Crane Flat Campground

From check in to setting up and checking out, this campground exceeded my expectations. They have new restrooms as well. Kept clean. Bear boxes to avoid any bear incidents. At night, you can see the sky full of stars. Can't wait to go again.

Came for the snow play at Crane Flat, and we picnicked, but we took all our trash with us and left no trace behind. We drove from Groveland and entered from Big Oak road and it's 8 mi from that entrance. Snow was plenty and there are multiple hills created for sledding so groups can spread out.If you are willing to go higher up from the parking lot almost to the restroom building (that's closed for the winter) there's a longer and better slope for sledding that's a better angle and distance.We came Christmas Day, arrived 10:20a, and there were 10 cars already. There isn't much parking so people parked on one side of the road into Crane Flat campgrounds.Only port-a-potties at this site.

*Visited business before COVID-19; appreciation post*Crane Flat was a great campground; easily accessible, about 15-20 mins away from the valley, and very clean. We tried for Upper/Lower Pines & Camp 4, but this was a great alternative. Getting there:The campground is about 30 mins northwest of Yosemite Valley, on the Hwy 120.Experience:It's not in the mix of everything, but it is a nice and chill place. We did have a bear encounter at night. I heard the bear in my sleep and would have woke up screaming, but my friend covered my mouth before anything could come out. The bear didn't harm us at all we just made noise and it went away. Someone might have left food outside of the bear locker.

Big, Basic campground | Avoid site #124We were a large group of 11 people and came in with 5 cars. The limit for each campsite: 6 people, 4 cars. If you have extra cars, you can park near the kiosk and there's another spillover parking lot. $26 per campsite. Gas station across the street. 20 minutes from the Valley.No showers.No lights, so bring headlamps.Flushing toilets (hold down the button to fully flush)Wash your dishes outside near the bathroom area.One bear locker at each sitePeople were pretty quiet overall. I think everyone was asleep around 10:30 - 11pm, too! We enjoyed our stay here. We came in late at night to the sites and then tried to check in before 9am at the kiosk. No one was there! A bunch of people showed up as well to check in and we all ended up writing on paper to tell them we waited past 9am to try and check in. They give you paper placards for you to hang on your vehicles... so that's what we needed, but it wasn't a big deal. We ended up telling the guy at the kiosk what happened when we were back from the Valley. Just making a note on Yelp about this because they may not be on time to help you check in. Avoid site #124 if you can. All of us ended up staying at site #122 because it was a bit bigger and flatter than #124. I think because #122 and #124 is so close to the road heading out, it's on a hill. Supposedly there were two cases of the hantavirus that occurred here, but we didn't know. Just be cautious. Lock your food. Don't feed wildlife.

Just returned from a Monday through Friday camping trip at Crane Flat Campground with a 30 minute drive into Yosemite Valley. Very happy we camped there as there are trees, elevation 6,200 ft, and camp grounds not piled on top of each other. Observed the first come first serve Campground 4 in the valley and it looked "packed" and absolutely preferred Crane Flat. Our site on Loop 500 was really nice though we had to search for a flat place to place two tents. We were in site 542 which was across from bath room. Only cold water in BR, and bathroom relatively clean- really fairly good with flushing toilets and 2 sinks. Cold water spicket next to BR, so being across from a BR is great if your cooking! We brought tea kettle to fill with H2O and propane stove to heat our water etc. so always had hot water available. Bear bins to store food and canned food. Was able to place two ice chests plus another box of food in the bear box. The price was incredible as we used our Lifetime Senior Pass and received a 50% discount. Had initially reserved the Canvas Tents in Yosemite Valley, but so glad we chose Crane Flat as the tents are so close together and would have cost almost $780 for 4 nights. Tried to reserve dinner at beautiful Ahwahnee elegant dining, but need reservations months in advance, so enjoyed appetizers in Ahwahnee Bar.Enjoyed the deer in our campground. Got lucky and had different but quiet respectable camp neighbors. Bring your own firewood. There is a expensive gas station and market that we used to fill up going to and from Yosemite Valley as well as to refill ice chests (very handy). Would definitely camp at Crane Flat again.

