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Lost Claim attracts families and friends with its convenient location, just 15 miles from the northwest Yosemite National Park boundary in northern California. Deemed as an ideal base camp, visitors can explore not only Yosemite, but also the fantastic wilderness areas of the Stanislaus National Forest. Pets are welcome, but must be compliant with Tuolumne County leash laws.
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.
The 10 camping sites are all suited for tents. Sites 1, 7, and 8 would also accommodate tent trailers. The roads and spurs are native surface or gravel. Each site has a picnic table, food storage box and campfire ring. Drinking water and vault toilets are available.
**At 3,100 feet in elevation, the tranquil campground sits in a mixed conifer forest with ample shade at each campsite. Nearby is the Tuolumne River, which flows for 150 miles from the central Sierra Nevadas to the San Joaquin River.**
Take a scenic drive through Yosemite and explore its legendary waterfalls. Enjoy world class fishing on the Tuolumne River or at one of the many lakes in this western Sierra Nevada location. Go hiking on one of the many nearby trails. The town of Groveland boasts many shopping and tourist activities; check with the Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau for more information.
**From Groveland,** Take State Highway 120 east for 12 miles. The campground is just east of the Groveland Ranger District Office.
Use to be before the reservation system that you could go there even late on a Friday in the Summer and get a site EASY. No one used it, since most people prefer to camp within Yosemite. Now with reservation system I think people book it up and never use it. So you don't know what to think. I would forgo getting reservations for the place and just go.
You will probably find a vacant site. Anyway, it is quiet, but you do hear bears rumbling in the night sometimes. I have camped there three times without a problem. Close to Yosemite and only five miles to Rainbow pool. A great place to swim and fish.
It is a primitive camp site with fire pits, picnic tables, vault toilets, and a hand operated water pump. Unfortunately, the first night we were there were also some very unhappy cows that bellered all night. I doubt other visitors will have that experience; we never heard them again. Otherwise it was peaceful and quiet. There is plenty of fallen wood to use for campfires.
There were two reasons I rated it a 3. Our camp site, number 2 was very sloped. Also it was 15 minutes from the Yosemite gate, which meant it was about an hour to drive to the valley. It was an average place. Nothing remarkable and nothing terrible ( except the noisy cows.)
Can't wait for this place to open. Beautiful campground with some real nice hikes in the area.
Convenient location to Yosemite (about 15-20 min from the entrance) that you can reserve in advance. Private, natural setting near a creek. Be aware, though, the campground is next to a cattle field and you can often hear and see the cows mooing and ringing their bells. It can be quite loud, so you need a bit of patience and good humor since it isn't as quiet as it seems at first glance.
Quiet and small campground. Only three vault toilets centrally located (one was locked the entire 3 day stay - no clue why) and people left the seats open so flies were plentiful in them (gone by morning probably due to the cold.) Blackberries are plentiful and we had a friendly carpenter bee that took refuge in our picnic table.
Close to Yosemite Big Oak entrance.
Bear lockers look brand new and are large.
