Here's the Pros and Cons of Crane Flat Campground:

Pros:
1. It is not in the Valley, which is full of vehicles and RVs and crowd. It is relatively peaceful and we did not hear any RV generators during our three nights of stay there.
2. Lots of trees for shade.
3. There is a gas station and general store (with firewood, groceries and etc.) just outside the campground.

Cons:
1. Pick carefully the site you reserve. Crane Flat is a misnomer. Most of the sites there are on a slope. We lucked out and had reserved a site (site 516) that is actually roomy and flat. Site 512 and 514 is similarly flat and roomy. I think 514 is the best (we noticed they had shade almost all day). I believe 512 is the biggest. Site 108 and 110 seem the best (flat with shade) in the 100s loop.
2. At least when we were there, the bathrooms were pretty dirty. Camp host never cleaned it seems.
3. A lack of enforcement of the quiet hours. On the first night we were there, there was a group that partied late and was generally a nuisance (we heard smashing of plates and things). It kept us up.

The last point I suppose is about luck. Lousy neighbors = lousy times. Luckily for us, they either left or became more considerate the following nights. We had a great time, but beware the lousy, slopy sites.

We are regular campers in National Parks and State Parks and this was the worst site we had ever pitched our tents on. We spent 4 nights on site #526, which happens to be on a slope. It not only makes it very difficult to pitch your tent but we had to be extra careful to walk between the tent and our car, especially at night. If you cannot move around in your camp that takes the fun away. We saw several other sites on a slope, so inquire before you make a reservation. The site was extremely dusty too - a mini dust cloud was created each time you take a step. There is no light in the restroom and no soap at the sinks - something we have not encountered before in other NP campgrounds. Almost all the sites have very good shade and the 500 loop is very quiet. The location of the campground is nice with quick access to the Tioga road and about a half hour's drive to the valley.

This campground is about a 20 min drive to valley, which was ok as we were doing different hikes each day. But only negatives were if you want to eat in valley or take a shower you would have to drive. Other than that....I have never slept so good as here...no lights at all in bathrooms or around camp which made it so peaceful, at 9:30 pm each night it was so dark and quiet. We had campsite 518 best one, right on meadow and our neighbors were far away, very private, and he bathroom was just across the road great for a group of women! Bathroom had 3 stalls for a lot of campsites...running water,flush toilets which is a level 2 bathroom for us. Crane Flat gas station and store is across road, gas was 4.61 at this date, basic stuff in store, no hot food items.
Tuolumne tree area across from store did not have a chance to go there. Tioga Pass right there, got to Tuolumne Meadows quickly which has more food options as well, White Wolf has a small restuarant, so does Tuolumne Lodge both expensive. But the best is Tuolumne Grill, great food, and ice cream and crowd of hikers, loved it.
Back to campground 6 people per site, bear locker fits two ice chests and rest of your stuff. Put fire out before bed, you can gather dead wood around campsite and buy wood at store for 8.75. Dogs allowed here, saw quite a few. Also we saw no I repeat no animals at our campground,no bears, sqirrels, or dear, was disapointing. We did see a mama bear and her cubs on way down 4 mile trail and dear throughout park.
Parking for 2 or more cars on road in front of site, good.
Have fun!

This was our first time staying at this campground and our family of four really enjoyed it! We reserved spot 246, for two nights, which had more room than we knew what to do with, it was a huge corner. There are 2 bathrooms nearby, downhill from this site. This campground is on slight hill, so coming up from the bathrooms or a walk around the campground made for good exercise. This site is at the entrance from the road leading in, so we did have road noise during the night. The garbage trucks that pick up garbage from the dumpsters are very loud! But you are right near the main dumpsters which is nice since you must keep all garbage picked up constantly (due to bears). Also across the road, across from this site is the Amphitheater! We enjoyed a Ranger Campfire story one night during our stay. A local Ranger builds a campfire and tells stories about the area, that was really fun! The bear lockers at the sites are quite spacious and easy to use. Picnic table and fire pit are also provided at each site. The campground was pretty quiet and we had 2 deer walk through one afternoon! We were there during bear season and never saw any bears, which was good. Also in the campground is a scenic trail, which is 1.5 miles one way, and leads to an overlook of the Yosemite valley. Very much worth the hike, the view was breath taking! We spent a good 2 hours hiking to the overlook and back. There are many downed tree's that block the trail, so there is some climbing required to get over the logs, all part of the adventure! There were a lot of mosquito's, but if you kept a fire going and citronella candles lit at the table, they weren't bad at camp. The mosquito's bit us the most during the hike, so bring bug spray!

We drove into Yosemite Valley one day and that was about a 20 minute, beautiful drive! We really like how this campground is away from the Valley, where it was really crowded. We could enjoy the Valley activities, that we could get near, and then head back to camp where it was quiet and serene. There is also a gas station and small market across the street from this campground, in case you forget something! We would definitely stay here again!