Yosemite Southgate Campground *OYBC

Site 5 - Old Yosemite Base Camp (4x4 ONLY)

Campsite #1 itself was really nice—large, open, private, with two picnic tables and a fire ring. We also liked that it was elevated above the road. However, we were completely alone despite the site showing the other spots as reserved, which made it feel pretty isolated and creepy at night. We heard road noise throughout the night, and having to walk down the hill to the portable restroom by the road felt uncomfortable when we were alone. We also heard animals throughout the night, which was cute but definitely made every sound feel a little more intense! The location is another thing to consider. It’s about 25–30 minutes from Yosemite’s South Entrance, but roughly 1½ hours from Yosemite Valley and the main attractions. Overall, beautiful and spacious during the day, but the isolation, nighttime bathroom situation, road noise, and distance to Yosemite Valley made this a mixed experience for us.

Recommends

· August 2026

Tent · Group trip ·

It was a lovely experience camping here. It was cool how close you were to town if you needed to pick anything up from there. There is also a hidden gem near Luis Creek trailhead, worth recommending check out. There were a few things that would have made this accommodations a lot better. Having another bathroom near the campsites that are up the hill. Also, providing trash cans and bear boxes that we could protect our stuff more. Another thing to is checking campsites more regularly. There were a lot of fire ants at these sites and also rattle snacks would come out at night, during these two nights they were two that we saw. That was a little uneasy going to sleep because it was dark and knowing how close there were was scary. Other than these recommendations and complaints it was still a very fun campsite and would come back.

Recommends

· August 2026

Tent · Group trip ·

Recommends

· July 2026

Nice Spot

Tent ·

Site 5 - Old Yosemite Base Camp (4x4 ONLY)

Great base camp for visiting Yosemite. We also made the drive to Sequoia! Clean site. Porta potties and dumpster on site. Site 2 was the best, in my opinion. Nice view of the sunset and plenty of shade.

Recommends

· July 2026

Camp Experience

Tent · With kids ·

Second time here and it was awesome love the place, had some very nice neighbors, had a bit of a mixup with site 1 and site 5, perhaps the site images could be better, as in the thumbnail pic. Threw me off a bit, but figured it out once i was there. Thank you for letting us stay here again it was awesome!!!

Recommends

· June 2026

18 ft truck camper ·

It was a pretty site. I think the 4x4 only exclamation is way over exaggerated, but I understand the concern for wanting to keep your back covered. It’s basically a hill with two turns. The place is clean and even has a beautiful view. If it gets crowded I could see it being a bit annoying just cause the sites were close to one another.

Recommends

· June 2026

Tent ·

Clear directions and good campsites. Sites are pretty close together but also was there when it was empty and a beautiful site

Recommends

· June 2026

Family camping

Tent · With kids ·

Camping here was awesome, full of adventures and wildlife. Stayed here with my Wife and 2 kids we drove up in our Subaru Outback made it up no problem. Remember no water at the sites so come prepared. First day we saw deer, and many beautiful birds singing all day. Site 1 has plenty of room but lacks shade compared to the other sites, they did have a sun sail up but you have to adjust with the sun, it wasnt not a big deal for us since we brought a canopy aswell. That being said Site 1 sits on top of the hill gives you amazing sunsets and some really serenity. Within our stay we hit up bass lake and yosemite. Bass lake was only 10mins away, yosemite south gates was only 15-20mins. We will definitely becoming back.

Recommends

· June 2026

Tent ·

Great little campground. Well-maintained and thoughtfully cared for. Will absolutely return and recommend to others.

Recommends

· May 2026

Great Location!

Tent ·

This spot is peaceful and quiet and very close to Yosemite Southgate entrance. We enjoyed our two nights here.

Not recommend

· May 2026

Site 3 may 2026

Tent ·

Great private campground 20 mins from South Gate about an hour from the valley. Camp site 3 in my opinion is the best site with good level high ground, shade, and central of the whole property. Bring all your camping gear, lots of water, and bear spray to make you feel at home as you are on your own. Bathrooms were clean and dumpsters weren’t smelly. Great option for getting into the valley and also being 15 mins from town to grab a bite, ice, wood etc.

Recommends

· May 2026

Tent ·

The campsite was gorgeous and very quiet. The proximity to Yosemite is amazing.

Recommends

· October 2025

Tent ·

Great space! Spot #1 has the greatest view of the sunset! We had the opportunity to see lots of wildlife which was incredible! This spot also had a sweet fire pit and about 3 tables which definitely came in handy!

Recommends

· October 2025

Tent ·

Great Fall camping experience! I was very impressed by how clean and well maintained the property is. The host was very thorough and prompt with communication as well. We will be visiting this location again in the future!

Recommends

· August 2025

Spaced Out Camping near Yosemite

Tent ·

Site 4 - Old Yosemite Base Camp (4x4 ONLY)

Beautiful private campsite with a cooking bench and seating bench available. The only downside is the picnic bench was missing a screw and definitely needs a good sanding (I was pulling splinters out of my clothes almost every-time I sat down) Pretty big ground fire pit available with a cooking rack. Not too far from hikes outside and inside Yosemite - definitely faster coming back from the park than to it tho (almost an hour difference.) The town of Oakhurst is nearby with plenty of stores if you’re missing anything! Yellowjackets were present but the trips present were working. We were on our own the first night and had neighbors the second. For the most part plenty of privacy between sites! BRING WATER AND FIRE WOOD! Portably toilets available at the bottom of the camping site for guests and they were clean. No light pollution so you can easily see the stars at night.

