The five Yosemite High Sierra Camps
Strung along a 51-mile loop through Yosemite's high country, each camp is a day's hike from the next — a bed, a hot meal, and a century of stories at every stop. Three are operating in 2026; two have sat closed for the better part of a decade.
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Merced Lake
7,150 ftEst. 1916 · Last operated in 2018 — removed from the concession contract in 2025
The oldest and most remote of the High Sierra Camps, Merced Lake sits at the lowest elevation of the five, on the shore of its namesake lake along the Merced River. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it holds over a century of Yosemite history.
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Vogelsang
10,300 ftEst. 1924 · Closed since 2018 — removed from the concession contract in 2025
The highest of the High Sierra Camps at 10,300 feet, Vogelsang sits at the base of Fletcher Peak with sweeping views of the Cathedral Range — the most alpine and dramatic of the five.
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Glen Aulin
7,800 ftEst. 1927 · Reopened 2024 — operating in 2026
Set along the Tuolumne River near a string of stunning waterfalls, Glen Aulin offers one of the most scenic settings in the system, in a glacially carved valley ringed by granite domes.
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May Lake
9,270 ftEst. 1938 · Reopened 2024 — operating in 2026
Perched on the shore of May Lake beneath the granite summit of Mount Hoffmann, this camp offers the shortest hike of any High Sierra Camp and sits at the geographic heart of the system.
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Sunrise
9,400 ftEst. 1961 · Reopened 2024 — operating in 2026
The newest of the High Sierra Camps, Sunrise sits above the Cathedral Lakes basin with panoramic views of the Cathedral and Clark ranges — and, true to its name, spectacular sunrises.
Explore campThe Tioga lodges
Two close cousins share the camps' canvas-and-woodsmoke tradition but sit on Tioga Road instead of the trail: Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, open in 2026, and White Wolf Lodge, closed by failing sewer lines.