Curry Village

Curry Village is a historic lodging village in eastern Yosemite Valley, below Glacier Point and between Stoneman Meadow and the Merced River. Its historic district covers about 55 acres. It’s a useful base if you want to sleep in the valley with meals, groceries and recreation close by. Most accommodations are canvas tent cabins, with a smaller number of wood cabins and standard hotel rooms.

Unheated tent cabins have a wood frame, canvas walls and roof, a wood floor and door, but no plumbing or electrical outlets. Heated units add a heater and one outlet during the colder season. Cooking isn’t allowed inside tent cabins or anywhere in Curry Village. Overnight guests must keep food, drinks, toiletries and trash in the bear-proof lockers.

Dining and shopping cluster by the registration desk and main parking area. Pizza Deck sells pizza by the pie or slice; Seven Tents Pavilion serves cafeteria meals; Bar 1899 has beer, cocktails and light dining; Coffee Corner offers coffee and grab-and-go food; and Meadow Grill serves tacos and burritos. Groceries, camping supplies and gifts are nearby, while Jennie’s ice cream is a summer offering.

David and Jennie Curry established a commercial camp here in 1899, offering inexpensive lodging to visitors who wanted to spend more time in Yosemite. The place briefly went by Camp Sequoia before becoming Camp Curry. By David’s death in 1917 it had a swimming pool, dance hall, toboggan slide, backcountry equipment rentals, barber shop and evening programs; a bowling alley, pool hall and film-developing studio followed within a year.

The camp’s most famous spectacle sent a burning bonfire from Glacier Point down to the talus slope below. The nightly Firefall ended in 1968.