Campground · Yosemite National Park
A backcountry overnight closer to Half Dome, if your permit allows it.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
“You're nearing the access for Happy Isles and the Vernal Fall hike. My pick for a shorter outing is the footbridge: one point six miles round trip from Happy Isles, with a steep climb taking one to one and a half hours.”
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
Happy Isles and Vernal Fall Footbridge“You're nearing the access for Happy Isles and the Vernal Fall hike. My pick for a shorter outing is the footbridge: one point six miles round trip from Happy Isles, with a steep climb taking one to one and a half hours.”
Plays as you drive up to Little Yosemite Valley 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
Little Yosemite Valley Campground is a hike-in wilderness campground in a forested valley above Yosemite Valley. Backpackers use it as an overnight base for Half Dome and other wilderness routes. It is a useful place to break up a long hike, but it is not a roadside camp with services: you carry your gear and food in, and take your trash back out.
There is no potable water. The nearby Merced River is the water source, so bring a filter or another treatment method; keep soap, dishes and laundry out of the river. A composting toilet serves the campground. Shared food lockers and two communal fire rings sit just outside camp. Secure food, toiletries and trash in a latched locker or bear canister as required, and bring every meal you plan to eat.
The campground is a popular base for hikers heading toward Half Dome, with the Merced River nearby. Reports of crowding vary, and the site count and layout are not published, so do not plan around a particular amount of space. Set up, then use camp as a base for the surrounding wilderness rather than expecting a developed campground experience.
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
ChallengingNevada Fall Loop via Mist and John Muir Trails6.4 mi · 6.5 hr · 2.4 mi awayTwo giant waterfalls, 600 granite steps, and a different way back.
ChallengingVernal Fall Trail2.9 mi · 3 hr · 2.4 mi awayClimb 600 granite steps beside Vernal Fall to its brink.
ModerateVernal Fall Footbridge Trail1.6 mi · 1.3 hr · 2.4 mi awayA short, steep climb to a footbridge below Vernal Fall.
ModerateLittle Yosemite Valley Trail9.6 mi · 7 hr · 2.4 mi awayA gentler JMT climb past two falls into a granite valley.
ChallengingHalf Dome Trail14.3 mi · 11 hr · 2.4 mi awayWaterfalls first, then an exposed cable climb to a High Sierra summit.
ChallengingJohn Muir Trail: Happy Isles to Donohue Pass35.4 mi · 1 day · 2.4 mi awayWaterfalls at the start, then high Sierra miles to Donohue Pass
EasyHappy Isles Nature Trail to the Fen0.8 mi · 30 min · 2.4 mi awayA short, accessible walk to a groundwater-fed Yosemite Valley fen.
ChallengingHappy Isles to Merced Lake Trail26.2 mi · 18 hr · 2.4 mi awayClimb past two waterfalls to a high-country lake.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayNevada FallA 594-foot waterfall rewards a strenuous climb from Happy Isles.
Sight · 1.4 mi awayHalf DomeYosemite’s granite icon, with sweeping views from its summit.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayVernal FallSpring spray can frame the 317-foot waterfall in rainbows.
Sight · 2.2 mi awayMirror LakeSpring water turns Half Dome into a mirror.
Sight · 2.5 mi awayHappy Isles Art and Nature CenterHands-on nature displays, with river-isle walks just outside.
Campground · 2.8 mi awayUpper Pines CampgroundFor Valley days, a handy camp with close sites and shuttle access.
Sight · 2.8 mi awayClouds RestThe long hike pays off in a narrow ridge above Half Dome.
Campground · 2.8 mi awayNorth Pines CampgroundRiverfront camping with a chance of Half Dome through the trees.Parkwolf’s Yosemite ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
