Help! I’m Camping at Hodgdon Meadow!

Moni wrote in to ask: “I ended up having to make my reservations for Hodgdon Meadow instead…is this a less desirable place to camp?”

Well the answer is, Hodgdon Meadow is a beautiful place to camp. It’s right on the entrance to the park on 120 so it actually opens up some different hiking and sight seeing options to you. You could go hiking around Hetch Hetchy and see what all the fuss is about. Wampana Falls are awesome with the spring runoff in June. If you like fishing the Tuolumne off Evergreen Road just outside the park and on the way to Hetch Hetchy is pretty cool. If there isn’t a lot of snow like last year you’ll still be able to access the Tioga Road but it’ll be a bit more of a drive.

If ever you can’t get a reservation to stay in the Park I recommend checking out Twin Lakes on Highway 395. It’s between 108 and 120. There’s lot of amenities plus the lakes are beautiful. Early June is really cold there though. We go there every year and it’s always surprising how chilly it is. During the week you can usually find a camp spot but weekends or holidays you’ll need reservations.

From Hodgdon Meadow you can also arrange a rafting trip on the Tuolumne River.(http://oars.com/htdocs/california/tuolumnerafting.html) or take an hour and a half drive up to Murphys on Highway 4 for some wine tasting then on to see the Sequoias at Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Don’t forget though, you’re still just a short drive down to the Valley and over to Glacier Point or Wawona. There’s lots to do there. So I think you’re in a pretty good spot.