Campground · Yosemite National Park
A riverfront base near Mariposa Grove.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
“You're coming up on Wawona Campground and the nearby day-use picnic area. For a meal break, use the separate picnic area, with tables and grills beside the South Fork Merced River.”
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
Wawona Campground and Picnic Area“You're coming up on Wawona Campground and the nearby day-use picnic area. For a meal break, use the separate picnic area, with tables and grills beside the South Fork Merced River.”
Plays as you drive up to Wawona 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
Wawona Campground is a developed campground beside the South Fork Merced River, about a mile north of Wawona at roughly 4,000 feet. Its three forested loops make it a handy base for Mariposa Grove and the park’s southern end. Campers value the more settled, less Valley-centered setting; Yosemite Valley is still about 27 miles away, or roughly a 45-minute drive.
The South Fork runs beside loops A, B and C under ponderosa pines, incense cedars and white fir. The river is the campground’s standout: campers spend time along the banks and swim in the water. Sites can feel close together, and people sometimes cut through riverside sites; roadside parts of Loop A can also pick up traffic noise.
Each campsite has a fire ring, picnic table and food locker. Flush toilets and drinking water are available, but there are no showers or camp store. Wawona’s general store and gas station are about a mile south. Four wheelchair-suitable sites are listed in Loop C (67, 69, 70 and 89), with accessible restrooms nearby.
Wawona served as Yosemite’s park headquarters in 1904, and historic buildings remain in the area. The nearby Wawona Covered Bridge is described as the oldest bridge in the park. The campground’s own founding date is not well documented, so this is the story of the surrounding community.
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
EasyWawona Meadow Loop Trail3.5 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.1 mi awayMostly flat meadow loop with leashed pets and bicycles allowed
ChallengingWawona to Mariposa Grove Trail4.9 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.1 mi awayAn uphill forest connector from Wawona toward Mariposa Grove.
ChallengingAlder Creek Falls Trail12 mi · 8 hr · 1.2 mi awayA full-day pine-forest climb to a 100-foot cascade.
ChallengingChilnualna Falls Trail8.2 mi · 6 hr · 2.1 mi awayFive granite cascades reward a long, steep climb above Wawona.
ChallengingBuena Vista Range Loop26.7 mi · 18 hr · 2.2 mi awayTwo lakes and a granite crest, reached by a serious backcountry loop.ChallengingCrescent Lake Trail19.2 mi · 13.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayA long climb to a high lake beyond Chilnualna's tiered falls.
EasyWawona Swinging Bridge Trail0.6 mi · 30 min · 2.5 mi awayA short, mostly flat walk to a bridge that really swings.
ModerateWashburn Trail4 mi · 2 hr · 3.5 mi awayA wooded alternative to the shuttle, with 500 feet of climbing.
Picnic area · 0.2 mi awayWawona Picnic AreaA practical riverside meal stop on Wawona Road.
Gas station · 1 mi awayWawona Store and Gas StationA handy stop for fuel and camp basics.
Sight · 1 mi awayYosemite History CenterA covered bridge, old wagons and stories from the park’s working past.
Visitor center · 1.1 mi awayWawona Visitor Center at Hill's StudioAn artist's Yosemite studio turned into a useful park stop.
Sight · 1.1 mi awayWawona HotelAn 1879 Victorian hotel with roots in an 1856 trail-side cabin.
Campground · 1.2 mi awayWawona Horse CampA small stock camp beside the South Fork Merced River.
Sight · 2.7 mi awayWawona Swinging BridgeA swaying bridge over granite boulders and a popular swimming holeSight · 3.3 mi awayChilnualna FallsFive granite cascades reward the climb above Wawona.Parkwolf’s Yosemite ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