Loved this place. It was quite, nice, glean and cheap. It had the essentials like toilets and drinking water. Close to Yosemite Valley and if you are lucky you get to see a bear. We would love to stay here again!

We went to Yosemite in early September and camped at Crane Flat campground. We were pretty disappointed that we couldn't get a campsite in Yosemite Valley ( upper and lowers pines, curry village) but after camping here a few nights we agreed we got the better deal. We camped at site 519 which was next to the restrooms but actually pretty convenient. Our campsite had all the necessities- fire ring, picnic bench, log for sitting by the fire, bear box for food and scented products, and tons of space for a tent or two. We brought our hammock and found two trees to hang it in at our site. There are mostly adults but a good number of families too. That said, we didn't have issues with noise disruptions or party groups.There is a park ranger onsite at all times. The one downfall was the bathroom situation. It's very DIY as in there is only toilet paper and running ice water. No soap or lights so I highly recommend getting a head lamp. Also it's hard to wash dishes. They recommend washing at your campsite then rinse near the bathroom area at a spigot. In the morning the area gets pretty muddy and there are a ton on yellow jackets. Another thing is I have never had to fight off so many flies, bees, yellow jackets, and other winged insects while cooking and eating breakfast. It was pretty bad. We ended up burning a small fire just for the smoke to keep the bugs away.When we went down for a hike in Vernal Falls and to see other Yosemite attractions, we noticed that the camp sites were packed with tents and very few trees compared to Crane Flat. In our campsite you could see your neighbors but it still felt like you had private space. There is a general store two min away that sells all the stuff you forgot at home like marshmallows, plates, cheese, plus ice, fire wood, and Yosemite souvenirs. Oh and there is a gas station here as well.All in all I highly recommend this campsite when visiting Yosemite. Bring headlamps and creative ideas for dealing with bugs!

I stayed at Crane Flat for two beautiful nights in October 2018 and found the campground to be a calm and quiet home base. Just be aware that this time of year is COLD at night, so pack accordingly. Winter hats, gloves, socks, jackets, and a good blanket + sleeping bag are essential.Size-wise, it's a huge campground that's well spread out. Nearest neighbors are still dozens of feet away. A nice contrast from my trip last year when we stayed at Hodgedon Meadows where it felt like the campsites were overlapping and people were constantly walking through each other's campsites.You are allowed to gather firewood if you'd like (or so the ranger told me), but I'd recommend bringing an axe to chop it, otherwise you'll only be able to use twigs and bark. The Crane Flat Gas Station is right up the road though, so if you need firewood, you can buy it there, just be sure to get there before 5pm or they will be closed! I reserved site 404. The parking area is on a slant, but there are two fairly level spots for tents. The nearest bathroom to our site was closed, so they had port-a-potties set up. Actually works well when you have to pee at 3am and don't want to disturb anyone by flushing a toilet, but I can imagine that it smells pretty rank in Summer. There was another bathroom with flush facilities just slightly further away on the 500s side, so it wasn't a big deal at all.I noticed less squirrels, chipmunks, and bugs than the summer months, and instead a TON of ravens that make a plethora of strange noises I had never heard a bird make before. Nature is amazing.Overall, I would definitely stay at Crane Flat again. For $26/night, it's worth it.

Enjoyed our 5 night stay here in September. Ample room, and some so-so privacy. I'd aim for sites at the beginning of the loop (adjacent to the meadow) to avoid crowding. We had a water spicket and bathrooms with running water. This campground is about a 40 minute drive from Yosemite Village. That's a commute for sure , but it offers much more of a "camping" experience than the 3 "pines" campgrounds in the Valley - folks are just stacked up on each other down there IMO.

Not my favorite campground in Yosemite (yet anyway). Just spent two nights there hoping the refurbishing project after the two year closure resulted in improvements. I was disappointed to find the sites are really close to together, with almost no privacy for some. The grounds are still loose, powdery construction dirt so the sites are very dusty - not much fun to pitch a tent on. It will take a few years of pine needles and natural compacting for that to improve. They are still doing daily work in the campground clearing trees and grading. The slips/driveways are short and almost all of them not level. Some have pretty extreme grades, so be careful when booking if you don't want to have to severely level out your RV or car.