Top Reasons to Stay at Yosemite Pines
- Located just 22 miles from the western entrance to Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Pines offers a convenient and comfortable base camp for hiking, biking, and exploring the park.
- Individual cabins accommodate between two and eight people depending on the unit. Standard, deluxe, premium, premium loft, and luxury cabins include full kitchens, while basic and cozy cabins come equipped with small fridges, microwaves, and coffee pots.
- Alternatively, campsites offer a shady respite for tenters (though there are no hook-ups). Standard RV sites come with electric and water hook-up. Each campsite is equipped with a fire ring and picnic table.
- Guests can take a dip in the onsite swimming pool, play volleyball, or let their kids loose on the jungle gym. There’s also an animal-petting area with alpacas.
- You can stock up on sundries at the convenience store, or grab a quick bite at the Yosemite Pines Deli, located in the pool area.
- At the onsite “gold mine,” children can learn how to pan for gold with a sluice box.
Groveland, California: Gateway to Year-Round Adventure at Yosemite National Park
Roughly 120 miles southeast of Sacramento, the town of Groveland is a gateway to Yosemite National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site that welcomes millions of visitors every year. Thanks to low elevations, much of the Yosemite Valley remains accessible to drivers, hikers, and snowball poachers throughout the winter. The full-service Badger Pass Ski Area—which opens for the season in mid-December—features 10 runs, five lifts, and a beginner-friendly terrain park.
Crowds at Yosemite are much smaller in the cooler months, meaning you can explore the park at an unhurried pace and experience it as few visitors can. Stroll the 5-mile loop around Mirror Lake, which is actually a meadow in most seasons–it dries up after spring. From here, you'll have an unobstructed view of one of the park’s most iconic geologic formations, the granite Half Dome.
Yosemite Falls—a three-tiered waterfall considered the highest in North America—flows from November to July; it hits its peak flow in May, thanks to snowmelt. Serious hikers can trek to the top on the strenuous Upper Yosemite Falls trail, which gains 2,700 feet in elevation in just 3.5 miles.
Read the Fine Print for important info on travel dates and other restrictions.
Yosemite Pines
Located just 22 miles from the western entrance to Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Pines serves as a convenient and dozy base camp for hiking, biking, and exploring the park. Tent and RV sites pepper the on-site campground, and individual cabins upgrade the rustic setting with full kitchens and microwaves for warming up fussy squirrels' acorns.
While camping in the Pines, guests can take a dip in the outdoor pool, play volleyball, or let kids loose to play the jungle gym or join other family-friendly activities. The petting farm, for instance, relocates the Yosemite wilderness to a safe, kid-friendly zoo—the critters even include alpacas—while the onsite “gold mine” teaches children how forty-niners used sluice boxes to pan for lost wristwatches.
As for Yosemite itself, spring and early summer is considered one of the best times to see the park's famed waterfalls, thanks to the snowmelt brought on by warmer weather. Yosemite Falls—a three-tiered waterfall believed to be the highest in North America—transforms into thundering cataracts each spring. To fully appreciate the view, serious hikers can trek to the top of the Upper Yosemite Falls trail—a strenuous path that gains 2,700 feet in elevation in just 3.5 miles.
Tips
87% of 415 customers recommend
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“Location and activities for kids ;)”
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“The grounds and the cabins were great and the hiking was great”
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“Everything from our well stocked cabin to the entire grounds was extremely well kept and clean.”
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