Sweetwater Campground

Simple campground with water and some shade. Very welcoming host, as well as the cleanest vault toilets I've ever seen merit the 5 stars. Had no trouble getting a spot on a late summer weekday.

Big big bump on the road it cruched all our plate in our van. Please refilling. The place is nice

The campground is on about 800 meter elevation. The restroom is the one of cleaniest. The only con is there is not so much shady area, and it is very hot during the summer.

Highly recommend stopping here for a first-come first-serve if you want to be close by Yosemite! I made a list of other sites to visit, but didn't want to risk it after I found a spot here because I figured getting camping spots were competitive.

Left San Francisco around 6am and arrived here around 10: 30am (no traffic!), and there were plenty of campsites available! (The next morning, I noticed that the FULL sign was put up at 8am, but there were vacant spots because people had already left in the morning) Firewood is sold for $8 on site, and you have to deposit your payment around the same area. The spot was relatively pricey: $24 a night and +$8 for an extra vehicle charge (we had two cars total). This place is appropriately called Sweetwater because it's actually a lowkey wetland area! You can tell by the plants that were growing there, but there were no visible streams.

PROS:
- NO MOSQUITOS during ANY time of the day, EVER. So no need to bother with the deet and you can freely wear shortsleeves/shorts:)
- Temperature there was PERFECT: The air outside was cool and warm enough to walk out in shortsleeve in the morning. It got hot around 10am. Was not freezing at night, felt like a cool 60.
- BATHROOMS DO NOT SMELL. Maybe because people actually close the lid after use? And the toilet paper is nicer than kirkland TP- that was a treat.
- Ample water spigots.
-The fire pit comes with a grill top.
-Close by Rainbow Pool, so you can stop by for a relaxing swim/shower ;)

CONS:
- Not many trees around campsites so there was barely any shade
- You can hear cars drive by, but not many
- hr drive to valley, but that's actually typical

A really nice campground outside the entrance to Yosemite. I stayed here a couple nights and really liked it.

The campground is in a nice area. There’s a lot of fire damage around it, but it’s still starkly beautiful. The South Fork of the Tuolumne River flows nearby and there are a few nice spots there too. The rangers here were great too, very helpful and cheerful.

The only downside is the difficulty in getting in. The turn is a bit tricky to navigate, and after that comes a very narrow one-lane road. This isn’t a dealbreaker by any means, though.

We loved it here. Stayed the whole 14 days. The campground hosts are super nice and friendly. It is pretty close to get to Yosemite National Park. We stayed in May. It was a nice quiet place to stay. The bathrooms were always clean! That is a BIG plus! I would definitely go back and stay here again.

Quaint and clean and near the beach. Just a slight walk. Bathrooms and showers, water and electric if needed. Trees and grass. Lovely. We had loud talkative neighbors.

Really nice, but we were there in July, and the bugs were insane. Also camping with a baby, so less enjoyable lol

Great spot just a little tricky getting there- one way road in, head in traffic could be bad, as there are no turn outs. Beautiful though with good river access and a couple sandy beaches.

Cool! Near Yosemite park! Also at night all stars! Do not have lights near so it was a lot of stars! FEE USNP

This was a great site for camping near Yosemite. Nice and quiet and was in a great location for entering and going to any area of the park.

This campsite is great for camping near Yosemite if you missed the reservations inside the Valley! It is quiet and has nice sites, however there is currently no water because of the drought.

Note that there are TWO campsites named Sweetwater, this one and then one about three hours drive away. This site does not take reservations, the other one does, but the other one is in no way close enough to Yosemite to be worth it.

This place was awesome and surprisingly proximal to the park. We met some great camp neighbors and had no trouble settling in despite the hosts absence during most of the week. I would highly recommend it! 20 dollars a night.