Not recommend

· August 2025

Disappointing and frustrating

Tent · Group trip ·

We had a really disappointing experience at campsite #4. First off, it was incredibly difficult to navigate — parking was far from the actual site, and hauling camping gear back and forth was a nightmare. The brush around the site was overgrown and messy, which made it even more unpleasant. Even more unsettling, none of the other campsites were available to reserve, yet there was absolutely no one else around the entire time. It felt creepy and oddly deserted. I tried reaching out to the host multiple times with no response, which added to the stress and lack of support. We ended up cutting our trip short because the overall experience was so frustrating. I was extremely unhappy and would not recommend to anyone looking for a peaceful or well-maintained stay.

Recommends

· July 2025

Great stay with 2 young kids

Tent · With kids ·

We stayed here with our 2 kids and really enjoyed our time. The kids played and we enjoyed a sunset as we made dinner. Site 1 was pretty spacious and felt pretty private. Location wise it was a good spot to restock on food in town and close to Yosemite. Would definitely recommend and would stay again!

Recommends

· July 2025

Tent ·

Great location, beautiful sunsets and sunrises, loved having a small campfire. No road noise, and quiet area overall. Would come again!

Mixed feelings

· July 2025

Convenient location

Tent · With kids ·

Overall we had a good experience at OYBC. Good location close to the park which was really convenient! We pretty much had the whole place to ourselves which was nice. Only downside was having to walk down the hill for the portapotties and also the dumpster smelled pretty bad and kept getting wiffs of it. Good for one night!

Recommends

· July 2025

Tent ·

Great site. Very quite and easy. Would go again. If your heading into the park, make sure to leave early from camp. The traffic to get into the park can cause the drive time to double.

Recommends

· June 2025

Tent ·

This is a gem. The location is stellar, easy to find and just 30 minutes outside Yosemite (assuming no line to get into the park). The camp sites are clean and organized with nice fire pits complete with grill. The view at Site 1 was gorgeous. I had the whole place to myself on a federal holiday, felt very private and safe. I would go back just to camp without even going into Yosemite!

Recommends

· June 2025

Tent · With kids ·

Site 4 - Old Yosemite Base Camp (4x4 ONLY)

Great location, easy to find with directions! We had site 1 which was large and level for our big tent. Not much shade but the shade cloth there is nice. We brought an additional screen tent to put over the picnic table which helped with shade and protection from the mosquitos at dusk. The comments about the hike to the porta potties are accurate. The length isn't so bad, it's just really steep! Perfect place to stay to spend time in Yosemite and areas outside the park too.

Recommends

· May 2025

Tent ·

This camp spot was awesome! We stayed here during our weekend while hiking half dome in Yosemite. The spot was beautiful, comfortable, clean and just a small drive to all the best spots. Would recommend, 10 stars.

Recommends

· May 2025

Tent ·

First time using HipCamp! The instructions and check in, was seamless! Enjoyed my stayed, perfect spot for driving in to Yosemite, I’d recommend this spot 100%. Might be back one day when I’m in town again.

Recommends

· May 2025

Tent ·

Beautiful area with amazing scenery. Easy to find and not to bad to navigate the camp.

Recommends

· April 2025

Beautiful stay

Tent ·

The land was beautiful, easy to find and the porta-potties were very clean (my wife was very appreciative). We stayed at site 3, which had a fire pit, table and a cooking grate for the fire. All in very good condition. They aren’t exaggerating when they specify 4WD vehicles to access the sites. Site 3 would have been a back in only site for us (1,000 point turn, on a slope, with a drop-off on the other side) had site 2 been occupied. Tight, but do-able in a full size truck as this is how we accessed the site our first night. We had the “mountain” to ourselves for two out of three nights. Even with a neighbor, it was quiet and we felt secluded. If I were to give any recommendation for someone with a larger vehicle, it would be to grab site 1 (at the top of the hill I think) or site 2, near the base of the hill for ease of access.

Not recommend

· September 2024

beautiful but beware of pests!

Tent · Group trip ·

overall, this is a great campsite close to the south entrance of the park & very peaceful! unfortunately, we ran into some issues with the local wildlife: black widow spiders, swarms of yellow jackets, scorpions, a tarantula spotting, and even a pesky & bold raccoon who stalked us for an hour before bed! if you’re uncomfortable with fending yourself against nature’s pests, this might not be the spot for you. all of our picnic tables (including our neighbors) were infested with black widows which was pretty unsettling.

Recommends

· September 2024

Highly recommend

Tent ·

I loved our stay here! It was secluded and quiet. We stayed in Site 3 which was very spacious and had some nice trees and rocks. There was a fire pit and provided grill rack. The view of the stars at night was incredible. The bathrooms were the cleanest porta potties I have ever seen! We did have some problems with ants and wasps.

Recommends

· August 2024

Tent ·

This is a great spot, I really enjoyed it! I stayed at camp 3 and was the only one staying there which was super nice. There’s a spot right across from 3, so if someone was staying there at the same time you both would be in clear view of each other. Seemed like site 3 has the best shade which was great bc it was so hot. It’s about 20 minutes from the part but an hour and 30 from Yosemite village so keep that in mind. Great spot and really enjoyed it.

Mixed feelings

· August 2024

Tent · With kids ·