Campground · Yosemite National Park
A west-side base, with Yosemite Valley about 45 minutes away.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
“You’re approaching Hodgdon Meadow Campground, a year-round base beside Big Oak Flat Entrance.”
Yosemite Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yosemite National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Yosemite audio tourRecorded for this place
Hodgdon Meadow Campground“You’re approaching Hodgdon Meadow Campground, a year-round base beside Big Oak Flat Entrance.”
Plays as you drive up to Hodgdon Meadow Campground in the Parkwolf Yosemite Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“We just drove through Yosemite and it made our trip listening to this app as we drove through. Like having a tour guide in the car with you.”
Guide
Hodgdon Meadow is a developed campground at about 4,900 feet, beside the Big Oak Flat Entrance on the park's western edge. It has about 100 sites, including tent-only and group options. It's a practical stop for Highway 120 arrivals and a short drive from the Merced and Tuolumne giant sequoia groves. Yosemite Valley is about 25 miles away, roughly a 45-minute drive, so it is less convenient if most of your time is in the Valley.
Each site has a fire ring, picnic table and food locker; potable water and flush toilets are available year-round. The lockers measure about 35 inches deep, 43 wide and 28 high. Store food in them to protect bears. Site layout varies: visitors describe both shaded, roomy pitches and tighter or sloped ones. There are no showers, hookups or camp store. Nearby Crane Flat has fuel and a small grocery for basic supplies.
The campground is open year-round. Reservations cover most of the main camping season, generally mid-April to mid-October, while the rest of the year is first-come, first-served; exact dates change each year, and group sites close outside the reservation season. If you are bringing an RV or trailer, check the individual site's fit before booking: not every pad accommodates long equipment.
Wildlife
732 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,747 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
332 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
11 sightingsPeregrine FalconMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
276 sightingsPikaMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
677 sightingsYellow-bellied MarmotMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yosemite. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyCarlon Falls Trail2.9 mi · 1.5 hr · 1 mi awayA shady river walk ends at a cascade tucked in the forest.
ModerateMerced Grove Trail3 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.9 mi awayA secluded sequoia grove rewards the steep uphill return.
ModerateTuolumne Grove Trail2.5 mi · 2 hr · 4.4 mi awayThe walk-through Dead Giant makes the steep return worthwhile.
Entrance station · 0.4 mi awayBig Oak Flat EntranceThe park’s colorful sign is just beyond the Highway 120 fee booths.
Visitor center · 0.5 mi awayBig Oak Flat Information StationGet wilderness permits, maps and useful advice before heading deeper.Sight · 3.7 mi awayMerced GroveThe quiet sequoia grove saves its climb for the way back.
Sight · 3.8 mi awayCrane Flat Fire LookoutA 1931 fire tower and broad views, with a working helibase nearby.
Sight · 3.9 mi awayTuolumne GroveTwo dozen sequoias are worth the 500-foot climb back.Parkwolf’s Yosemite ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
