First come first serve sites.

[cipher]

Hey all I will be going to Yosemite mid August this year and I plan to stay 3 nights. The majority of my trip will be focused near Tuolumne Meadows so I would really like one of its first come first serve spots considering I have no reservation. I can arrive at Yosemite by 6am on a Monday morning, would that be a solid time or is that too early considering check out is at noon? I would love to find a spot as early as possible, I would also be willing to try out other sites a bit further down like White Wolf, Tamarack Flat, etc... What would be the best time to get there and what plan of action would be best when I get there? Thanks!

[Phil]

Tuolumne Meadows has some pretty fierce competition for available sites from people using the same strategy you're using. White Wolf is nice, Yosemite Creek is too, but it's a bit of a drive in to it. Tamarack Flats is kind of a haul from Tuolumne, but it's a good last resort. Porcupine Flat...maybe. Six in the morning is kind of early unless you're willing to hang out and watch to see who looks like they're packing up or has the courtesy to take their tag off the post. Sometimes just getting out of the car and walking around to get a closer look at the dates on those tags will get you something better than what you thought. If a site is reserved, the hosts tend to be fairly good about making the rounds and tagging them first thing in the morning, but I've never paid much attention to when they usually do it. Find them and ask them.