Group Campsites A directory of reservable group campsites, with capacity and booking site

Group site types and what each label means

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A group listing carries a type. The type says what kind of camping the site is built for. It is separate from capacity: two sites can hold the same number of people and allow very different equipment.

The labels below are the plain names this directory and OpenCampsite use. The second column is the code Recreation.gov shows for the same thing.

The labels

Label Recreation.gov code Overnight What it is
Group campsite GROUP STANDARD NONELECTRIC, GROUP STANDARD AREA NONELECTRIC Yes A general group site with no hookups
Group tent area GROUP TENT ONLY AREA NONELECTRIC Yes A group site for tents, with no hookups
Group RV area GROUP RV AREA NONELECTRIC Yes A group site laid out for RVs, with no hookups
Group picnic area GROUP PICNIC AREA No A day-use area for a large party

A label you do not see in this table follows the same pattern: the word "Group" in front of an ordinary site type.

Hookups

The end of the label covers power.

Label ends with Meaning
Nothing No hookups
with electric Electric hookup
with full hookups Full hookups

Equipment rules come from the park

The type is a starting point. The park's own rules decide what you may bring, and they differ from one park to the next.

Park Group sites Published equipment rule
Yosemite Group camps in Wawona, Hodgdon Meadow, Bridalveil Creek and Tuolumne Meadows Tent sites only. No RVs or trailers. No pets.
Zion, South Campground Sites A to D 4 cars or 2 RVs per site
Zion, Watchman Campground E loop, sites E1 to E7 Tents go on the constructed tent pads. Parking is limited to each site's spaces.

Yosemite's reservation FAQ makes the general point for every site type: book a site that suits the equipment you will camp in, because a party that arrives with something else may be turned away.

Group sites inside ordinary campgrounds

A campground does not have to be a "group campground" to have group sites. Watchman's site list on Recreation.gov shows group tent sites next to standard and walk-to sites. Yosemite's group camps sit inside four of its regular campgrounds.

In this directory those appear under the campground's name with the group type shown. When you open the official listing, filter or scroll to the group sites. The standard sites in the same campground have their own limits: six people at Yosemite and at Zion.

Group sites in search and alerts

On OpenCampsite, a search that includes the word "group" with a place name returns campgrounds that have group camping there. On an alert for a Recreation.gov campground, the "Group campsites only" option limits matches to sites whose type starts with "Group". Picking the ordinary "Tent or car camping" type does not match group sites, so an alert for a group trip needs the group option or a group type.

Common questions

Is a group picnic area a place to camp?
No. It is a day-use booking. This directory lists overnight group sites only, so group picnic areas, pavilions and day-use shelters are not in it.
Can an RV go on a group tent area?
Treat a tent area as tents only. Yosemite says RVs are not allowed in tent-only campsites and that it cannot accommodate a party that arrives with equipment the reserved site does not allow.
Does a group site with electric hookups get a different label?
Yes. The label gains "with electric" or "with full hookups". A label with nothing after it means no hookups.
  • How many people a group campsite holds What the people range on a group campsite means, with published limits for Zion's Watchman and South group sites and Yosemite's group camps.
  • Where group campsites are booked Which reservation site takes the booking for a group campsite. Federal group sites are on Recreation.gov. State and provincial parks use their own systems.
  • Group campsites, listed by state A state-by-state list of reservable group campsites. See the park, the people limit where one is published, and the official site that takes the booking.

Where these facts come from