Yosemite High Sierra Camps
Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp
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Glen Aulin

Open

Set along the Tuolumne River near a string of stunning waterfalls, Glen Aulin offers one of the most scenic settings in the system, in a glacially carved valley ringed by granite domes.

Reopened 2024 — operating in 2026

Established in 1927, Glen Aulin stands on ground selected during Carl Parcher Russell’s 1923 survey of potential camp locations. Its name means “beautiful valley” in Gaelic, given by an Irish topographer who mapped the gorge in the winter of 1913–14.

The camp went up in the late spring of 1927, packed in by mule: canvas tents, a cook tent, 22 iron cots, stoves, two flush toilets, and bedding, at a total cost of about $900. It held 20 guests at a dollar a day and a dollar a meal; showers came later, and until they did, White Cascade served. Russell’s original site, a ferny dell just below the present camp, proved so thick with early-season mosquitoes that the camp was moved one small valley east, to the sandy, rock-cupped shelf beside the waterfall where it stands today.

Glen Aulin was one of three camps that reopened in 2024 after years of system-wide closures, and it is operating on the official guided loop in 2026 — proof that the High Sierra Camp system still runs, and part of what the effort is fighting to protect and rebuild from.

Timeline

  1. 1923

    Site Selected

    Glen Aulin is identified as a potential camp location during Carl Parcher Russell's survey of sites for the expanding High Sierra Camp system.

  2. 1927

    Camp Built

    In the late spring of 1927, mule train after mule train carries in the camp: canvas tents, a cook tent, 22 iron cots, stoves, two flush toilets, and "mountains of mattresses and bedding" — all for about $900. Capacity is 20 guests, at a dollar a day and a dollar a meal. The camp later moves one small valley east to escape early-season mosquitoes, to its present perch beside White Cascade.

  3. 2019–2023

    Years of Closure

    Heavy snow, the COVID-19 pandemic, deferred maintenance, and staffing shortages drive recurring system-wide closures affecting Glen Aulin.

  4. 2024

    Camp Reopens

    Glen Aulin is one of three camps to reopen after years of closures, alongside May Lake and Sunrise.

  5. 2025

    Full-System Closure

    All five High Sierra Camps are closed for the season, citing potable-water and restroom/utility failures across the system.

  6. Today

    Operating in 2026

    Glen Aulin is running on the official guided loop in 2026 — proof the High Sierra Camp system still operates, and part of what the effort is fighting to protect.