Bringing a baby to Camp Tuolomne?
I couldn't find any recent information regarding bringing a baby to Camp Tulomne, though I did read that after it was rebuilt most tents are not shaded and are very hot in the afternoons/early evenings. We will be bringing our 9 month old, who takes a morning and afternoon nap and I am worried about the temperature of the tents! He doesn't nap very well in a carrier anymore. Has anyone been recently with a baby and can share their experience?
May 22, 2024
Parent Replies
I brought a 1.5 year old last year and we had a blast. It is extremely hot, but the kiddie center has air conditioning, the main dining hall I think also has air conditioning, there's the river itself, etc.
We had our 1.5 year old with us, taking one afternoon nap for the late June time period. It was hot, but not unbearably so, and he slept just fine. I would recommend going the first week the Camp is open if you are worried - it is cooler then (and downright cold at night! Bring a warm overnight sleeping bag sack for baby)
We went last year with our napper and we're going again this year and will need to do naps again. It will definitely depend on when you're going- June/early July will be hot but not nearly as hot as end of July/August. The morning nap in the tent should be fine as it doesn't get super hot until the afternoon. Our kiddo is a great car napper, so on days when it was really hot we hopped into the car and drove into Yosemite. We have an older one who also used to fall asleep during this time (camp is tiring!). It was actually a nice break from the heat for all of us. Another option is to bring a tent and set up a pack and play down by the water/in the shade on the island. There are usually people milling about but it's not super loud.
Hi! We went camping at French camp in Tom's place which is on the east side of Yosemite last year. Our daughter was about 9 months old then. The hardest part was setting up the tent while also trying to watch her. She ended up finding some rocks and stuffing her mouth with it in the 2 seconds we looked away. After that we just took turns. We did get a visit from a bear at night near our campsite because a baby food squeezy-pouch got away from the tent. No harm done though.
We used a 3-person tent and put her in a guava portable crib. We had enough space for the crib and us. We did not have a shaded spot for our tent but we also did not spend the day at the campsite. Either way, tent had cooled down by the time we got back. All naps were done either in the car or in the carrier. The nights got very cold and so we had to bundle up LO with several sweaters. REI sells a baby down sleeping bag/jacket which they did not have stock of when we tried buying it, but others have sworn by it. I think it's this one. I would recommend a portable charger to use with the sound machine. It was super helpful for us. If you have any more questions feel free to reach out. We had a great time and looking forward to more camping trips with our toddler!