Lower Pines at Yosemite National Park

Came here camping and while Yosemite was amazing (as expected) the ranger who was here was a complete ahole, we checked into our campsite and parked our cars, he comes over and starts lecturing us about how we didn't hang our parking passes up, we literally JUST parked, he walked over before we even had our trunks open. We were just there trying to have a good time so we just say sorry and put the parking passes up. We had quite a bit of stuff to unload so I was wondering if it would be okay to drive the car up onto the campsite (since we saw other people with their RVs and trailers parked onto the campsite) but since the range was such a ahole I didn't want to get in trouble so I went to go ask him, he tells me no and I say thanks and I walk away, as I'm walking away I hear him say "DUHHHHH" and start laughing with the other ranger, clearly making fun of me that I'm stupid or whatever so I turn around and I say "what, it was just a question you don't need to be rude about it, I just didn't want to get in trouble since you were so worked up about the parking passes" he just stayed silent and stopped laughing. Honestly this was a horrible experience to start off what was otherwise a great weekend, it's too bad this dick had to have an attitude. Aside from that the experience was not bad, a lot more bugs than other campsites I've been to but hey it's nature lol, lots of great hiking trails and scenery around the campsite area as well

Camp here if you enjoy rowdy, noisy neighbors and if you don't mind random people walking through your site to get to the river and/or the restrooms. The location is incredible, hence the second star, but don't expect peace and quite or privacy.

First time camping ever and this campsite was far beyond my expectations! I need to add that the weather was awful for camping with rain and snow so most of the campsites were empty and flooded. We were the only group to sleep in tents while the other campsites had recreational vehicles for shelter. Despite the horrible weather conditions, our campsite did not flood or pool as expected. Campground site- A driveway, picnic table, bear proof storage container, and fire pit are included at every site. The bear proof storage container is easy to use and was in good condition. Make sure to bring your own firewood! Bathrooms- I was very impressed with the facilities provided at the campground. The bathrooms were clean! Flushing toilets, toilet paper, sinks, and air dryers (very useful to dry wet clothes!) are all present. There is even a power outlet! Just outside the bathrooms are a filtered water station (which tastes DELICIOUS) and unfiltered water for washing dishes. Rangers- The rangers were helpful in giving us advice for hiking and camping. They were very pleasant and funny. In addition they were very resourceful. Location- When the sky cleared up, you can stare up at half dome and north dome from your campsite! It made a beautiful panorama!

Camped 9/16/15-9/19/15Tent Camping (no RV)I have now experienced camping in Yosemite Valley twice, the first time was at Camp 4 and this time it was Lower Pines Campground. Camp 4 is a totally different experience than camping at Lower Pines. Camp 4 is walk up only, no reservations, Lower Pines you have to reserve sites ahead of time. So let's start from the beginning. April 15, 2015 at 6:58 am. I sat at my computer and waiting for the booking window to open. They say to book 5 months in advance on recreation.gov, I was booking for the dates 9/16-19. So right at 7 am, I hit refresh and clicked on the site I wanted.... I tried booking 3 nights at the same site and only got 2 of the 3, for night 3 we had to move sites, but at least they were both at the same campground. We paid $26/night. We booked site #26 and site #5.Check-in is at noon, but if the site is vacant when you get there, you can check right in! You pull up to the kiosk (I think they open at 10 am), and they provide you with a parking pass and they go over rules and regulations with you. Then you drive to your site....Site #26) We liked this site the better of the two. We were tent camping. Location wise, it's pretty close to the restrooms, the restroom lights are motion censored so they do turn off eventually. But if you are sensitive to light, you might not want to stay at this site. But if you are the type to get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, this is a perfect site for you! We had 2 picnic tables at our site. The bear box was pretty big, my best friend and I got into the bear box to take a funny pic, so I'd say you'd be able to fit 4 human bodies in it sitting up cross legged. We also slung up a hammock, there were two trees that were far enough apart from each other for it. Site #5) I do not recommend Site #5. It's pretty close to the entrance of the campsite. It's like 2 to 3 sites away from the kiosk. It's right next to a sidewalk that leads to the restroom. It's also really close to the restrooms. Through out the entire night I got woken up by footsteps. Pros about #5 are that it has 2 picnic tables as well. The parking spot is a double wide, meaning you can probably fit two cars side by side or an RV. That's about the only pros. Lots of bees it seemed. Also in one of the trees at the site, it had a fly bag, one of those contraptions that traps flies.... no bueno. We did Half Dome on Thursday, and this site is definitely walking distance, about 1/2 a mile from the Happy Isle Trail head. Which is also the trailhead for Vernall Falls and Nevada Falls. Lower Pines is also right across from Curry Village for showers. They also have a water dump toilet which was convenient for dish washing (felt bad though, I think they have to unclog it on a daily basis because no food is supposed to go in it). There is also a water bottle filling station at the restrooms. Also, right next to Lower Pines is a meadow with a wooden walkway that is very picturesque. Close to a free shuttle stop as well.

