Overall this is a great campground. It would be nicer if it was in a more interesting location and if it had some wind protection. The hosts told us that they are planning to build sun shelters at the sites which will hopefully act as good wind breaks too.

If you are planning to camp in Vegas, you should bring white gas with you if you need it. It is hard to find in town here and it is expensive.

Yosemite Valley is a the North American national park version of a city. There are thousands of people tucked in under the trees and as you explore the different neighbourhoods, you eventually find all the amenities. The Valley is a good jumping off point to wilderness, but don’t expect to find wilderness in the Valley. Today we went on a walk to Mirror Lake and it reminded me of a more tranquil Central Park. Substitute the granite walls for buildings, add a few more people, turn up the city thrum in the background and you can imagine yourself in a wooded urban park. The trails are paved. The people smell like shampoo. The Valley is a convenient place to stay since it really does have a little of everything. It is car camping without the hassle of driving into town for provisions or a laundry run. With a bike, you can leave your tent and pedal to some of the world’s best rock routes within minutes. You practically don’t even have to pedal up hill. We’re bringing our bikes next time. On this trip we are doing the two minute commute to the crags by car. Traffic is not bad in this city.

The campgrounds are on the neglected side. Fire pits are stuck in the ground haphazardly. The toilets have seen better days. There is an overall feel and look of trampled ground, utility and lack of character. The campgrounds are no frills. Sites are tucked among the beautiful trees but they are close together so the camping is noisy if you have loud neighbours. The RVers and tenters are in the same areas so the tenters can’t avoid the sound of generators when the RVers crank up the electric appliances. At night there is the constant threat of bears ravaging your vehicle. It seems that most night, you hear someone chasing a bear out of the campground. Food storage is tightly regulated and excellent metal food lockers are provided, but the bears are still attracted to the campgrounds. In Lake Louise, Alberta, the national park service built an electric fence around the campground to keep the bears out. That might be an idea for Yosemite. It is radical, but I feel that the bears will always be attracted to the campground and a fence might stop some of them from becoming garbage bears. The other option is to get rid of the campgrounds. I don’t think you could make the camping set up any more bear proof than it is right now. A fence would stop all the interaction and would be better for the bears and the people. The rangers could also use the fence to keep the campers in during times of martial law.