Best place to camp in Upper Pines Campground

We will be booking to stay in Upper Pines Campground in May (during the week) and would prefer to be away from the road and beside the creek or a quieter area in the campground - anyone stayed there that can advise what camping site number I should request - someone mentioned in the reviews #174 by the creek.

Best place to camp in Upper Pines Campground

Haven%26#39;t camped there, but this seems to be a very useful website for individual site photographs: http://yosemitecampsites.com/

This website shows all the campsites in Upper Pines: www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upperpines.htm

and the basic map

www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upperpines.htm

Best place to camp in Upper Pines Campground

I don%26#39;t expect that the campground will be full, but it might be. In May you will hear the river (not creek) and the waterfall and maybe some noise from the buses during the day. However May is not the peak season so the water will be loud and drown out other noises. The last time I stayed there in May I did not notice that the noise was distracting, but I can%26#39;t recall the campsite number. I may not be the best person to provide perspective, I%26#39;m always so thrilled to be in such a beautiful place that the details of the perfect campsite or hotel room or bus schedule tends to not bother me. I spend my days on the trails and the further out and harder the trail is the fewer people you encounter. Yosemite falls is crazy and crowded during the day. I like to go there before breakfast when everyone is still getting ready for the day.

Enjoy your visit!!

i%26#39;m trying to plan a camping trip to yosemite in late May. can anyone advise me on where to stay? there will be about 10-15 of us and i%26#39;d like to be able to hike, see the waterfalls and not be next to roads.

i%26#39;ve read that only the valley and wawona pass will be open at that time of the year. are lower and upper pines in that category? thanks.

dennyoh---yes, both Upper Pines and Lower Pines are in Yosemite Valley. You will need to make your campground reservation for late May on January 15, 2009. Read about the reservation times here:

www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/camping.htm

You need to register on the reservation website ahead of time. Go to:

www.recreation.gov

For 12-15 people, you will need 2 or 3 campsites, as there is a maximum of 6 people per site (unless you get a group site, but those are scarce).

I%26#39;m not sure there%26#39;s really any portion of the campground that is a ';quieter area';, but then how much time do you plan to spend in the campground? Usually during the day most people are out doing things and aren%26#39;t in their campsites. Campfires have to be out by 10:00 pm so that really helps to cut down on the nighttime noise.

We stayed in site 73 in June and had more than enough room for 3 tents and 6 people. I%26#39;m not sure about the number of tents per site, but you are only allowed 6 people per site. I also seem to recall that one person can only make 2 reservations so that might be a problem if you need 3 or more campsites. Any of the sites on the outside of the loops should be the most spacious.

You will need to make reservations starting Jan. 15 for a stay starting after May 15. Reservations are available starting 7:00 am Pacific Time. Be ready to go on the reservation site before 7:00 so that when the time comes you can get the sites you want. For our trip in June, we made our reservations in February and the whole campground was sold out in about 15 minutes.

thanks for the info!