by AlmostThere » Thu Nov 19, 2009 8:31 pm
I can't say any of those will be private or quiet. Campgrounds in Yosemite tend to resemble parking lots. Bridalveil (a first come/first serve campground on Glacier Point Road) at least has more trees and foliage between the sites. Wawona is all open and barren of foliage. The Pines (never camped there, only walked through them) are huge, full of RVs and have some tree cover but not much. You will see wildflowers and wildlife if you walk away from them.... I don't personally count the ground squirrels and opportunistic nuisance bears as "wildlife."
From the Pines campgrounds, you can walk to Happy Isles and up the Mist Trail to Vernal and Nevada Falls. And Half Dome if you want to go more miles.... You could also walk a few miles around the valley floor to Yosemite Falls (Lower). Walk the other way on the valley floor and go another mile up a trail, and you're at the bottom of Bridalveil Falls.
From Wawona you can head for Chilnualna Falls, which is a long stroll through cabins to the trailhead and then a four mile uphill to the falls. You can also walk into Wawona proper and walk around the meadows/golf course, which tend to be full of very placid deer.
In April, I would visit the valley and/or Hetch Hetchy. Glacier Point Road and Tioga will still be closed due to snow and the cables won't be up on Half Dome - Mist Trail is potentially icy. But, the falls will all be raging high.