When Yosemite Valley campsites go on sale
Upper Pines and Lower Pines release in monthly blocks on Recreation.gov and usually sell out within minutes. North Pines is different for 2026. It was allocated by an early access lottery. Here are the current dates, the rules that matter, and what to do if your weekend is already taken.
Camp-Now watches sold-out Recreation.gov campgrounds for you, catches the cancellation, and holds the site in your cart while you check out.
Recreation.gov release dates
Yosemite Valley release timing to verify
Current release dates and rules published on Recreation.gov.
Upper Pines
- Max 7 nights
- Same-day booking
- 2 bookings per account
Reservations are currently open for arrivals Jan 15, 2027 to Feb 14, 2027. The next public drop is Sep 15, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. PT for arrivals Feb 15, 2027 to Mar 14, 2027.
- Max stay is 7 consecutive nights.
- Call within 24 hours if you will arrive a day late or the reservation can be canceled.
Lower Pines
- Max 7 nights
- Same-day booking
- 2 bookings per account
Reservations are currently open for arrivals Jan 15, 2027 to Feb 14, 2027. The next public drop is Sep 15, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. PT for arrivals Feb 15, 2027 to Mar 14, 2027.
- Max stay is 7 consecutive nights.
- Call within 24 hours if you will arrive a day late or the reservation can be canceled.
North Pines
- Max 7 nights
- Same-day booking
- 2 bookings per account
Reservations are currently open for arrivals Jan 15, 2027 to Feb 14, 2027. The next public drop is Sep 15, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. PT for arrivals Feb 15, 2027 to Mar 14, 2027. North Pines is the one Valley campground that ran a lottery for 2026, so the monthly drop only covers what the lottery left. Cancellations still surface here throughout the season.
- Max stay is 7 consecutive nights.
- Call within 24 hours if you will arrive a day late or the reservation can be canceled.
Release dates, rules, and notices are published on Recreation.gov.
How to book
Booking Yosemite, start to finish
- Where
- Recreation.gov. Valley campgrounds are not bookable by phone, and there is no first-come inventory in Upper, Lower or North Pines during the reservation season.
- When
- Upper Pines and Lower Pines open in one-month blocks on the 15th at 7:00 a.m. Pacific, five months ahead. The 15th of this month releases the month starting five months out.
- North Pines is different
- For the 2026 season North Pines was allocated by a one-time early access lottery, the only Yosemite campground on that system. Applications closed in December 2025 and winners booked in January. Whatever the lottery did not take went to the normal 15th-of-the-month on-sale from 15 February 2026, and cancellations are released back to Recreation.gov like anywhere else.
- Be ready
- Sign in, save your card and set your party size before 7:00 a.m. Popular weekends can be gone in under a minute, so the checkout you have already prepared is the one that wins.
- Stay limits
- Yosemite caps total nights in the park per season, and the cap is stricter in summer. Check your dates against the current limit before booking two trips.
- If you miss it
- Cancellations are the realistic second chance. They appear at any hour, often within two weeks of arrival, and are usually taken within minutes.
- Backup plans
- Crane Flat, Hodgdon Meadow and Wawona sit outside the Valley on the same booking system and hold openings noticeably longer.
Already sold out?
Yosemite Valley is sold out for your dates
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Go deeper
Yosemite booking guides
Park guide
How to Book Yosemite Valley Campgrounds
Learn when Upper Pines and Lower Pines release, why North Pines was allocated by lottery for 2026, and how to recover with Yosemite Valley cancellations when dates sell out.
Read guideCampground guide
How to Book Upper Pines Campground
Learn how Upper Pines reservations work, why Upper Pines dates disappear so fast, and what to do when cancellations reopen in Yosemite.
Read guideCampground guide
How to Book Lower Pines Campground
Learn how Lower Pines reservations work, why Lower Pines dates disappear so fast, and what to do when cancellations reopen in Yosemite.
Read guideCampground guide
How to Book North Pines Campground
Learn how North Pines reservations work, why North Pines dates disappear so fast, and what to do when cancellations reopen in Yosemite.
Read guideQuestions
What time do Yosemite campsites go on sale?+
7:00 a.m. Pacific on the 15th of each month, for arrivals five months later. Be signed in and ready before then. That is the schedule for Upper Pines and Lower Pines; for 2026, North Pines was allocated by lottery first and only its leftovers went to the monthly on-sale.
Is North Pines a lottery?+
For the 2026 season, yes. North Pines used a one-time early access lottery that closed in December 2025, and it is the only Yosemite campground on that system. Anything the lottery did not take has been on the normal on-sale since 15 February 2026. Cancellations still appear throughout the season, so a watch on North Pines is still worth having.
Can I book Yosemite Valley campgrounds by phone?+
No. Upper Pines, Lower Pines and North Pines are Recreation.gov only during the reservation season.
How often do Yosemite cancellations appear?+
Regularly, and most often inside the two weeks before arrival. They are rarely available long enough to find by checking manually.
Does Camp-Now book the site for me?+
You always complete the checkout yourself. Camp-Now texts you the moment a matching site opens, with no Recreation.gov login needed. Link your account and it adds the site to your cart first, so it is held while you check out.