Source
r/Yosemite•
bfg_foo

High Sierra Camps will not open this year. Upper Pines will open Friday, April 12. No opening date yet set for White Wolf and Tuolumne Meadows Lodge.

Per Yosemite NPS Facebook page:

We appreciate your patience with delays and changes to park operations due to the heavy snow this winter. We have two updates to share today:

Repairs to Upper Pines Campground facilities are nearing completion, and the campground is set to reopen this Friday, April 12!

Yosemite's High Sierra Camps will not open this year due to above-average snowpack, lack of access to water for bathrooms and kitchens, and other infrastructure challenges. Tuolumne Meadows Lodge and White Wolf will open (it's too early to predict when; dates will depend on when Tioga Road opens). If you had a reservation at one of the High Sierra Camps, you will be contacted directly.

Posted Apr 9, 2019, 11:35 PM UTC

1415
Sulla-lite•

So bummed. Winning the lotto was the high point of my winter!

8
ShortPantsSeth•

Know exactly how you feel. Had a trip this July planned with some buddies for to celebrate turning 40 (we're east coasters). Think we'll probably keep the plans and just pack everything with us. Different trip, but should still be amazing.

5
robbbbb•

Just wondering... Backpackers are supposed to stay at the backpackers camps at the HSCs, or camp a certain distance away. Are those rules still in effect if the HSCs aren't open?

3
bfg_fooOP•

I think the backpackers campgrounds will probably be 'open' but it won't matter a lot as the bathrooms etc won't be in service. There were similar closures in 2017.

1
robbbbb•

I'm mostly wondering if I can camp around Merced Lake... Normally you can't except at the HSC backpackers camp, because the rest of the lake is in that zone where it's too close to the HSC.

1
Moe_Sizlack•

Merced Lake employee here.

The bathrooms in the backpackers campground are operated by the national Park service, and should remain open even though the high Sierra camps are closed. There is a ranger station only a mile away from the campground, so they will likely be maintained.

the camping territory regulations remain as they have been. You are only allowed to camp in the backpackers campground unless you are greater than 1 mile radius away from The high Sierra camp boundary.

3
robbbbb•

Thanks for the info!

1
jakdak•

My uninformed guess is that the normal restrictions would apply even if the campgrounds are not open. Those restrictions are as much for impact on the area as they are to preserve the wilderness experience for the HSC visitors.

1
robbbbb•

I'll ask when I'm at the permit center.

That said, I feel like the impact would be worse if you concentrated backpackers at the HSC with closed bathrooms.

1
SpaceJackRabbit•

Yeah, how does it work for the hundreds of folks hiking the PCT?

1
brakattak25•

Backpackers are not required to stay at the HSCs. As long as your 2 miles (I think) Into the wilderness and outside of set no camping zones (around LYV, top of half dome, etc), you can camp anywhere while backpacking.

-1
robbbbb•

They aren't allowed to camp around the HSCs (I think it's a half mile or a mile) unless it's at the area set aside for backpackers at that HSC. At least that's what I understood.

3
brakattak25•

Ah well I haven’t really camped near one. I’ve always passed by then on my way elsewhere. I have never herd anything about not camping near them. I know a lot of JMT hikers camp near the Sunrise Lakes HSC. But I think there is a designated area there.

I use to volunteer for the park service doing wilderness bear patrols so I usually got to camp wherever I needed to. I was never told any rules about the HSC to pass along to other backpackers I spoke with.

1
jakdak•

There's no-camping zones and/or designated areas for campers around all of the HSCs. Which makes sense as you can't just waltz into the HSC and plop down a tent :)

"Camping is permitted at backpackers' campgrounds near Glen Aulin, May Lake, Sunrise, Merced Lake, and Vogelsang High Sierra Camps .... All other camping should be away from each HSC."

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildregs.htm

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