Introduction:
The Mariposa County Fairgrounds offer water and electric sites about an hour and 20 minutes from Yosemite National Park.
Click here to read about our criteria for campground reviews.
The Basics:
Overall Rating: 2.4/5
Price per night / Discounts: $50.00 / None
Campground website: Mariposa County Fairgrounds
Our Site #: N/A
Privacy Rating (how spacious and private do the sites feel):
2.0/5: This is completely dependent on how busy the park is. When we visited, there were only a handful of other RVs, so everyone spread out and we had plenty of privacy. However, if the sites were all full, RVs would be lined up right next to one another with no separation at all.
Location Rating (accessibility to points of interest or to major highways):
3.0/5: This is the closest, semi-reasonably priced RV park we could find to Yosemite National Park, but it was still over an hour away. It was also pretty far from a larger town, so it felt a bit remote. (The town of Oakhurst, which offers all your typical chain stores, is about 30 minutes away.) All things considered, while it was the best option we could find for visiting Yosemite, it wasn't particularly convenient.
Site Quality and Big Rig Accessibility Rating (utilities and accessibility of campground hook ups):
3.0/5: There are five separate RV parking lots at the fairgrounds. We chose to stay in the main front lot which is a big grassy field (Lot 1) with hook-ups around the edges. The other lots were paved or dirt/gravel but were smaller and less visually appealing. The campsites only offer water and electric hook-ups, but there's a dump station available in Lot 5. The big lawn we parked on was in OK shape, but the sites were all around the perimeter and each one sloped significantly in the back. We ended up needing a bunch of blocks under our back tires. Additionally, the sites are only 30 amp. Access itself was fine, though I would hesitate to park a heavy RV on the grass if there had been rain recently. Finally, the main road through town runs right behind Lot 1, so if you're sensitive to traffic noise, it's better to park in one of the other lots.
Technology and Customer Service Rating (online resources, reservations, campground wifi, and staff):
2.0/5: There is no real technology or customer service to speak of. There's a basic informational website, but no way to make reservations. I inquired about reservations but was told we wouldn't need any and we could just show up (which was true - the place was mostly empty during our visit). There is a self pay set-up at the front. You can pay by check or credit card. We never dealt with anyone else while we were there. There was workable wifi in our lot.
Overall Value Rating (the overall value of the campground; was it overpriced for what it was?):
2.0/5: This place felt very overpriced for what it was. It was $45 per night for a water/electric site with only 30 amps. Additionally, we had to pay $5 per night for our dog. There were no dog parks, bags or other facilities. It was just an extra fee. We still had to spend well over an hour to get to Yosemite National Park and there was no customer service of any kind. $50 per night was way more than it needed to be.
Summary:
Mariposa County Fairgrounds offers one of the few options for people with bigger RVs looking to visit Yosemite National Park. If the cost had been $30 per night, I would have nothing bad to say, but for $50 per night, an unlevel, water/electric site with only 30 amps, no reservations, and well over an hour away from what we were there to visit, left a bad taste. Still, it's not a terrible option. It wasn't crowded and did allow us an easy-to-access, safe place to set up for a few days. Given the lack of campground options near Yosemite, it's a workable solution.