This campground sold me at clean and non- smelly bathrooms. I've once camped at a very beautiful place with awful and disgusting bathrooms that I would rather choose to pee in the bushes. But this campsite has such clean bathrooms. Not clean like hotel clean, but very clean for a campsite. They also provide a bear storage to put all of your food in. No need to worry about bears breaking into your car! And for those of you guys that have seasonal and pollen allergies. I stayed here for 3 days 2 nights during May and had the worst allergies ever. And it was only when I returned to the campsite. Had to stay inside the car just to not sneeze my heart out. It was horrible.

Our group came out here for Labor Day weekend this year and I'm very pleased with the overall cleanliness of the campsite! The group was mixed with seasoned and newbie campers, and they all enjoyed the stay!The campsite was a close walk to the meadows area or a little stream/river for you to kick back and enjoy during hot weather. The stars were spectacular at night. You could even see the milky way. Amazing! Might I add that the bathrooms were pretty clean, with running water! The camp hosts do a daily replenish of tp, and scrub down every day. Thank you! I'm not sure if there were any showers at this site, but it's camping - oh well! Friendly environment for camping, what more can you ask for! I would definitely come back!Future visitors - don't forget to clean up after yourselves, use the bear lockers, and put out your campfires when they're not being attended!

Loved our site here! We pitched our tent here for 3 nights and absolutely loved it. We will definitely be back! The site grounds and bathroom were very clean. Note - you do not need a locker for the bear locker. It already has one. Also, the bathrooms do not have showers. Please do not litter and please follow the campground rules.

Great time for 2 nights at lower pines. Great, big spaces. Okay bathrooms and nice water refilling station. No showers though. We had a great view of half dome from our spot and plenty of space for our kids to play. Tough to land summer reservations though.

I had time of my life in my first camping in Yosemite. This campsite was awesome.There's is a wooden deck goes thru Stoneman Meadow. Using this path, you can walk to Half Dome village, much shortcut. And an inspiring walk. Site 72 and 88 are the closest to the path and looked good. Though these seem to be group site. We stayed at site 68. Not bad. I would reserve other spots if coming next time. The one closer to river probably nicer with the sound of stream. These sites are site 38, 38, and 41.The sites didn't look good are the ones right next to the bathroom. I assume Ppl come and go all the time and two sites are seem to be on the path to bathroom. Not so good...that's site 64 and 66

Despite numerous trips to Yosemite over the years, I had never had the experience of camping on the valley floor. I just never had planned far enough in advance. This year I decided that was where I was going to spend my birthday, and I planned accordingly. I emphasize planning because that is the only way you will get to camp here. As Christina and Micaela have both mentioned, getting reservations is extremely difficult, and involves you getting up at dawn on a Saturday morning five months in advance to click madly away at your computer hoping for the best. When we got our reservations, all campsites were sold out in three minutes.But if you can deal with that hassle, the rewards are amazing. There really aren't any bad spots here. Some have better views than others, but all are spacious and comfortable. The only complaint we had was the size of the bear lockers. They are slowly replacing all of the older, smaller lockers with newer, bigger ones, but if you are going to camp here, make sure and look up on their web-site to verify the dimensions of the locker at your specific site. Otherwise, you may end up with an ice cooler too big for your locker.The bathrooms were well-maintained and kept clean and the rangers were friendly. The campfire restriction (campfires are only allowed between 5 and 10pm), although it bothers many people, is necessary and fair.I was just happy as could be at this campground...I will definitely try to come back here in the future.