Pines Stanislaus
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $25From, per site
- Sites
- 1211 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 6 notices
In the agency’s own words
Pines Campground is conveniently located, just 15 miles from the Yosemite National Park boundary in northern California. It is an ideal base camp for visitors to explore not only Yosemite, but also the fantastic wilderness areas within Stanislaus National Forest, including Carson-Iceberg, Emigrant and Mokelumne Wildernesses. Pets are welcome, but must be compliant with Tuolumne County leash laws. Keep reading
Recreation
Hike the Little Golden Forest Trail, a half-mile interpretive loop with the option for a longer two-mile loop. A short drive takes visitors to the Tuolumne River for wading and fishing. Winter sports are very popular in the area as well. Dodge Ridge, Bear Valley and Badger Pass Ski Areas offer a variety of winter activities.
Facilities
In winter, camping is free but water and toilet paper are not provided.
Natural Features
The tranquil campground sits at an elevation of 3,200 feet, in a mixed conifer forest. The Tuolumne River is nearby, which flows for 150 mies from the central Sierra Nevada to the San Joaquin River. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (209) 532-3671.
Nearby Attractions
Take a scenic drive through Yosemite National Park to view its legendary waterfalls and scenery.
What the agency tells you
Be bear aware; keep all food out of sight in approved containers or locked inside your vehicle and remove all food from the area after eatingable during the winter season (Oct-April)
No electric hookups at this facility
This campground has first-come, first-served single family campsites. These sites and walk-ins are cash or check only (no credit cards accepted).
Everything else this campground posts · 3
A fee will be charged for additional vehicles
Don't Move Firewood: Protect California's forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. For more information visit Firewood.ca.gov
Customer Service Contact 801-226-3564 or Help.Stanislaus.Groveland@AmericanLL.com
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 12
- Hookups
- None
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 5
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 12 of 12 campsite records
- Drinking water
- Yes
- WATER SPIGOT on 12 of 12 campsite records
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, River
- Climbing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Swimming
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 11 of the 12 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $25 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
12 sites
All 12 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 11 of the 12 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Pines CampgroundStanislaus National Forest · 0.0 mi
Pines Group StanislausStanislaus National Forest · 0.1 mi
Lost ClaimStanislaus National Forest · 2.5 miSouth Fork CampgroundStanislaus National Forest · 3.0 miLumsden Bridge CampgroundStanislaus National Forest · 4.0 mi
Sweetwater (Stanislaus National Forest)Stanislaus National Forest · 4.9 mi9 miles east of Groveland on Old Highway 120, just east of the Groveland District office.
The agency publishes this point for 2 campgrounds; it’s likely a district office, not the campground. Use the agency’s own page for directions.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Buck Meadows, CA
Typical weather
Typical October night 42°F, day 74°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 31°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Pines Stanislaus is in California’s 5th congressional district. Its representative, Tom McClintock (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →