ItOpened Guides · Yosemite National Park
How to actually get a site at Tuolumne Meadows Campground — the verified facts, the release reality, and the cancellation route in.
Overview Tuolumne Meadows Campground recently had a complete overhaul and rehabilitation of the campsites. Please be mindful of young plants and shrubs by keeping all wheels on parking pads and camping equipment within established campsites. Thank you! Tuolumne Meadows Campground is located in breathtaking Yosemite National Park in Central California's rugged Sierra Nevada Mountain Range at an elevation of 8,600 feet. The site is situated along the scenic Tioga Road just five miles from the Tioga Pass Entrance Station. Within Yosemite, visitors can gaze upon waterfalls, sheer granite cliffs, deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, vast wilderness areas, and so much more.
| Total sites | 309 |
|---|---|
| Site types | Tent only, Standard, Walk-to / hike-to, Group, RV |
| Site mix (directory count) | Tent only 135 · Standard 116 · Walk-to / hike-to 31 · Group 7 · RV 1 |
| Area | Yosemite National Park |
| Managed by | National Park Service |
| Nearest community | Yosemite National Park, CA |
| Activities | Backpacking, Camping, Evening Programs, Fishing, Hiking, Interpretive Programs, Photography, Rock Climbing, Scenic Drive, Star Gazing, Swimming, Wilderness, Wildlife Viewing |
| Directory phone | 209-372-4025 OR 209-372-8502 |
| Official listing | Recreation.gov campground page |
| Book through | Recreation.gov |
Tuolumne Meadows Campground is reserved through Recreation.gov, on the release pattern stated in its official listing. In demand, reservable sites are claimed within minutes of each release — which is why the campground reads as sold out for most of the year, and why the realistic route in is rarely the release itself.
Sites booked months ahead get cancelled as trips fall through, and each cancellation returns its nights to the official calendar instantly — first-come, no waitlist, no announcement. ItOpened scans the Recreation.gov calendar for Tuolumne Meadows Campground around the clock; when a site matching your dates and vehicle opens, you get a text with a direct link, and you book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. We never book, hold, or resell. The mechanics are the same ones documented in how campsite cancellations actually work.
Watch more than one calendar. These nearby or same-area campgrounds take the same trip — and their cancellations are independent chances:
| Upper Pines Campground | 240 sites · same area |
|---|---|
| Crane Flat Campground | 151 sites · same area |
| Hodgdon Meadow Campground | 108 sites · same area |
| Bridalveil Creek Campground | 107 sites · same area |
| Wawona Campground | 99 sites · same area |
Full directory facts and sibling campgrounds: Tuolumne Meadows Campground campground page · Yosemite National Park park page.
Every figure in this article traces to one of the sources above. If a number isn't sourced, we don't print it.
Last updated 2026-10-30.