Yosemite Tent Cabins
The low-down on quaint Yosemite tent cabins, including info on availability and tips on how to book one.
Yosemite tent cabins are the main type of accommodation in Yosemite National Park and are the most cost-effective sleeping option in the park, bar pitching your own tent. Tent cabins consist of concrete walls and floor with a canvas roof pulled over the top to give more effect. These cabins usually come with dorm beds or singles/doubles and have very little in the way of facilities, with a centralized bathroom and bear-proof food lockers.
There are well over 1,000 tent cabins in the park - within Yosemite Valley, up on the High Sierras, and near the park entrances – yet they all get snapped up fast and need to be booked ahead of time. Demand for tent cabins in Yosemite is particularly high May through September, and, although it gets bitterly cold here in the winter due to the high altitude, demand in the winter is also quite high as most of them close down.
Popular tent cabins in Yosemite
There are two main tent cabin operations in Yosemite Valley: Curry Village and the Housekeeping Camp. Curry Village has the most sites and is the more popular of the two, so gets booked up fastest. It was established in the late 1800s not far from Half Dome and Glacier Point and is competitively priced. There are over 300 tent cabins here as well as ensuite, family-type cabins. Housekeeping Camp is located near Merced River and comes with around 260 units that house up to six people each. It is a similar set up to Curry Village and similarly priced.
Other Yosemite tent cabins are located in White Wolf Lodge and Tuolumne Meadows Lodge at altitude in the High Sierra part of Yosemite Park, just off of Tioga Pass Road. They are similar in construction, although White Wolf comes with wooden A-frame structures which are slightly more appealing and warmer. This area is especially suited to hikers and horseback riders.
Booking cabins in Yosemite
You need to book a Yosemite tent cabin as far in advance as you can, which can be as much as five months for those controlled by the park. Reservations can be made by calling Yosemite on +1 877 444 6777. Tent cabins operated by DNC Parks & Resorts in Yosemite cannot be booked by mail or online, although commercial operations can. Discounts are uncommon for tent cabins as every place fills virtually every day.
Curry Village and Housekeeping Camp must be reserved, yet there are several that can be booked on the day. They include: Tuolumne Meadows, White Wolf (50/50 reserve policy), Camp 4, Yosemite Creek, Bridalveil Creek, Tamarack Flat, and Porcupine Flat. You’ll have to arrive by noon at the latest to secure a tent cabin and even before 09:00 with the Yosemite Valley and High Sierra campgrounds.
One or two campgrounds also offer walk-ins during the winter months (October through April), including Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow. If you can’t find any Yosemite tent cabins with availability within the park, there are many other campgrounds just outside in the National Forests and some will offer online booking and discounts.
