground, especially New Priest Grade can be stressful to drive, especially with a large RV. This was the only campground where we felt the need to lock our bikes up while we were gone all day. I have read other reviews elsewhere that say the owner walks around and talks to everyone, but we never saw him. The lady at the front desk didn't have any information about Yosemite and couldn't tell me how long it would take to get to the park. There were only two or three other RV's while we were here, but at one point we were the only one. We would definitely not stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.